Linkin Park drops new single 'Up From The Bottom': A Review

Linkin Park has finally unveiled their first single for 2025, titled Up From The Bottom, which was delivered to streaming platforms on March 27.

The track marks their first music release since the band dropped their eighth studio album, From Zero, in November 2024. The LP debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200 after selling 97,000 AEU (album equivalent units) in its first week.

Their new single dropped alongside a music video, directed by the band's creative director Joe Hahn, who called Up From The Bottom "the best song" Linkin Park has ever made at the recent iHeart Radio Awards.

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"In my opinion, it's one of the best videos we've ever had," added co-vocalist Mike Shinoda.

Given the band has teased this single for several months, with leaked clips of Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda recording vocals for Up From The Bottom surfacing on YouTube, fans were ecstatic to have finally received the highly anticipated record on streaming.

In the days leading up to the release, Linkin Park would continue to tease the record and collaborate with Fortnite for official in-game skins. On March 27, 2025, Up From The Bottom was distributed to streaming platforms alongside an official announcement regarding the From Zero (Deluxe Edition), which stated:

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"Pre-order ‘From Zero (Deluxe Edition)’ - out May 16th. Link in bio."

The official tracklist for From Zero (Deluxe Edition), as listed on Linkin Park's website, has been provided below:

Disc 1

1. From Zero
2. The Emptiness Machine
3. Cut The Bridge
4. Heavy Is The Crown
5. Over Each Other
6. Casualty
7. Overflow
8. Two Faced
9. Stained
10. IGYEIH
11. Good Things Go

Disc 2

1. Up From The Bottom
2. Unshatter
3. Let You Fade
4. The Emptiness Machine (Live)
5. Heavy Is The Crown (Live)
6. Over Each Other (Live)
7. Casualty (Live)
8. Two Faced (Live)

Bar-for-Bar: Breaking down Linkin Park's latest single 'Up From The Bottom'

Linkin Park's latest single has a 3-minute runtime, featuring distorted guitar riffs, and aggressive drum sequences. The production also incorporates turntable scratches and 808s during Mike Shinoda's rap performance.

Emily Armstrong's contribution to Up From The Bottom as the band's new lead singer is unique and highly enjoyable given her energy carried the record throughout its runtime. Notable themes discussed in this single have been listed below:

• Isolation
• Loneliness
• Self Identity
• Love
• Relationships
• Self Harm

Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.

(Verse 1)

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"Inside, it feels like I've been barely breathin' / Feels like air is runnin' out / Inside, I'm stuck here starin' at a ceilin' (Ceilin') / You put up to keep me down, down, down, down, down"

Emily Armstrong opens Up From The Bottom, delivering the first verse, where she speaks on the inevitable nature of life and the feeling of being trapped inside one's own mind.

This concept is visually depicted with frames of a prisoner meditating inside a barred prison cell.

(Pre-Chorus)

"Wakin' up without a name / Open up my eyes, knowing nothin' is the same (Same) / Circlin' around a drain / As I realize that there's no one else to blame"

Mike Shinoda enters on the pre-chorus, which effortlessly builds the sonic tension until Up From The Bottom's hook finally kicks in. The rapper's bar seemingly centers around themes of isolation, loneliness, and self-identity.

(Chorus)

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"You keep me waitin' down here, so far below / Starin' up from the bottom, up from the bottom / I try escapin', but there's nowhere to go / Starin' up from the bottom, up from the bottom"

Mike and Emily team up to deliver Up From The Bottom's hook which highlights how emotional manipulation affects love and relationships, which the lead singer alludes as the reason for her self-doubt.

(Verse 2)

"Each time I hold my fist inside my pocket (Pocket) / Hold my breath until I'm blue (Oh) / Feels like a knife pushed deep inside a socket (Socket) / Bristlin', listenin' to you, you, you, you, you"

Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda immediately enter with the second verse, using metaphors to tackle emotions of "pent-up rage" and withholding one's anger.

Listeners are then reintroduced to Up From The Bottom's pre-chorus and hook before Mike Shinoda delivers a solo rap performance on the record's bridge.

(Bridge)

"Everybody out, that devil is comin' / Poison on his lips, and his words mean nothin' / Cold like a mountaintop, father never loved him / Mama said he's bad enough times that it sunk in"

Mike's bridge on Up From The Bottom revolves around early-day traumas with his family while touching on his struggles as an artist. The bar highlights how someone who is looked down upon his whole life may potentially grow up to become an individual who runs away from his problems.

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"Everybody out, that devil is comin' / Promise you the world, but he's always bluffin' / Before you even know, it's a trap you're stuck in / He's gone like a ghost, already off runnin'"

Mike Shinoda proceeds to explain the "trap" or vicious cycle of wanting to be someone else, a feeling that seemingly stems from not loving oneself, best evidenced by his constant reference to the devil.

The record's hook plays one more time before Up From The Bottom finally closes out.

With fans enjoying Linkin Park's newest single, Up From The Bottom, the band is scheduled to resume their 2025 World Tour on April 26 with a show set at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Linkin Park's 2025 leg for the "From Zero World Tour" officially kicked off on January 31 at the Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City, Mexico.

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