Despite The Success Of The Unreleased Linkin Park Songs, The Band Has No Plans To Perform Again
While Mike Shinoda has had a successful solo career, most people will always associate him with Linkin Park. Of course, many fans have wondered what happened to Linkin Park. Quite simply, the band basically met its end after the tragic passing of frontman Chester Bennington.
Of course, this has been a colossal disappointment for everyone who is a fan of their music and the industry as a whole. But it has left them wondering if the band will ever get back together, perform again, release new songs, or even hire a new frontman. With the 2023 release of lost songs from "Meteora", this question has become even more pertinent...
Is Linkin Park Coming Back And Making New Music?
After Chester Bennington's tragic 2017 passing, the fate of Linkin Park has been up in the air. It's not exactly unfair for fans to wonder if they will ever come back with new music or simply even tour again with a new frontman. After all, there has been some conflicting information about this.
While Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson's band has gone through multiple incarnations, it didn't become Linkin Park until Chester Bennington was hired as the frontman. Their post-grunge, hard rock really found a place in the zeitgeist. And their success lasted for nearly two decades before Bennington's horrific passing.
Immediately after Bennington's death, Shinoda claimed that he couldn't think about replacing Bennington. But still promised to find a future for the band. Ever since many fans have wondered whether Shinoda has changed his mind. But, according to Billboard, he has not. And this includes his level of discomfort with a holographic or A.I. version of Bennington.
However, in April 2020, Dave Farrell (the band's bassist) publicly claimed that Linkin Park was working on some new music. This turned out to be an unreleased song from 1999 called "She Couldn't" which featured Bennington's contributions.
It was included as part of their 20th-anniversary edition of "Hybrid Theory", their highly successful debut album. A remix of "One Step Closer" was released the following year.
But despite them tipping their toes back into the game, Mike Shinoda took to a live stream on Twitch in 2022 to deny any revival. According to NME, he said, "The only Linkin Park news I have for you is that… Yeah, we talk every few weeks – I talk to the guys, or some of the guys."
"And there’s no tours, there’s no music, there’s no albums in the pipeline."
"Okay, so let me just tell you that," Shinoda continued. "So just keep in your minds that that is not happening."
This has been the hardline for Linkin Park ever since. But that hasn't stopped them from releasing unfinished or unreleased songs from a time when they still had Bennington to collaborate with.
Why Did Linkin Park Release Their Lost "Meteora" Song In 2023?
2003's "Meteora" is arguably Linkin Park's best album, which meant its 20th anniversary in February 2023 was extremely exciting for fans. Particularly since they dropped an unreleased song called "Lost" which featured the work of all of the bandmates.
"Lost" was released on April 7th, 2023, and, during an interview with Vulture, co-founder Mike Shinoda went into detail about how meaningful the unearthed performance by singer Chester Bennington really was.
Mike Shinoda told Vulture that releasing "Lost" and celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Meteora" was entirely dependent on the "quality of the material" that was found.
"The more we found, the more it became apparent that it was a great idea. We had great material to put out," Shinoda told Vulture.
As for how "Lost" was lost in the first place, Shinoda claimed that Linkin Park originally made 20-something tracks for "Meteora" despite wanting to cap it at 12. "Lost" was the 13th.
"In terms of tone, it had too much in common with “Numb,” so we put it to the side, with the intention of putting it out. We actually thought the label was going to want B-sides for the Japanese release, or a European CD release and we’d put it on there," Shinoda revealed.
Following this, the song just sort of got lost. Particularly after Linkin Park started to reassess their direction.
"When we got to the next album, we wanted to completely reinvent the band. "
What Mike Shinoda Really Thinks Of Linkin Park's Unreleased Songs, "Massive" And "Healing Foot"
"Lost" wasn't the only song from the time of "Meteora" that was released in 2023. "Massive" and Healing Foot" also stemmed from recording sessions from 2003. And, by all accounts, they should've been released then.
"One of those two I think I tried to resurrect during 'Minutes to Midnight', and again, it was like, 'No man, we don’t want to look backward at all,'" Mike Shinoda said during his April 2023 interview with Vulture.
"This is all about that 2003 moment. There’s a certain level of quality control going on. We want to make sure that when we put something together, it’s thoughtful and we’ve done our best. Is it going to be perfect? No. Is it going to appeal to everybody? Of course not. It never will be."
"If you make music just for other people and not for yourself first, then you’re going to be completely out of control in your career, and it’s a recipe for disaster in terms of your mental health and your ability to make great things," Shinoda continued when explaining why he didn't release the songs when they first created them.
So, it appears that these 2023 songs weren't exactly Shinda's favorites. However, he did find them good enough to release in celebration of "Meteora". Although, the 2003 album isn't even Shindoa's favorite from Linkin Park. That title belongs to "A Thousand Suns".
"When it came out, half of the reviews were one-star reviews. Literally 50-50, five stars or one star. Nobody in the middle. Everybody loved it or hated it."
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