MUSIC
What happened to Linkin Park?
After the band’s frontman Chester Bennington passed away, here’s a look at what the band has been up to
Linkin Park is gearing up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2003 sophomore album ‘Meteora’ called simply, ‘Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition’.
The album will include several unreleased songs, including tracks left out of the ‘Live in Texas’ live album, lost tracks, and demo tracks that were previously only available to their fan club members.
Since frontman Chester Bennington passed away in 2017, the band has confronted questions on how they will proceed, and here’s a look at what they had to say.
Tributes to Chester Bennington
In the months following Bennington’s death, the band hosted an Instagram Live where they answered fan questions. One fan asked Mike Shinoda, who shared vocal duties with Bennington, if they would consider performing live with a hologram of Bennington.
“Can we not do a holographic Chester? I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of a holographic Chester. I’ve actually heard other people outside the band suggest that, and there’s absolutely no way. I cannot f— with that,” Shinoda said.
He added, “I can’t do a hologram Chester you guys, that would be the worst. For any of you guys who have lost a loved one, best friend, family member, can you imagine having a hologram of them? Awful. I can’t do it. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’ll figure it out eventually.”
The band hosted a tribute concert in honor of Bennington called ‘Linkin Park and Friends: Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington’ in Los Angeles in October 2017. The concert remains the band’s first and only performance without their frontman.
In December 2017, the band released ‘One More Night Live’, featuring live tracks recorded during the European leg of the band’s ‘One More Light Tour’. The album also featured the last single of the same name, with Bennington’s vocals.
“One More Light was written with the intention of sending love to those who lost someone. We now find ourselves on the receiving end,” Shinoda said in the caption for the song’s music video.
“In memorial events, art, videos, and images, fans all over the world have gravitated towards this song as their declaration of love and support for the band and the memory of our dear friend, Chester. We are so very grateful and can’t wait to see you again,” the caption continued.
20th Anniversary re-releases
Shinoda has regularly shut down rumors that the band is looking for a new singer or that they’re releasing new music.
In 2020, in honor of the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Hybrid Theory’, the band released ‘She Couldn’t’ an unreleased track recorded in 1999. The re-release of the album had an additional 20 unreleased tracks.
This February, the band teased fans with an interactive game celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘Meteora’.
On February 10, the band then released ‘Lost’ an unreleased demo recorded while the band was working on ‘Meteora’. On March 23, ‘Fighting Myself’ was released, another unreleased track with Bennington on vocals.
‘Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition′ is set to be released on April 7, 2023.