​​Heavy Is The Crown: Linkin Park’s new anthem makes lightning strike twice

Review By Evan Reedell –

Less than two weeks after the release of their chart-topping comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” (Released September 5 2024), Linkin Park has dropped another single off their new album. 

The new single, “Heavy Is The Crown” is what some have said sounds like “Faint,” off of the album Meteora (2003), if it was made in 2024, and yeah, it’s exactly that. It is currently being used as the anthem for the League of Legends Worlds 2024 Tournament, with a music video animated in the style of the streaming television series “Arcane,” and starring some of the tournament’s challengers alongside the band themselves.

The song starts with some static-like instrumental before bursting full force into the guitar riff, with Mike Shinoda’s rapping following, with such lyrics as “You can’t win if your white flag’s out when the war began” further cementing the themes of battle already set in place by the tournament sponsor. 

New Vocalist Emily Armstrong then joins Shinoda on the pre-chorus, before bursting into the main chorus, which she sings solely. The main chorus hits especially, seeing as so many people on X, Instagram, Reddit and all the other socials expect Armstrong to live up to, and “wear the crown” of, Chester Bennington. It’s an incredible burden, of which she has been handling as gracefully as she can. 

With lines such as “This is what you asked for” acknowledging that people have wanted Linkin Park to return for quite some time, since Bennington’s passing in 2017. Shinoda’s rapping returns in the second verse, further building on the themes of the first, before the chorus repeats. Shinoda repeats the pre-chorus as a bridge, before Armstrong goes all the way into a very impressive 17 second long scream of which can only be rivaled by Bennington’s in “Given Up” from the album Minutes to Midnight (2007). The chorus comes back before Armstrong repeats “Heavy Is The Crown” as the outro, and the songs

The song is an anthem for an upcoming fight, but it’s also a reflection. It’s a sign that while Linkin Park is truly moving forward with their new vocalist and new drummer, Colin Brittain, they are still remembering the old. And considering that this song, as mentioned previously, sounds almost identical to “Faint,” It’s safe to say that they are doing a pretty good job with that intent in mind. 

All in all, Linkin Park’s newest single is a rock and rap anthem that will stand out heavily amongst this years’ newest and best songs, and should not be mistaken as otherwise. Here’s to hoping that the upcoming album From Zero, Releasing November 15, will live up to it’s first two singles, and will stand out amongst the discography of Linkin Park, both past and present.

Featured image from Spotify.