After years of speculation and anticipation, Linkin Park has officially announced their return with new music and a world tour. Before the band’s return, many fans speculated that Linkin Park might be considering a name change. Rumors circulated that the band could switch back to their old name, Xero, which was the band’s moniker in their early days before Chester Bennington joined.
This speculation seemed fueled by the idea that the band was starting a new chapter without their beloved frontman, and might want to mark this transition with a fresh name. However, those rumors have now been put to rest. Despite the challenges they’ve faced and the new direction their music may take, Linkin Park has chosen to retain their iconic name.
Mike Shinoda opens up on not changing Linkin Park name
Mike Shinoda recently spoke to Q101 and shared his thoughts about not changing the name of the band.
He said:
“That’s to me, like, was such an important question that we obviously asked ourselves.
The main thing was that, like, in keeping, remember, I said, like, ‘we’re keeping things very loose and not defining.’ We didn’t define the band. We didn’t, we just said we were going to make music with people. That’s, that was our, MO. And as we were doing that, in the middle of the process, we were open to, like, maybe the lineup is like a moving lineup. Maybe there’s multiple vocalists. Maybe it’s a different name, like stuff like that. And then as the music came into focus, we were like, this is a this is as Linkin Park an album as we could make. Like it’s so Linkin Park that if we call it something else, then we are idiots. Like, because it would be, it would be like misrepresentation. Like, you know what I’m saying? I’d be like, be silly. And when people hear more of the album, like they will understand that.”
Mike about the name change:
“…as the music came into focus we were like – this is as Linkin Park album as we could make. It’s so Linkin Park that if we call it something else, then we are idiots. It’d be a misrepresentation! When people hear the album, they’ll understand that.” pic.twitter.com/NMiLN0D021— a.🍍| fan accøunt (@BroodingAnanas) September 7, 2024
As Linkin Park embarks on this new journey with two new members, their decision to keep the name solidifies their place in rock history while leaving the door open for new creative directions. The band, which has been on hiatus since the tragic loss of their iconic frontman, Chester Bennington, in 2017, recently unveiled a new single titled “The Emptiness Machine” from their upcoming album From Zero.
This marks the first time the band has released new music in over six years. Along with the album announcement, Linkin Park revealed a short world tour that will take place between September and November 2023, with six arena shows scheduled across the globe.
If you use any of the quotes above please credit Alternative-Nation for transcription
