Mike Shinoda is Open to Reviving Linkin Park without Chester Bennington
Full admission: I was never much of a Linkin Park fan (in fact, I actively despised them for a very long time). Despite that, I certainly can’t fault co-vocalist Mike Shinoda for wanting to continue with the band after Chester Bennington’s tragic suicide two summers ago.
Plenty of well-known hard rock and metal bands have soldiered on without their iconic singers, and many have released great records with new voices up front. Alice in Chains and AC/DC are two that come to mind.
In an interview with Whole Lotta Talk, Shinoda had the following to say about getting Linkin Park back together some day:
“We all thrive making and performing music. I know the other guys, they love to be onstage, they love to be in a studio, and so to not do that would be like … I don’t know, almost like unhealthy.”
“As long as that connection and interest is there, I think that is our driving force to figure out Linkin Park.”
“It’s not my goal to look for a new singer. If it does happen, it has to happen naturally. If we find someone that is a great person and good stylistic fit, I could see trying to do some stuff with somebody. I would never want to feel like we are replacing Chester.”
As long as its done respectfully, I think that’s all a fan can ask. Alice in Chains are the perfect example of that. They waited a very, very long time to return to the stage after Layne’s death, and even then approached the situation with kid gloves, leaving most press to Jerry Cantrell, giving a visual tribute to Layne during every show, keeping William DuVall out of the literal spotlight on stage and waiting years to release new music after taking him on. Would that model work for Linkin Park? Hard to say, but if they can execute it properly there’s no reason they won’t be able to succeed — I’d wager the demand will most certainly be there, especially after an extended hiatus.
[via Loudwire]
