Having announced their comeback earlier this month with a livestream event where they revealed the addition of Emily Armstrong (formerly of Dead Sara) as their new co-vocalist, the band’s appointment of the late Chester Bennington‘s replacement has continued to prove controversial.

The initially warm reception to their return, which also saw drummer Colin Brittain join the new line-up, quickly became divisive after it emerged that Armstrong seemingly had ties to Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

She has since stated to “to clear the air”, and Mike Shinoda has continually insisted their reunion tour is “not about erasing the past“.

Last night’s show first time in seven years the band have played in London, but it there was the sense of Armstrong having a point to prove.

Fans flocked to merch queues and most were already jockeying for a good standing position by the time openers Grandson came out.

The first of many emotional moments came when frontman Jordan Benjamin played ‘Heather’, a mediation on grief and loss: “I wouldn’t bе here without you/ Why am I here without you?”, he sang, with the crowd swaying along their mobile phone lights as they, on his instruction, remembered the people that couldn’t be here today.

The band made their ring walk through the erupting crowd to the stage in the round in the centre of The O2, before launching straight into ‘Somewhere I Belong’. The seated sections rose to their feet and most stayed there for the remainder of the night.

Armstrong used the entirety of the stage, weaving between Shinoda and co. to get a glimpse of the audience from all sides, often stopping to stoop over and see the expanse of the crowd. A huge reaction was saved for the band’s comeback single ‘Emptiness Machine’, which landed like an old favourite as the audience jumped in unison.