Review: Linkin Park – From Zero World Tour (Open’er ’25)
Linkin Park are my favorite band since I was a kid, and I have always wanted to experience their music live. After the unfortunate death of Chester Bennington, I thought that I would never be able to experience the greatness of Linkin Park on tour. The influence Linkin Park’s music has had on my life has been very significant, and thanks to that, I am who I am now. Thankfully, on September 5th last year, on my birthday, I got a great birthday present when Linkin Park returned. Now, with Emily Armstrong from the Dead Sara band as their main vocalist. They released a new album, From Zero, and announced the From Zero World Tour. One of the most important dates (to me) was July 5, 2025, the date of the concert in Poland, which made me believe that my dream was starting to come true.
Linkin Park returns – the Open’er Festival
On July 5th, 2025, something rare happened at the Gdynia-Kosakowo airfield in Poland. The air felt heavier than usual, not because of any kind of humidity, but because of the huge event that was about to happen. Linkin Park was back! And for the first time since 2017, on Polish soil, on a festival stage, and in front of thousands and thousands of people who had waited years to see a band that they thought they had lost. This wasn’t just another festival concert. For me, it was an emotional event that I wanted to experience since I became a fan of the band in 2008.
From the early afternoon, it was easy to spot people wearing old-school Hybrid Theory and Meteora shirts, mixed with those representing all those classic Linkin Park albums. There were also fans wearing shirts from the newest From Zero album. Queues to buy merch were so long that I had to wait for nearly 2 hours with my friends to buy one. Fans were excited with anticipation. It didn’t matter if artists like Camila Cabello or Conan Gray were on stage. Everybody knew who they were here for. It was easy to notice that with each minute, more and more people gathered, and at one point, you could see a line covering the whole terrain of the festival.
As the Orange Main Stage became completely dark two hours before midnight, the overall vibe of the crowd changed. The playlist of the music in the background was pretty moody. So my friends and I decided that after standing almost in the front of the stage, we had to re-create the meme and watch Transformers right before the concert, for obvious reasons (a.k.a. the “What I’ve Done” meme). But, the closer to the concert, the energetic pop and dance music started fading away. The final track that started the last countdown before Linkin Park appeared was Ariana Grande’s “One Last Time.” And even though at first look it seemed completely random, the lyrics and music started giving the crowd that energy and hype. It was like a calm before the storm, and the storm was almost here.
From Zero World Tour Act I – Nostalgia, Rebirth, Hype
And then it came. “Inception Intro A,” a.k.a “Act I – Set Intro A,” began to play. A slowed and emotional version of “Castle of Glass” started to play. It was meant to be a slow-building, cinematic, and perfect opening to the whole concert. Smoke cannons suddenly started to fire, and exactly at 12:15 am, the band appeared under sharp beams of white light, and Gdynia lost its mind. It was loud. It was huge. And most importantly, it was as if years of collective grief, nostalgia, and hope had collided with each of us at full speed. In that moment, Linkin Park wasn’t just back, because they had already been back for almost a year now, no… They were HERE, standing in front of our eyes. Having that moment with us. It already felt like more than a concert.
Act I prologue with “Castle of Glass” smoothly transitioned into “Somewhere I Belong,” which opened the show with emotions, bringing the crowd immediately into familiar territory. But what followed was bigger than we could expect. The band moved momentarily into one of the tracks from From Zero, which was “Cut the Bridge.” My friends, all the fans, and I were loud. It was intense, and we already knew that no matter what would happen, Linkin Park delivered. The lighting during this section was very intense and trippy. You could feel that this wasn’t just about music. All of it was one big story about a rough, emotional, and important return to the world of music. Linkin Park wasn’t here just to warm the hearts of fans. They were here to tell their story and create a new one with their fans.
“Lying from You” was next on the list. It was a smart callback to the Meteora album that reminded everyone of the group’s dual-vocal magic as well as the roots of the band. Mike Shinoda immediately started singing, and his inner professional rapper took the steering wheel. While the absence of Chester was still there emotionally, it didn’t feel like his legacy was being torn. On the contrary. Instead, it felt like honoring his legacy, and Emily did an outstanding job with this one and every other song to prove to the fans she wants to honor Chester.
Then came a small moment of bonding with fans as Mike took a moment to speak directly to the crowd, thanking Poland for always showing up and referencing past shows in Warsaw and Kraków. You immediately knew that the chemistry during the concert was tight and real. There was no room for playing lyrics from karaoke or anything like that. The end of Act I began with the first song from the new “line-up” and from From Zero, which is “The Emptiness Machine.” At that moment, I immediately knew that if there was one concert in my life that I’d choose to be at, this was it.
From Zero World Tour Act II – Let’s get on with a show
Act II began with a more theatrical flair. A short instrumental piece, “Creation Intro A,” played as the stage started to prepare for more songs. It marked a shift from a moody intro full of calm beginnings to the full-on festival mode. “The Catalyst” started to play, and its electronic heartbeat and layered vocals brought a huge amount of energy to everyone. “Burn It Down” followed, extended with a new outro that felt like a direct nod to their EDM-era experiments. And then came “Two Faced,” one of the standout and heaviest songs from From Zero. The guitar work was heavy and aggressive, with robotic synths underneath, just like in the album version. Mike and Emily’s duo created a masterpiece with this one on stage.
