Linkin Park Is Back Together but Without Drummer Rob Bourdon — Where'd He Go?

Fans are buzzing over the news that Linkin Park is back with new music and a new album. Those aren't the only new things coming with this reunion. The band also unveiled new members, including singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain.

Emily is taking over for Chester Bennington , who died in 2017, but Colin is taking over for Rob Bourdon , who is still alive and well. In a new interview, the band explained why Rob did not return to the band, and how they came back together in the first place.

Why did Rob leave Linkin Park?

Mike Shinoda, one of the band's original vocalists and guitarists, explained that Rob decided not to come back because he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band.

“Rob had said to us at a point, I guess it was a few years ago now, that he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band. And we understood that — it was already apparent," Mike explained.

"He was starting to just show up less, be in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too," he continued. "The 'Hybrid Theory' rerelease and 'Papercuts' release, he didn’t show up for anything. So for me, as a friend, that was sad, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best."

Mike went on to explain that as Rob stepped away, Colin felt like a great replacement.

"I had done sessions with Colin — I met him around 2021, when I got an invite to a session with a couple of different writers, and Colin was one of the guys in the room, and I immediately clicked with him," Mike explained. "He’s playing drums in the live show, and drums are his first instrument, but he plays guitar and bass and keyboard, and he produces and mixes."

Emily Armstrong has an even more daunting task.

As she explains in the interview, Emily feels intimidated about stepping into Chester Bennington's shoes as the band's lead vocalist.

"And going into these [older] songs, by a singular voice that’s beloved by so many people — it’s like, 'How do I be myself in this, but also carry on the emotion and what he brought in this band?' That was the work that I had to do," she explained.

The feeling, the energy, was already there as we were doing the album, so it’s just incorporating that feeling," she continued. "[I had] to identify what the song meant to me as a singer, not just as someone listening to it. You got to marry the technical part and the emotion. It’s Chester’s voice, and it’s mine, but I want it to still feel the way I feel when I listen to the song, because that’s what the fans love. There is a passion to it that I’m hoping I can fill.”

Fans will certainly be eager to hear more from this newly configured version of the band. Their new album will be released on Nov. 15.