Linkin Park’s new documentary, Linkin Park: Unshatter, takes fans behind the scenes of the band’s uncertain return to recording and touring after the death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017, tracing the grief, creative experimentation and decisions that led to Emily Armstrong joining the group.

The film features footage of early recording sessions, conversations and musical experiments as the band considered whether to continue and what a new chapter might look like. Co-directed by band member Joe Hahn and Mark Ritchie, the documentary is now in theatres.

Formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996, Linkin Park became one of the defining rock bands of the 2000s by combining alternative metal, hip-hop and electronic music. The band achieved global success with its diamond-certified 2000 debut album, ‘Hybrid Theory’, followed by ‘Meteora’, which showcased the interplay between Mike Shinoda’s rapping and Bennington’s vocals.

Following Bennington’s death in 2017, after the release of the album ‘One More Light’, the band faced an uncertain future. Linkin Park returned in 2024 with Armstrong as co-lead vocalist, releasing the album ‘From Zero’ and embarking on a new series of world tours.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Shinoda said he did not want to predetermine what a possible reunion would look like or assume that the band had to return to its previous form.

“Emotional stuff aside, which was very heavy … I was like, ‘If we ever were to do it again, I wouldn’t want to assume that it had to be a guy.’ I wouldn’t want to assume it has to be somebody who’s sung like Chester,” he said.

Shinoda said he also considered possibilities beyond having a single new vocalist, including touring with multiple singers or creating something separate from Linkin Park.

“I just wanted to keep my mind open to all the things,” he said.

Shinoda first met Armstrong, the lead singer and co-founder of Dead Sara, in 2019. He recalled having an immediate feeling that she should meet the other members of Linkin Park.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I got it. She has to meet the band. Like I have to introduce them because she’s cool. I love how she sings.’ I had a gut feeling that would have to happen,” he said.

For Armstrong, watching the footage offered a chance to reflect on the adjustments she faced when joining the group. She said she appeared more confident on camera than she actually felt at the time.

“There was so much going on in my head, having to step up to the plate, right? When you’re doing that, there’s so many adjustments that are happening,” she said, describing the experience of adapting to a new band, its members’ opinions and their creative process.

Armstrong acknowledged that the decision to join Linkin Park involved a risk, particularly given the uncertainty over how audiences would respond.

“It definitely was a creative risk, and we knew that to begin with, I think,” she said. “We don’t know if people are going to take to it, but we know that we love it.”

Hahn said making music together also became part of the band’s healing process after Bennington’s death.

“I think we were able to lean on each other and be open just to start healing, and then with that you give each other encouragement, too, like, ‘Hey, you’re good at this. … Don’t worry about that, we’ll figure that part out later,’” he said.