Linkin Park made their musical comeback on September 6. However, not everyone was supportive of the comeback.
After it was announced that Chester Bennington would be replaced by new singer Emily Armstrong, his mother, Susan Eubanks, spoke out.
“I felt betrayed. They told me that if they were going to do something, they would let me know. They didn’t tell me, and maybe they knew that I [wasn’t] would be fun. I’m very sad about it,” Eubanks said. Rolling Stone on September 19.
She shared that she had met with Linkin Park members Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn over the years and neither of them had mentioned a reunion. However, Shinoda reached out when the band was preparing to release new music with Bennington on vocals, but that was as far as it went.
“I found out Emily Armstrong was joining a band on Google. When I go to Google to search for something, the first thing that usually comes up is Linkin Park. And I see that whole announcement, ‘We have an announcement.’ That whole week, they were at the top of the list if you typed anything into Google,” Eubanks said.
She revealed that she saw the band’s first performance with Armstrong, but did not like Armstrong’s singing.
“I think she was singing… I don’t even remember what it was. [she was singing]because I didn’t want to hear it. It was just a moment. But it was her, I’ll say it, screaming a very high note. And I got out of there as fast as I could,” Eubanks shared.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who has a voice like that. And when I hear that, it really bothers me because no, they’re trying to do exactly what Chester did, but they’re not succeeding,” she continued.
Eubanks’ comments come shortly after Bennington’s son criticized the decision to include Armstrong in Linkin Park.
He claimed that Shinoda had “quietly erased my father’s life and legacy at that moment… during international suicide prevention month”.
Bennington tragically passed away in July 2017 and was found in Palos Verdes Estates, California. His death was ruled a suicide. No note was ever discovered.
Tags Chester Bennington, Linkin Park