Linkin Park singer Emily Armstrong has discussed what sounds like a classic case of imposter syndrome when it came to taking over vocal duties in Linkin Park. Armstrong was revealed as the band’s new frontperson in September 2024 following years of Linkin Park inactivity after the death of Chester Bennington seven years earlier, and she reveals that she had periods of intense doubt over whether she was up to the task of replacing one of rock’s most celebrated vocalists.
Discussing new Linkin Park documentary Unshatter, which delves into Linkin Park’s emotional and unlikely comeback, Emily tells People:
“You see it in the documentary where I’m just like, ‘Am I even cut out for this?’ You’re trying to give yourself every reason to just be like, ‘You’re not good. Everybody knows these songs.’ ”
On how she overcame her self-doubt, Emily says it was important to remember, “don’t try to be like anybody. You’re not a replacement. Nobody could ever, ever replace Chester. Do what you do.
“The only thing that I could possibly try with the old songs is just to have the same emotional impact as much as I possibly can with the songs, because that’s what you’re ultimately going to want at this point,” she explains. “That’s what I would want as a listener, as a Linkin Park fan. I would want that emotional feeling. And I was like, ‘Okay. I think I could do that.’ ”
Emily’s arrival in Linkin Park has proven to be a resounding success; comeback album From Zero, released in 2024, was widely praised, and the band have headlined arenas, stadiums and festivals around the world in the years since, including a warmly received headline set at this year’s Download Festival in june.
Hope,The Flower Kings 18th Studio album, follows the band’s album released one year ago called Love. While these might be connected in terms of the lyrical themes, they are certainly not connected with regard to the music. While Love was a fine album, Hope is another step forward and perhaps the most adventurous album from Roine Stolt and his bandmates since Paradox Hotel in 2006.
Some things continue to be true for this band: The Flower Kings albums continue to have grand sweeping melodies fueled in large part by Roine Stolt’s expressive guitar playing (helped along by the way he subtly uses his wah-wah pedal), the voices of Stolt and singer Hasse Fröberg (credited as Hans Fröberg on this album) blend beautifully, and, while the roster of the band has varied over the years, Hope is no Stolt solo project. The other players add a lot in terms of their playing but also, although Stolt does the bulk of the writing, Fröberg and Keyboardist Lalle Larsson also make key contributions.
The album features two big pieces, the 19-minute “World Spinning: The Final Curtain” (split into 5 parts and 3 tracks on the album) and the nearly 30-minute epic, “The Gods of Rome,” (split into 7 parts and five tracks.) Two shorter pieces sit between these two; “In a World of Fools” and “Mars and Minerva.” Despite what the track list might suggest, this is one work with one theme: the cost of the search for power and wealth, the resulting conflict, and how there can be hope if we choose to live in peace. Hope is an album that rewards repeated listens. The melodies slowly work their way into your ears, and the structure of the album only really makes sense after you have had a chance to absorb how it fits together.
The opener, “The Final Curtain, pt. 1” fades in with a repeated keyboard figure which soon serves as the backdrop for a nice guitar theme, a very Flower Kings thing to do. The lyrics set the tone for the album from the opening line, “From cradle to grave,” to the conclusion, “life is anything but slow,”; this song serves as an introduction. “Pts 2 and 3” make up the longest single track on the album and form the core of “The Final Curtain.” Beginning again with a repeated keyboard figure over which a guitar theme is placed, this time is heavier than Part 1. Melodies come and go as the lyrics reflect on growth, aging, and the struggles of life. Finally, there is a shift and we get a blazing synth solo from Larsson. This section is more jazz-influenced than the rest of the album and is reminiscent of their work on Unfold the Future from 2002.
“Pts 4 and 5” brings this opening epic to a close with more of the same, beginning with a grand melodic statement from the guitar as well as a grand lyrical statement: “love is a miracle and no one can stand alone.” I wonder if the Flower Kings are purposely echoing the book of Ecclesiastes (“all is meaningless”) or if they’re just picking up on themes as old as humanity itself.
“In a World of Fools,” the first of two non-epic tracks, is not a step away from the themes of “The Final Curtain” but an extension of them and serves as a reflection of a life lived. Beginning with a harp, the vocal has perhaps the strongest melody so far on this album, sung over a beautiful backdrop. The music builds and builds, featuring another excellent synth solo. Keyboardist Lalle Larsson really shines on this album. The vocals are stacked to form a choir as they sing, “In the end there is only you and I.” This song is an emotional highlight.
“Mars and Minerva,” named after two Roman gods, Mars being the god of war and Minerva the god of wisdom, is less than five minutes long but is a prime example of the Flower Kings at their finest. There are only a few lines of vocals but the track features majestic guitar themes and another can’t-miss keyboard solo. This is a wonderful way to lead us to the final epic.
Finally, we arrive at “The Gods of Rome,” which takes up about half the playing time of the album. As mentioned above, it is in 7 parts spread across 5 tracks. “Part 1” is an instrumental introduction, an overture of sorts. Guitar and keyboards take turns developing the theme as it builds and shifts and then fades away.
“Part 2” features more vocals than any other track on the album. But after verses that highlight the building tensions between war and wisdom, there are extended instrumental sections showing the instrumental prowess of the band. The music here sounds just like the Flower Kings that we’ve come to appreciate, but these musical and lyrical themes are big and the players rise to the challenge. In “Pts 3 and 4” opens with a piano and evocative vocal duet from Fröberg and Stolt. But after singing “love heals” the music takes a dark turn only to be rebuffed by hearing that “there is life in a quiet place.” The music nicely demonstrates the dark and light sides, war and wisdom.
“Parts 5 & 6” give us something quite different then, a section of music with a Middle Eastern sound to it (for music nerds out there, they appear to be using the Phrygian dominant or double harmonic scales), and it is both a nice diversion and a really interesting part of this track. They soon go back to using a more common scale (singing “as we’re living in a world of strangeness”), which then changes again to fast 4/4 straight-ahead rock section. As the music shifts and morphs, we feel ourselves pulled this way and that. The struggle is not only sung about, it is also felt in the music. “Part 7” brings “The Gods of Rome” and the album to a close by encouraging us that “the world is all a promise.” The band finds itself in a joyous (even hopeful) groove as they celebrate the unity of people making the most of this world.
Hope is an exciting and complex album chasing a grand theme that is both challenging and uplifting. It is great to see that more than 30 years of making music has dimmed neither the ambition nor the reach of The Flower Kings.
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