Nearly seven years after their hiatus in the wake of the sudden death of singer Chester Bennington, Linkin Park has dropped a new song.
Linkin Park drops unreleased song Friendly Fire featuring late frontman Chester Bennington’s vocals… ahead of upcoming greatest hits album
Actually, the previously unreleased track, Friendly Fire, was written during the One More Light (2017) sessions, which was their seventh and final studio album, but it was held off the record.
It is now serving as the lead single for their new greatest hits album, titled Papercuts – Singles Collection 2000-2023, that’s set to drop on April 12.
As part of the promotion the band also released a music video for Friendly Fire that features never-before-seen studio and live footage.
Lead guitarist Brad Delson revealed that the track ‘was always one of our favorite songs from the One More Light sessions,’ but they just could’t get it right by the end of recording for the album, according to People.
The late singer Chester Bennington is featured on lead vocals of the previously unheard song Friendly Fire that dropped on Friday, ahead of Linkin Park’s greatest hits album Papercuts; he is seen in 2017
Bennington was 41 when he died by suicide in July 2017; he’s seen two weeks before his death
The previously unreleased song Friendly Fire is the lead single off the band’s upcoming greatest hits album Papercuts – Singles Collection 2000-2023 that drops April 12
With the vocal interplay of Bennington (vocals) and Shinoda (rapper) teaming up together on some of the songs, the band also features Brad Delson (guitar), Rob Bourdon (drums), Joe Hahn (DJ & visual artist) and Dave Farrell (bass).
Linkin Park would also garner more mainstream success with the release of their follow-up album Meteora (2003), which went on to sell more than 16 million copies.
They went on to maintain their staying power throughout the years, despite taking hiatuses to work on side projects, with all five of their remaining albums that were released, including One More Light (2017), which dropped two months before Bennington’s death by suicide on July 20, 2017.
In all, Linkin Park has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.
Bennington, a Phoenix, Arizona native, was 41-years-old at the time of his passing.
He left behind his wife of about 11 years, Talinda Bentley Bennington, and six children