After giving “Heavy Is the Crown” its live premiere over the weekend, Linkin Park have now formally released the high-impact studio version of their second FROM ZERO single.
As previously reported, “Heavy Is the Crown” was first performed on Sunday night (September 22nd) at Hamburg, Germany’s Barclays Arena. As you can hear, the track — ahem — “Faint”-ly recalls a classic Linkin bounce-and-groove, between the percussive twitchiness, thick-barred guitar work and Mike Shinoda’s familiar rap-style flow in the verse.
The chorus is where new vocalist Emily Armstrong properly blasts into the mix, delivering a mega-raspy but melodic vocal line.
Shortly after making its onstage debut, it was revealed that “Heavy is the Crown” is also the 2024 League of Legends World Championship anthem. The band’s partnership with Riot Games in part explains why the music video up above features a fully-animated version of the reunited nu-metal group integrated into a fantastical backdrop. You can peep folks performing game-specific battle moves, as Linkin Park rock out in a crumbling castle, up above.
“It’s been an amazing experience partnering with Riot to bring this anthem to the global League of Legends community,” Shinoda said in a statement. “The song is a real highlight of this new era for us, harnessing our signature sound and infusing it with fresh energy. We’re so excited for players and fans to experience this!”
As for the rest of FROM ZERO, Linkin Park’s comeback album is set to release in full November 15th via Warner Records.
Linkin Park have also added a trio of concert dates to their ongoing world tour. A November 3rd performance at Paris, France’s La Defense Arena will feature support from Sleep Token, while their November 8th stop at Dallas, Texas’ Globe Life Field will see Linkin sharing the stage with Bad Omens, Jean Dawson and Helmet. There’s also a newly booked show for São Paulo, Brazil.
Linkin Park’s tour resumes tonight (September 24th) at London, UK’s O2 Arena, and you’ll find the full breakdown of the remaining dates down below.
Linkin Park tour dates 2024:
September 24, 2024 | The O2 – London, UK
September 28, 2024 | INSPIRE Arena – Seoul, South Korea
November 3, 2024 | La Defense Arena – Paris, France *
November 8, 2024 | Globe Life Field – Dallas, TX ^
November 11, 2024 | Coliseo Medplus – Bogota, Colombia
November 15, 2024 | Allianz Park – São Paulo, Brazil
* with Sleep Token
^ with Bad Omens, Jean Dawson, Helmet