Nearly one year after Linkin Park celebrated the 20th anniversary of their album, “Meteora,” they teased a snippet of an unreleased song. This specific song was from the 2017 sessions of their final studio album, “One More Light.” Accompanied by a music video, the full version of their song “Friendly Fire” was released on all streaming platforms on Feb. 22, garnering attention from supporters.

To fans, it’s a new song to enjoy while simultaneously taking them down “One More Light’s” memory lane. The band has confirmed that they will release a collection of their greatest singles throughout the years, between 2000 and 2023, on April 12, with “Friendly Fire” included.

All songs from the “One More Light” era reflect a serene and pop melody, contrary to the band’s first two albums, which embraced the heavy sounds of nu-metal.

The term “friendly fire” was originally adopted by the United States military to communicate when a soldier was being harmed from their own side and not from an enemy. While the song is not explicitly about the military, Linkin Park took the term and modernized it for their song, utilizing today’s definition: when someone is hurt by an ally. The title is more than appropriate, seeing as the song is a melodic message about how people sometimes hurt the ones they love.

Guitarist Brad Delson commented on the song’s seven-year gap from the rest of the album. He said “Friendly Fire” was always one of the band’s favorite songs from their final album. However, as the release date approached, they noticed some things off about the song and set it aside, excluding it from the album.

Recently, they were looking for a song to include in their collection of singles album and rediscovered “Friendly Fire.” Delson spoke about how the song blew his mind with its vocals, story, power, and sonic landscape. The band instantly started fixing the song, preparing it for its release as a single.

Towards the end of his statement, Delson said, “I can’t wait for people to hear it. It’s such a beautiful, compelling, heartbreaking, hopeful story, and it resonates with me today.” He alludes to the song’s message, which is strongly encased in the lyrics and title.

The song starts by touching on a broken relationship between two people. In the song's chorus, vocalist Chester Bennington sings, “We're pullin' apart for no reason; We're pullin' a trigger in a useless war,” meaning when one hurts an ally, they’re pulling apart due to a futile quarrel. The song reminds listeners of the potential hurt that going too far in the moment can cause. It prompts us to cease friendly fire. Instead of hurting one another, it is a better alternative to care.

While not as popular as the song “Lost,” “Friendly Fire” is perceived as melancholic. Santa Monica College (SMC) English Professor Manuel Gonzalez supports this by saying, “It’s a mixture of sadness with longing. I didn’t feel depressed or shut down. I wanted to know more and find out more about the storyline.” Gonzalez describes the sound as a good one, as it holds an introspective element to it. He observes that the vocals and guitar work together to make a soft, melodic song still within the rock genre.

Jimmy Quintanilla, current SMC student and music enthusiast, says, “From what I can hear, it’s like regret and like pain: hurting the ones we love. It’s a sad song when you get into it.” Agreeing with Gonzales, Quintanilla describes the song as “not upbeat in the slightest.” and more on the downhearted end. He said, “I’d say it’s a good song. I do like the vocals on it. I know the singer in Linkin Park was very, very good at what he did.”

April will be a time of excitement for all avid rock fans with the release of the band’s collection album, “Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000–2023),” “Friendly Fire” and other successful songs. As with most of Linkin Park’s songs, “Friendly Fire” continues the pattern of a good sound and sad but powerful lyrics. The listener’s potential to comprehend and relate to these songs has been with Linkin Park since the beginning and has shown itself to remain to this day. Available on all streaming platforms, “Friendly Fire” is now out and ready to be listened to.

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