The nu-metal titans, Linkin Park, are taking another shot at global glory with their “From Zero World Tour.” With new voices igniting stadiums, the band has returned to global stages with new sounds and new anthems. However, whispers of doubt linger. Will this bold return recapture their legendary fire, or is it merely a flicker?
Linkin Park’s reunion tour, the “From Zero World Tour,” marks an important chapter for a band that defined a generation with their genre-defying nu-metal anthems. After the tragic loss of lead vocalist Chester Bennington in 2017, the band’s silence left fans yearning for closure. In 2024, they roared back, introducing Emily Armstrong as co-vocalist alongside Mike Shinoda, with Colin Brittain on drums, alongside the originals: Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, and Joe Hahn.
Their eighth album, “From Zero,” marked the culmination of this new era, blending nostalgia with fresh vigour. The tour kicked off in Inglewood, California, on September 11, 2024, and is scheduled to conclude in June 2026 in Belgium.
No doubt, the band, performances, and fans have noted the absence of Bennington’s iconic voice in every show; however, the band is ready to move on, honour their past, and forge a new path in the same direction. From sold-out shows to a high-profile UEFA Champions League performance, Linkin Park’s return is a global spectacle. But has it truly succeeded? Ticket sales, fan reactions, and reviews from critics offer a detailed view of the band’s daring efforts to evolve amidst towering expectations.
The reunion tour
Linkin Park redefined rock in the early 2000s with their debut album, “Hybrid Theory,” released in 2000. It was a multi-platinum work of art that blended nu-metal, rap, and raw emotion. Hits like “In the End” and “Crawling” captured teenage angst, selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. Their follow-up album, “Meteora,” released in 2003, solidified their dominance with tracks like “Numb” and “Breaking the Habit,” cementing their crossover appeal.
Over seven studio albums, they experimented with electronica in “A Thousand Suns” and pop-rock in their 2017 album “One More Light” (2017). These earned the band a global fan base that yearned to hear what the band had up their sleeves next.
Chester Bennington’s searing vocals and Mike Shinoda’s rapping were the band’s heartbeat, with their live performances earning positive reviews at festivals like Rock am Ring and Download. Notably, the band contributed to the soundtrack for the Transformers franchise in 2007, 2009, and 2011 before their hiatus in 2017.
In 2024, Linkin Park announced their return with “From Zero,” their first album since 2017, featuring new vocalist Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara and drummer Colin Brittain alongside Shinoda, Delson, Farrell, and Hahn.
The “From Zero World Tour” kicked off with a symbolic homecoming in September 2024 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. The band has played multiple shows across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, including headlining festivals like Rock Werchter and I-Days Milano.
The tour’s setlist balances classics like “Numb” and “In the End” with new tracks like “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy Is the Crown,” the latter a nod to their UEFA Champions League performance in May 2025. Despite early controversy over Armstrong’s past ties to Scientology and support for Danny Masterson, which she later addressed, the band pressed forward. Shinoda emphasised evolution over replacement, telling Rolling Stone, “It’s not about erasing the past but starting a new chapter.”
Their 2024 livestreamed announcement and subsequent shows demonstrated resilience, with over 2 billion streams in 2024, per Billboard. The tour’s scale has revealed that the band maintains its pre-hiatus peak and that it is not afraid to reclaim its legacy while navigating a new identity.
Has the reunion tour been a success?
From ticket demands to critique from industry experts and most importantly fan feedback, we access the “From Zero World Tour” and its success.
Ticket sales
The “From Zero World Tour” has shown the band’s strength, with several shows selling out rapidly. A post on X by music enthusiast @Viva_La_Tura noted sold-out performances at Wembley Stadium, Berlin, and Munich, as well as 45,000 Linkin Park tickets sold within an hour for Rock am Ring. I-Days Milano reported 78,500 attendees for Linkin Park’s set, according to @LPLive on X.
