Linkin Park’s Return Gets Even More Cynical with This League of Legends Video for “Heavy Is The Crown”
When it was announced that Linkin Park was coming back after years away following the death of singer Chester Bennington, it felt wrong to describe it as anything other than a business venture. The folks in the band have every right to want to pursue their music career without their fallen friend while capitalizing on the band’s insane brand recognition. But today’s music video and single drop feel… very cash grabby.
I’m not saying that the drop of “Heavy Is The Crown” wasn’t going to happen without the band’s apparent partnership with Riot Games’ massively popular video game League of Legends, but seeing that company’s logo flash before the video even starts just seems like the most late-stage capitalism/gross version of what this could have been.
According to the band’s announcement, the song is being used as the 2024 League of Legends World Championship Anthem and serves as the first collaboration between the two. We’ve already heard this song, of course, with the band having debuted it during their recent live shows.
Speaking of their world tour, the band also announced three new dates were added to their incredibly short world tour run. Those dates include November 3 in Paris, November 8 in Dallas, Texas, and November 15 — the release date of From Zero — in São Paulo, Brazil.
All of this comes as the band’s been facing criticism over new singer Emily Armstrong’s connection to Scientology, her one-time support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson, and ongoing complaints from Bennington’s surviving family members about how the reunion roll out was handled.
From Zero will be released on November 15, but you can preorder your copy today.
FROM ZERO WORLD TOUR 2024
September 24, 2024 | The O2 – London, UK
September 28, 2024 | INSPIRE Arena – Seoul, South Korea
November 3, 2024 | La Defense Arena – Paris, France
November 8, 2024 | Globe Life Field – Dallas, TX
November 11, 2024 | Coliseo Medplus – Bogota, Colombia
November 15, 2024 | Allianz Park – São Paulo, Brazil
FROM ZERO TRACKLIST
- From Zero (Intro)
- The Emptiness Machine
- Cut The Bridge
- Heavy Is The Crown
- Over Each Other
- Casualty
- Overflow
- Two Faced
- Stained
- IGYEIH
- Good Things Go
