Linkin Park Share Previously Unreleased Song Friendly Fire
Friday, 23 February 2024
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: James Minchin
Linkin Park have shared a previously unreleased song.
Recorded for the band's 2017 LP 'One More Light', Friendly Fire was shelved to be released as a b-side at a later date.
Leaning more into the synth-based, electro-pop edge of Linkin Park's sound, and guided by powerhouse vocals from the late Chester Bennington, it marks one of the last recorded performances by the frontman, who died the same year it was recorded. Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson commented:
"Friendly Fire was always one of our favorite songs from the 'One More Light' sessions. Something about it wasn’t quite right, so as close as it got to the finish line, we chose to set it aside for later. When we started looking for an unreleased track to include on our greatest hits collection, I was blown away by the power of the song, the power of the storytelling, the power of the vocal, the sonic landscape and I actually thought that it was closer than maybe we had realized at the time.
"We got together to work on it and connect some of the missing pieces that for whatever reason hadn’t revealed themselves during the recording of 'One More Light'. I can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s such a beautiful, compelling, heartbreaking, hopeful story and it really resonates with me today."
The song will appear on the group's upcoming career-spanning greatest hits album, 'Papercuts - Singles Collection (2000-2023)', which is slated to arrive through Warner Records on April 12.
Co-founder Mike Shinoda added: "In the making of each Linkin Park album, I want to love and believe in each individual song completely. I hope that if any one track is heard on its own in the world, it is something I can feel proud of, and something that takes root inside the listener and becomes part of the energy that connects us.
"Curating the tracks for 'Papercuts' was a joy. Each song in this collection is both a singular moment on our timeline and an evolving story that is as much ours as it is yours. From our first release One Step Closer to the brand-new Friendly Fire, this tracklist spans all our chapters so far. Thank you for being a part of our journey. We hope you enjoy 'Papercuts'."
The new collection follows the 20th anniversary reissues of 'Hybrid Theory' and 'Meteora' in 2020 and 2023, respectively.
Last October, Shinoda dropped the solo track Already Over, which followed his spring single In My Head featuring Kailee Morgue. The latter was written and recorded for the Scream VI soundtrack.
1. Crawling
2. Faint
3. Numb/Encore
4. Papercut
5. Breaking The Habit
6. In The End
7. Bleed It Out
8. Somewhere I Belong
9. Waiting For The End
10. Castle Of Glass
11. One More Light
12. Burn It Down
13. What I’ve Done
14. QWERTY
15. One Step Closer
16. New Divide
17. Leave Out All The Rest
18. Lost
19. Numb
20. Friendly Fire
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
