Seven years after the tragic passing of frontman Chester Bennington, Linkin Park has re-emerged with a new lineup, a decision that stemmed from a profound period of grief and introspection for the surviving members. Bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, alongside Mike Shinoda (vocals), Brad Delson (guitar), and Joe Hahn (DJ), has shared insights into the band’s arduous path back to making music. Their new iteration now includes co-vocalist Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara and drummer Colin Brittain.
In an interview with Evropa 2, Farrell opened up about the immense challenge of returning to the band after such a devastating loss. “In the history of the band, the most tragic thing for sure was losing Chester. There’s nothing that would even come close, in the process of what we’ve been through,” he stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He described the initial years post-2017 as a period of profound shock and withdrawal. “It took us years before we were even kind of comfortable getting back in a room and sitting down together and saying, like, do we wanna try to start writing again? Or do we even wanna do the band anymore? Do we wanna make music together? Is it called Linkin Park?” Personally, Farrell emphasized a retreat to family life: “My brain shut off to all of that and just said, ‘I’m just gonna go be with my family. We’re gonna do that.’ Kind of like, ‘I’ll check in with you guys when I see you, but for right now, a bomb has just gone off and I need to kind of recover and figure that out.'”
Farrell elaborated on the healing process, likening it to a clichéd but true notion. “I think it’s like the cliché of time heals all wounds. It doesn’t heal the wound, but it does give you an opportunity to try to look at things through a different lens and see what you can do or where you can kind of move forward or at least moves,” he explained.
He stressed that while the pain of tragedy never truly dissipates, individuals find ways to navigate forward. “It doesn’t leave you — it stays with you — but you do figure out a way to, what is tomorrow? You do figure out a way to step into that. What are you gonna do? How are you gonna move? What’s that gonna look like? And kind of try and take it one step at a time.”
Also participating in the interview, new drummer Colin Brittain discussed his approach to stepping into the role previously held by original drummer Rob Bourdon, who is not part of the band’s current comeback. Brittain highlighted the delicate balance of honoring the past while forging his own path.
“Well, it’s always a huge challenge with the band, with so much respect that we all look up to. You wanna do the best you can to represent Rob‘s creative and Chester’s creative roles in the band,” Colin said. He clarified his mindset: “But I think for me, it was more about… I was thinking about it less about like filling shoes and just sort of stepping into a place as myself. And then also, yeah, of course paying homage to exactly what he was doing and where he was going.”
Brittain stressed the importance of authentic contribution, stating, “But if you think about it too much about trying to be someone else, that’s never, I think, a good way of looking at it. It’s more of, like, okay, where are we at now and how can I contribute to this process as myself? And not trying to compare, but, obviously, yeah, I have huge respect for Rob and his playing. He was big influence on my playing early on, so it’s been kind of a dream scenario for me to pick up where he’s left off and do my best.”
