Will Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley front a reunited Linkin Park? The internet is starting to think so…

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Some oddly timed announcements from Sum 41’s singer and nu metal sensations Linkin Park have got internet sleuths theorising

Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park performing in 2024
(Image credit: Francesco Prandoni/Getty Images | Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

UPDATE – August 27, 6:07pm: Whibley has shot down rumours of him joining Linkin Park in a new social media post.

Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley is rumoured to be the new frontman of a reunited Linkin Park.

Speculation about the singer taking the place of the nu metal stars’ late vocalist Chester Bennington started last night (August 26). The Sum 41 X (formerly Twitter) account posted an image that simply read “Tune in Wednesday morning [August 28] Deryck Whibley announcement”.

The post was made during a cryptic countdown which started on the Linkin Park social media accounts on Saturday (August 24). The countdown, which will last for 100 hours, is due to expire on Wednesday, August 28. It was shared online by the social media account of US festival Welcome To Rockville, inspiring theories that Linkin Park will be returning to the live arena in 2025.

The timing of the two posts has led fans to believe that Whibley is joining Linkin Park. “holy fuckin shit hes the new Linkin Park singer,” says the most popular reply on Sum 41’s X post. “I’m a big fan of Linkin Park,” adds another commenter. “NO WAY IT COULD BE RELATED TO LINKIN PARK OMGGGG,” writes another.

Linkin Park ceased activity in 2017, following the passing of Bennington aged 41. The band played a tribute concert to the frontman that October with a host of singers, including Whibley for the song The Catalyst, and haven’t performed together since. Whibley joined Linkin Park vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda onstage at the Reading festival in 2018 to cover 2003 track Faint.

Rumours of a Linkin Park comeback began in April, when Jay Gordon of industrial rockers Orgy, who previously collaborated with the band, said they were reactivating. He later retracted his comments.

A Billboard report in May added fuel to the fire. Multiple sources told the publication that the band would be back for a 2025 tour. However, Gordon and one Billboard insider reported that Linkin Park will be returning with a female singer filling in for Bennington, potentially ruling out Whibley’s involvement.

Whibley has fronted Sum 41 since 1996, though the punks are now in the middle of a farewell tour. The band will start the North American leg next month, before playing in Europe in October and November and Australia in December. The dates will wrap with a run through Sum 41’s native Canada in January 2025.

Whibley will release a memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven And Hell, on October 8 via Gallery Books. He’ll embark on a short book tour across the US from October 8 to 11.

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Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.