Linkin Park are planning a reunion tour with a new lead vocalist for 2025, according to a new report.
The nu metal icons, whose 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory has been certified 12x Platinum in the United States, are hoping to return to the road with an unknown replacement for late vocalist Chester Bennington, says Billboard.
Bennington took his own life in July 2017, aged 41.
Outside of a tribute concert to the singer that October, the band haven’t performed live since.
They also haven’t released a new studio album since May 2017’s One More Light.
However, Billboard says that Linkin Park’s booking agency, WME, is now examining offers for a potential tour and festival headline dates featuring band members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell.
One source told Billboard that the new vocalist the band are eyeing for the tour is female.
Multiple publications have approached Linkin Park representatives for comment and received no response.
Rumours of Linkin Park replacing Bennington with a female singer have circulated since early April.
Jay Gordon, frontman of US industrial rockers Orgy and former Linkin Park collaborator, told Wired In The Empire: “I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
Gordon later retracted these claims via social media.
“With regards to this linkin park singer thing,” he posted on Facebook, “I know nothing about any of that. People sure do love to take my words out of context.
“I love those guys and wish them the best.
“Wow I was like what in the actual f**k? I said nothing about knowing any of that and never brought it up. I love Chester and there will never be another him ever.
“Strange that that dude [interviewer Mike Z] said something to me about it not the other way around. get real dude. Not cool!”
Despite Gordon’s statement that his interviewer “said something to me about it”, the singer made the comment about Bennington’s alleged replacement unprompted.
Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee was rumoured as a potential candidate for replacing Bennington, but denied that she’d been approached by Linkin Park in a recent interview.
“No, I have not been contacted or anything like that. But [I] feel like our worlds, our fanbases are a lot of the same people,” the frontwoman told iHeart Radio, Canada.
She later added: “But that’s awesome. They should ask me about that. I don't have a ton of free time, but I might do it part time.”
Linkin Park released their first greatest hits compilation, Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000–2023), on April 12.