Then, unexpectedly, they launched into “Where’d You Go,” a Fort Minor classic that hadn’t been performed live in Europe in over a decade. The crowd erupted because it was a perfect transaction in one of the most melancholic songs of Linkin Park, and I’m talking about “Waiting for the End.” It was the second time that we all felt an emotional connection with the band. Then we moved to the extra song from the new Deluxe version of the album, “Up from the Bottom.”
“One Step Closer” closed Act II with pure chaos. It was a full-on, pure rock & roll, heavy metal version of Linkin Park. The whole scene turned red, with flames going up from the scene, and with heavy music playing and Emily screaming. The outro was extended, and the music was mixed into distortion. It was raw, messy, and absolutely thrilling.
Acts III & IV – Linkin Park brings deep emotion and a thrilling spectacle
After a brief break to change the outfits and have a short timeout, Acts III and IV merged into a story about emotional weight and introspection of life. “Lost” began softly, built on a gentle piano intro that underlined the song’s emotional and grieving core. Phone lights started to show momentarily, more and more with each second. No one sang, only Emily. Fans were openly crying, hugging each other, or just standing still, focused on this one moment. When the full band kicked in, the song transformed into a wall of sound, full of painful emotions, but it did not try to add epic or heavy moments to it. No, they wanted to keep the emotions but not to turn it into a heavy-metal song full of screaming.
“Overflow” immediately followed with a new, changed version. It was more hypnotic, deep, and sharp. It was meant to build some tension and create a light show. Then came my absolute favorite song created by Linkin Park, “What I’ve Done,” and it felt amazing to hear it played live. The iconic intro was incredible, with everyone clapping their hands to the rhythm. It was something else.
Next, it was time for Emily to have her solo moment with “Over Each Other.” It felt very personal, just like the first time it was released. After this, Mike played a game with people where he told a fan to pick one number between 1 and 3 to change the version of the next song. When the number was picked, we learned that this version will be heard for the first time. The track started slow with a fade-in but built into a roar. As it happened, the song picked for this trick was “Numb,” one of the most iconic Linkin Park songs. Then, without pause, Mike started performing the next iconic song, “In the End.” The crowd didn’t just sing along. They screamed it.
We all knew the lyrics, we all sang, and whenever Mike leaned fully into his rap sections, it was wonderful. It was loud, emotional, and more epic with each second. This act ended with “Faint.” It was a full-on party. Everybody jumped, screamed, and danced. Mr. Hahn even remixed the outro into a chaotic glitch-storm that slowly faded into darkness.
Act V (Encore) – an emotional closure and huge finale from Linkin Park
After the band left, and just when you thought the show had burned through every last emotion, every possible song you can think of currently, Linkin Park returned for their encore, Act V, “Resolution Intro A”. And it felt like exactly that, a resolution of everything that happened up to this point. “Papercut” came first, with a 2024-introduced alt version of the intro that built suspense before emerging into full chaos.
The next song, right before the end, was my favorite from the newest album, “Heavy Is the Crown.” It overtook the crowd once again as everybody started singing in perfect sync (even Mike’s lines), and it followed with spotlights going into chaos over the entire field. If there was one song that I wanted to listen to (besides “What I’ve Done,” of course), it was this one. It doesn’t matter if “Heavy Is the Crown” is in a karaoke, a cappella version. It hits all the same.
Right before the end, Mike took the stage and thanked everyone for making this show possible , and told us to put both hands up. The moment this one song started, we all started clapping. They had to do it, so they closed the night with “Bleed It Out,” and it turned out to be the most important banger of the night. It served as the end and as a reminder of what happened that night. Mike, Emily, Dave, and Alex all went up to the front of the stage and performed for us like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a song about trying your hardest to satisfy people but always thinking that you’re not being good enough, and even though it’s about digging into your darkest thoughts, this time it showed us the light at the end of a dark tunnel.
At the end, the whole band took a selfie with the crowd, Mr. Hahn took pics for his tour album, Colin had a solo on drums, and Mike moved across the stage like a preacher, getting praised by the crowd. At exactly 1:50 a.m., the band took their final bow. People didn’t leave right away. They stood in awe because they couldn’t believe it had happened.
I was full of energy, yet drained of it all the same. I cried from all those emotions I felt throughout Linkin Park’s concert. I finally saw my favorite band live, and couldn’t believe that it was real. For many, this wasn’t just the best set of Open’er 2025. For those fortunate who saw the band in the past live, it was one of the best Linkin Park tour performances they’d ever seen. It was nostalgic. It was perfect. But what’s most important it was real. And that made it unforgettable. I will never forget it.
For information about Linkin Park tour dates near you, visit the official site here.
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