Heavy Is The Crown - Linkin Park

It took a lot to avoid hearing this song before it officially premiered. The song was confirmed to be releasing soon after the band played it live at their show in Hamburg, Germany a couple of days ago. Live videos were being suggested for me left and right on YouTube, and the temptation to listen was high. When I saw that they were premiering it as the League of Legends World’s anthem, I was surprised. I don’t follow League and have never actually played, but I know enough to see how this collaboration makes total sense.

The music video was sick - again, I don’t know much lore or about who is who in the world of League, but the animation style was stunning, and seeing Linkin Park animated in that way was just so cool. It feels right on brand for them - they’ve always been big on the visuals for their music, both with videos and at shows.

The song itself is just so Linkin Park. That’s the simplest way to describe it. There’s elements to it that feel reminiscent of different eras of Linkin Park. You can hear Meteora, Minutes to Midnight, and Living Things throughout the song. Specifically, it feels like if the band wrote "Faint" in 2024. It has a more aggressive energy than the first single, "The Emptiness Machine", and a more classic Linkin Park sound with Mike rapping on the verses and Emily singing on the chorus. It's catchy, it's quick, it's fine-tuned and it's a blast.

The real star of the show is the bridge. The second chorus ends, the music sort of fades out/gets low, and Mike sings the pre-chorus line on his own once. That's when Emily comes in with an insane 15 second long scream over a "light" breakdown. It made my jaw drop the first time I heard it, and it still gives me chills when I listen to it. Like i mentioned early, there's videos of the band performing this song live, and the scream live is phenomenal.

This being the second single really feels like a well calculated move. The whole comeback for the band has felt well calculated, but this single is such a perfect counter to any argument that Linkin Park is dead and shouldn't go by the same name anymore. This group is still who they have always been at their core. Has a lineup changed occured? Yes. But the soul of the band is still intact, the essence of who they are.

We now have two of the 11 songs from the upcoming album. This second single came sooner than I expected - since the album is out November 15th, we have over a month and a half till it releases. I imagine we'll have at least one more song release as a single, but even then, it's hard to say what this album is going to feel like as a whole. Given what we have heard and the name of the album, "From Zero", I'm imagining this album is going to be rooted in the history of the band while still looking forward. They've utilized sounds that feel like Linkin Park, but it's also different with the addition of Emily and Colin (the new drummer who replaced Rob). The energy of the band feels fresh, it feels fun and so enthusiastic from what live performances I've watched (and the debut show that I was able to attend). I don't anticipate this being any sort of concept album or high art - it's reintroducing the world to this new chapter of the band, and it makes sense to stay in sounds and concepts that feel true to the spirit of the band.

I don't know how many times I've listened to this song, or "The Emptiness Machine". I've had multiple instances over the last couple days where I'll put "Heavy Is The Crown" on, and i have the repeat feature on for Spotify, so the two songs will play back to back several times before I notice and think to change it. And then one of the songs will start again and I leave it on.

It feels so incredible to have new Linkin Park. Musically, 2024 has been a phenomenal year, and we still have a few months left. I cannot wait to see what's next, and I can't wait to see them tour next year (whenever they announce those dates).