Seven years after the tragic loss of their leader singer, Linkin Park is back. And they marked their resurgence with a banger new single, “The Emptiness Machine.”
Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong stepped in to fill the power vocalist void left by Chester Bennington, the rock band’s original frontman. And with multi-talented musician and producer Colin Brittain swapping in for Rob Bourdon as drummer, the globally beloved group dropped the song ahead of their first studio album, “From Zero,” which is scheduled to release on November 15.
Here are the lyrics:
(Mike Shinoda): Your blades are sharpened with precision
Flashing your favorite point of view
I know you’re waiting in the distance
Just like you always do
Just like you always do
Already pulling me in
Already under my skin
And I know exactly how this ends, I
Let you cut me open
Just to watch me bleed
Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be
Don’t know why I’m hoping
For what I won’t receive
Falling for the promise of
The emptiness machine
The emptiness machine
(Emily Armstrong): Going around like a revolver
It’s been decided how we lose
‘Cause there’s a fire under the altar
I keep on lying to
I keep on lying to
(Together): Already pulling me in
Already under my skin
And I know exactly how this ends, I
(Armstrong): Let you cut me open
Just to watch me bleed
Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be
Don’t know why I’m hoping
For what I won’t receive
Falling for the promise of
The emptiness machine
The emptiness machine
(Shinoda): I only wanted to be part of something
I only wanted to be part of, part of
(Armstrong): I only wanted to be part of something
I only wanted to be part of, part of
I only wanted to be part of something
I only wanted to be part
I let you cut me open
Just to watch me bleed
Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be
Don’t know why I’m hoping
So f****** naive
Falling for the promise of
The emptiness machine
The emptiness machine
(Shinoda): [I only wanted to be part of something]
(Armstrong): The emptiness machine
(Shinoda): [I only wanted to be part of]
(Armstrong): The emptiness machine
“The Emptiness Machine” is Linkin Park. As basic as that sounds, that’s a fundamentally important note to make. It was unclear if the band would ever make a comeback. And if they did, would they sound like the band a generation grew up listening to? Luckily, Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, and Brad Delson aligned with Armstrong and Brittain and gave (most) fans what they were missing — Linkin Park’s unique blend of hip-hop, electronic, rock, metal, and stadium-shaking screams.
Although they released and re-released older songs during their hiatus, “The Emptiness Machine” marks Linkin Park’s first true single in seven years. And it hasn’t disappointed, to say the least. With more than 100 million streams on Spotify since coming out on September 5, the song has soared into countless top-10s around the world, including to No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hot Hard Rock Songs.”
Linkin Park has performed the song in front of multiple crowds thus far as part of their “From Zero” world tour. They also played “The Emptiness Machine” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“The Emptiness Machine” is an undeniable success for Linkin Park and a big first step toward regaining its foothold in the music world as an active and relevant band. And with their second single, “Heavy is the Crown,” making waves on September 24, it’s clear it’s all gas no brakes for the group.