This showcases the band’s ability to fill stadiums despite being away from the stage for a long time. A MetalSucks report suggested struggles with ticket sales, citing a venue change in Los Angeles and discounted “Up From the Bottom” tickets; however, this was an outlier against reports of strong sales elsewhere, such as 75,000 tickets for Rock Werchter.
The Champions League final performance on May 31, 2025, at Munich’s Allianz Arena, with tickets starting at $2,700, saw only 3% of seats remaining by May 28, according to Sporting News, emphasising the event’s importance. These figures suggest that the tour will be a commercial success, although not uniformly sold out, reflecting a fan base that is eager yet selective.
Fan feedback
Fan reactions are a mixed symphony of devotion and division. On ParkLife DC, David Lakamason praised Armstrong’s vocals during their show in Baltimore. On May 5, 2025, saying, “Armstrong’s vocals can go from 0 to 100 in a matter of a single line, while Mike Shinoda’s rapped verses are as vital as ever.” Although he had never attended a Linkin Park concert before, he professed his love for their stage presence.
He lauded the performance of Jordan Edward Benjamin, referring to his music as “engaging” and “a close cousin to Linkin Park.”
Fan reviews from Seatsnet.com have been generally positive, with many fans praising the band’s overall concert performances.
Fans like Sheila praised the Greenville show (May 15, 2025), calling Emily Armstrong a “perfect fit” with “hi-octane energy,” and rating it 4/5 on Ticketmaster.
Bandsintown reviews echo this, with a Dusseldorf fan noting a two-hour set felt like “15 minutes” due to its intensity. However, dissent persists.
Some fans, as seen in Recreation Rush screenshots on Instagram, reject Armstrong’s inclusion due to her ties to Scientology and the absence of original members, such as Rob Bourdon.
A Reddit thread on the Champions League performance highlighted mixed sentiments, with 2,689 upvotes. Still, comments criticised Armstrong’s vocal delivery on new songs like “Heavy Is the Crown,” noting that she seemed “nervous” and occasionally off-key.
Others, like a London fan on Bandsintown, praised her as a “fantastic singer” and reported an “immense” crowd, suggesting growing acceptance. The emotional weight of Bennington’s absence lingers, with some fans feeling the new songs “aren’t Linkin Park,” while others embrace the band’s evolution.
Critical reception
Critics offer a balanced perspective. Variety’s review of the September 2024 Kia Forum show lauded Armstrong’s integration, noting her primal scream complemented Shinoda’s “propulsive approachability.” They highlighted the “joyful feeling” and potential for stadium-sized success in 2025. NME praised the Champions League set for its career-spanning setlist, though some fans on X, like @lyliluna33, complained about French broadcasters talking over the performance, calling it “inaudible.”
Conversely, former soccer star Marco van Basten slammed the Munich show as “absolute garbage,” per Vice, a rare but notable critique from a non-music perspective. Billboard emphasised the tour’s global reach and From Zero’s chart success, with “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy Is the Crown” amassing 250 million streams each. Critics generally agree that the band has navigated a tricky transition with energy, although Armstrong’s vocal style invites inevitable comparisons to Bennington, which have received mixed reception on newer tracks.
Champions League performance
The May 31, 2025, UEFA Champions League Final performance was a high-stakes moment, broadcast globally to millions of viewers. The six-minute set included “The Emptiness Machine,” “In the End,” “Numb” (with a football-inspired remix), and “Heavy Is the Crown.” PR Newswire described it as “exceptional,” featuring “world-class special effects” and masked dancers. However, Reddit users criticised the choreography as confusing, likening it to a “Super Bowl halftime show gone wrong.”
Some fans noted Armstrong’s nerves on older songs, but SI highlighted the remix’s innovative use of football sounds, like ball kicks and crowd roars. PSG’s 5-0 victory over Inter Milan amplified Linkin Park’s visibility, but its brevity and mixed broadcast reception tempered its impact. Some Afrobeats fans claimed that Shallipopi could outperform for less.
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