PAPA ROACH's JACOBY SHADDIX On LINKIN PARK's Comeback: 'It's Awesome That Their Music Can Be Celebrated'

In an interview with The Bailey Show, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix was asked about LINKIN PARK's recent announcement that that the band was reforming with a new singer named Emily Armstrong. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I really like that new [LINKIN PARK] song ['The Emptiness Machine']. I really like that new song they put out, man. I put that thing on repeat I was, like, I'm vibing this.

"It's trippy 'cause one of our producers, Colin Brittain, who I've been working with now for probably the last six [to] eight years, he's playing drums [now] in LINKIN PARK," Jacoby continued. "He's tripping. He's just, like, 'Dude, I got an opportunity that I can't pass up.' I'm, like, 'Yeah, go do that, dude. People wanna hear this [music].' And so it's awesome that their music can be celebrated.

"I know people are very polarized about this, but I look at it like when STONE TEMPLE PILOTS lost [singer] Scott Weiland," Shaddix added. "Who stepped in? [LINKIN PARK's late singer] Chester [Bennington]. Chester stepped in to carry that flag for rock and roll. So it makes sense why somebody would step in in his place and in his absence to carry that flag and to bring that message to the people, because it's a hopeful message."

Asked by interviewer Jason Bailey if that is "the overall consensus from a musician standpoint" that if a member of a band, especially the lead singer, is unable to continue, for whatever reason, the music should continue to live, Jacoby responded: "It's interesting, because as I saw them coming back with a new singer, it really kind of stirred some odd emotions in me, to be honest. I was just thinking about my own band and, like, 'Fuck, man. If I die, do I want my band to continue this thing?' And honestly, I'm torn. I don't have a straight-up answer for it. I think it's a bit different 'cause LINKIN PARK has two singers. And I don't know, man. I don't really have a straight answer for you on that. I don't know. But I've got plans on sticking around. I don't plan on going out anytime soon. Hopefully I outlive everybody. I'm a cockroach. I ain't going nowhere."

"The Emptiness Machine" was released earlier in the month. The track will appear on LINKIN PARK's upcoming album "From Zero", which will arrive on November 15 via Warner. It will mark LINKIN PARK's first full-length effort since 2017's "One More Light", which was the last LINKIN PARK album before Bennington's death.

LINKIN PARK played the second concert of its comeback mini-tour last Monday night (September 16) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show featured LINKIN PARK performing a two-hour set on a high-tech stage shaped like an aircraft carrier, allowing for a unique production as well as a greater-than-usual number of tickets sold at the venue.

As was the case with LINKIN PARK's September 5 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles and the September 11 concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, the Brooklyn gig showcased Armstrong and Brittain, who have joined returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Joe Hahn in the band's new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder was filling in for Delson for the livestream and the Kia Forum and Barclays Center shows and will continue to tour with LINKIN PARK for the foreseeable future instead of Delson.

The Los Angeles and Brooklyn concerts were the first two nights of a short international tour that will be followed by stops in Hamburg, Germany; London; Seoul; and Bogota, Colombia. A longer tour is promised for 2025.

According to a press release, Shinoda, Delson, Farrell and Hahn "quietly began meeting up again in recent years" and "rather than 'trying to restart the band,'" they worked with numerous musicians and "found a special kinship with Armstong and Brittain."

Photo credit: Bryson Roatch