Linkin Park released a new audio teaser on Monday, February 19. This is a 30-second sample of an unreleased song from the band’s One More Light era called “Friendly Fire”.
The teaser, located on the last slide of a 10-image carousel on Instagram, says it’s “new, unseen from the 2017 One More Light sessions.” At the end of the extract, the number “04” appears. They also just posted the trailer to X (formerly Twitter), tagging it as “20 ‘Friendly Fire'” and including the hashtag #FriendlyFireLP.
“Friendly Fire” features vocals from the late Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington. In 2020, “Friendly Fire” was said to have been completed and mixed, although it was not initially included on One More Light.
Regardless, listeners paying attention to Linkin Park’s latest actions on the Internet suspected something was up in recent days when the group began posting images of their previous releases and the vibrant green-bordered lyric sheet on Instagram.
Monday’s post has a similar aesthetic, including a teaser at the end. However, it’s not yet clear what the trailer and graphics might entail. Is a new version in preparation?
The Spotify image of the act is now the same shade of green. And some of their clips on YouTube now show a green dot on the thumbnail, as fans on Reddit pointed out. The group’s web profile picture is also framed in green.
What’s wrong with Linkin Park?
Although the surviving members of Linkin Park haven’t performed publicly together on stage since the Bennington tribute concert in October 2017 following his death in July, the group hasn’t exactly gone silent yet. They spent 2023 celebrating their second album, 2003’s Meteora, with an anniversary reissue and previously unreleased songs like “Lost.”
In 2020, the band released a 20th anniversary edition of their early 2000s debut album, Hybrid Theory. Additional content includes previously released B-sides and live tracks, as well as previously unreleased demos and other material appearing for the first time on the reissue.
New music from Linkin Park?
However, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park said in 2022 that the group – although the surviving members remain in touch – was not working on any new music, albums, or tours.
“The only news I have for you about Linkin Park is… yeah, we talk every few weeks,” he said. “There was no tour, no music, no album released. Let me tell you. Just keep in mind that this doesn’t happen. That’s all I’m going to say for now.”
Shinoda added, “Every time the group says or does something, everyone tries to get on the hype train. And we say, ‘No, no, no, no. Don’t start at the top of the hype train. fashion. You will.” so ‘disappoint yourself.'”
In 2020, when talking about “Friendly Fire”, Shinoda said, “There was a song, a One More Light, that we mixed. We mixed more than the finished album and we mixed a few other songs just to see if any of them would cut or if we would use it for the B-side. And that was “Friendly Fire.”
Are you ready for Linkin Park’s “Friendly Fire”?