In addition to welcoming a new singer in Emily Armstrong, Linkin Park has brought in a new drummer, Colin Brittain, in place of Rob Bourdon, the only original member of the band not taking part in the reunion. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the reformed band explains Bourdon's absence.
"Rob, we had a conversation a little while ago, I want to say it's a couple years ago at this point, where he said he wanted to step away," says co-vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda. "We didn't talk about that in public because we didn't really know how that was going to work out."
Shinoda remarks that the fans noticed Bourdon didn't take part in promotional activities regarding Linkin Park's recent archival releases, such as the Papercuts greatest hits album and the Hybrid Theory 20th anniversary reissue.
"We'll always love the guy," Shinoda adds. "We'll always respect the wonderful things we built together."
Armstrong, meanwhile, steps into the role left by the late Chester Bennington, who died in 2017. She made her debut with the band during a livestream concert Thursday, which also marked LP's first live performance since their 2017 tribute show to Bennington.
"We did a lot of sessions with a lot of people," Shinoda shares. "They weren't tryouts, they were just sessions. And certainly when I started to hear Emily's voice on things, my brain, it was like the first time that my brain would accept it as a Linkin Park song."
Linkin Park's first album since Bennington's passing, From Zero, is due out Nov. 15. Lead single "The Emptiness Machine" is out now.
Linkin Park will play shows in Los Angeles and New York City on Sept. 11 and Sept. 16, respectively, followed by a run of international dates.