Linkin Park Releases "Friendly Fire" Featuring Chester Bennington

Art has a way of keeping artists alive, doesn’t it? Even when they’re gone, their work lingers on, creating an odd form of immortality. Linkin Park just gave fans a bittersweet reminder of that idea by releasing “Friendly Fire”, an unreleased track featuring the unmistakable vocals of the late Chester Bennington.

This release isn’t a standalone gesture. It’s part of the band’s announcement of their upcoming greatest hits album, Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000–2023), set to drop on April 12 under Warner. A retrospective project with a bit of an emotional punch, if you ask me.

“Friendly Fire”, recorded during the One More Light sessions in 2017, has been sitting in the vault for years. Guitarist Brad Delson shared that the song was a band favorite but didn’t quite fit the final album. Now, with a few tweaks, it’s finally out there—and let’s be honest, this track would have torn up the pop/rock airwaves back in the day.

“‘Friendly Fire’ was always one of our favorites from the One More Light sessions. We loved it, but something didn’t feel quite right, so we held it back. Revisiting it for this collection, I was floored by its power—the storytelling, Chester’s vocal delivery, the sonic layers. It was closer to finished than we’d realized. We just needed to connect a few dots that were missing at the time.”

“It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking, hopeful song. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Papercuts promises 20 tracks covering the band’s legacy, from “One Step Closer” to deep cuts like “QWERTY”. According to co-founder Mike Shinoda, compiling the collection brought a flood of memories.

“Curating the tracks for Papercuts was pure nostalgia. Each song represents a moment in time, both for us and for the fans. From our debut single to the new ‘Friendly Fire,’ this tracklist tells our story. Thank you for being part of this journey—we hope you enjoy this collection as much as we enjoyed creating it.”

Although Linkin Park never officially disbanded, the group has been on hiatus since Bennington’s tragic death in 2017. Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000–2023) arrives April 12, carrying both the weight of the past and the hope of reconnecting with fans.

Tracklist for Papercuts:

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

There you go folks. Linkin Park’s way of saying, “We’re not done yet.”

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