Mike Shinoda explains why Linkin Park didn’t change their name: “If we call it something else, then we are idiots”

Last week, Linkin Park announced that they’re putting out a new album and going on tour with new singer Emily Armstrong (replacing the late Chester Bennington) and new drummer Colin Brittain (replacing co-founding drummer Rob Bourdon). The tour will also be without co-founding guitarist Brad Delson, who did take part in the new album and says he’s “beyond excited to share this new chapter with the world,” but that he won’t be able to tour and his shoes will be filled by Alex Feder, who he calls “a world-class musician [and] a kind and thoughtful friend.”

Given the drastic lineup change and the differences between Chester and Emily’s voices, some fans have wondered why the band didn’t change their name, and Mike Shinoda addresses that in a new interview with Chicago radio station Q101. “In the middle of the process, we were open to like: maybe the lineup is like a moving lineup, maybe there’s multiple vocalists, maybe it’s a different name,” he said. “And then as the music came into focus, we were like, ‘This is as Linkin Park an album as we could make. Like it’s so Linkin Park that if we call it something else, then we are idiots.'”

“When people hear more of the album,” he adds, “they will understand that.”

The album is titled From Zero (a reference to their original band name in the late ’90s, Xero), and it comes out November 15 via Warner. You can watch the video for lead single “The Emptiness Machine” and a pro-shot live video of Linkin Park’s new lineup performing the classic “Numb” during their recent livestreamed concert below.

The upcoming tour includes US shows on Wednesday (9/11) at Kia Forum in LA, and the following Monday (9/16) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, followed by shows in Hamburg, London, Seoul, and Bogota. All dates are listed below.

Emily Armstrong also faced some backlash for her connections to Scientology and actor / convicted rapist Danny Masterson, and she responded in a statement. “To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes,” she said.