It’s been a little more than 10 years since Riot Games shared the first anthem for the League of Legends World Championship, Imagine Dragons’ 2014 track “Warriors.” The song from the then-rising band spearheaded a decade of epic music collaborations crowning League of Legends‘ biggest competitive moments. Now, the honor is being bestowed on yet another legendary group as Linkin Park’s new song, “Heavy Is the Crown,” becomes the soundtrack for one of the biggest esports events in the world.
Rumors of a possible collaboration between League and Linkin Park hyped fans of the game since earlier this month, when the band announced its comeback with a new album, From Zero, which was met with a suspicious interaction from the LoL Esports social media account. However, the hopes of a possible joint effort between Riot Games and the band date back to 2021, when Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda was recognized — albeit a bit belatedly — at the premiere for the first season of Netflix’s League of Legends series, Arcane. Given Shinoda’s passion for Riot’s first-person shooter Valorant, many had predicted a collaboration more towards that frontier.
“[‘Heavy Is the Crown’] is a real highlight of this new era for us, harnessing our signature sound and infusing it with fresh energy,” Shinoda said in a statement about the collaboration.
The teaser art for “Heavy Is the Crown”
Riot Games
Linkin Park are currently on tour for the first time in seven years following the tragic death of their beloved lead singer Chester Bennington in 2017. The band’s latest chapter features new members, including drummer Colin Brittain, guitarist Alex Feder, and vocalist Emily Armstrong.
However, the band’s comeback has not been without controversy. The hiring of Armstrong drew criticism over her association with the Church of Scientology and her public support of Danny Masterson in 2021 during his trial for rape. The vocalist responded, saying that she only attended one hearing and realized that she “shouldn’t have,” and added that she “misjudged” Masterson and withdrew her support. Still, many felt betrayed by the band, including the mother and son of Bennington, as Rolling Stone exclusively reported.
Despite the ongoing strife, the excitement League fans have for the 2024 Worlds anthem continues to grow. League fans’ faith in the band’s talent combined with the powerful wave of nostalgia their comeback brings has many fans believing “Heavy Is the Crown” could rival the popularity of past anthems such as 2017’s “Legends Never Die” featuring Against the Current, and 2018’s “RISE” featuring the Glitch Mob, Mako and the Word Alive.
With each passing year the collaborations around the Worlds anthem seem to surpass the high standards set the year before, drawing in-demand acts; it’s grown from 2016’s “Ignite” featuring Zedd to Lil Nas X in 2022, and then last year’s “GODS” sung by the Korean girl group NewJeans.
As the anthem appears to draw more star power each year, fans have had mixed feelings about whether the anthem truly reflects the grandiosity of the event or falls short. Now that the collaboration between Riot and Linkin Park has been made official, League fans’ expectations will be high for the 2024 Worlds anthem, but only time will tell if they’ll be met or exceeded.
On Sunday, Linkin Park gave fans a surprise preview of the 2024 Worlds anthem when they performed “Heavy Is the Crown” live at their Hamburg concert. The track, featuring two rap verses by Shinoda and a powerful chorus by Armstrong, echoes the band’s classic sound from hits such as “In the End” and “Faint,” with lyrics about “fighting until sunrise” and opponents waving “white flags when the war begins.”
“Heavy Is The Crown” Linkin Park world premiere in Hamburg just now ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Bvw7IxHCrM
— Denise ☾ (@surudenise) September 22, 2024
Fans can officially listen to “Heavy Is the Crown” beginning on Sept. 24 at 8 a.m. PT when it will officially premiere, just in time for the kick-off of the tournament. Following years of tradition — so far broken only by the 2021 Covid-19 pandemic restrictions — Linkin Park are rumored to perform the 2024 Words anthem live at the Finals on Nov. 2 at the O2 Arena in London, though no official announcement has yet been made.