Linkin Park has been teasing something big on their social channels and through their click-and-explore game on LinkinPark.com in recent days, and now we finally have an idea of what's in store for us: That's right: "Lost", a never-before-heard song from Meteora's recording sessions, will be released this Friday, February 10th on all streaming platforms, as part of the band's Meteora|20 anniversary release. Lyrics from the preview match a lyric sheet from the Making of Meteora DVD, which was included in a special edition version of the album in 2003. Fans have referred to this long-lost song as "Thoughts That Take Away My Pride" for two decades and will finally hear the words brought to life. You can pre-save the song on your streaming platform of choice here.
The very fact that the chorus is different does have me worried that, although this is “Thoughts” we aren’t going to actually hear the version Chester messed up on in the Making Of or actually hear him sing “thoughts that take away my pride”. Hopefully they at least have that as bridge or something.
Really like what I hear from that snippet. It is a real pleasure to hear unreleased music from Linkin Park from this time period and a fully created song at that. With what Derek was saying regarding the "Thoughts That Take Away My Pride" part, either it'll be somewhere in the song (like the bridge) or perhaps there will be another version of it? There was a rumour I saw that there was supposed to be a Lost [2002 mix] included in the Meteora 20 boxset but it might be a digital version only. So maybe it'll be included on that and be a different version? That or it's something they will hopefully release in the future but it'd be good to hear that part after the snippet of it we've heard all of these years and waited patiently for it. We'll have to wait and see. I'm pumped though for this release!
It's neat to get new old LP music. That's not to say I'll enjoy the actual song but I'm glad we're getting it and get to hear unreleased material from C. Bennington.
Really looking forward to all this stuff. It's amazing just how many songs we haven't heard that the band recorded that are basically done.
I feel so lucky that we get another Chester song I wonder how many unreleased recordings of him exist? This song sounds really polished, it has better mixing than anything on The Hunting Party did, it sounds so crisp.
As a (amateur) musician, 90% of what I make never gets released. More like 95%. I'm not even in a band. These guys were making stuff all the time. Just because there's hypothetical unreleased material doesn't mean it's all worthy of release though.
It's also super nice to see how this kind of stuff causes a small revival of the community around Linkin Park. Reminiscent of the days where waiting through an album cycle was bringing that regular dose of excitement. A bit bittersweet, but really cool anyway.
I'm just excited to listen to new stuff from the band, even when we know it's not really new. My approach here is to hear everything from the perspective of the time it was written and that will lead me to appreciate it in a warmer light. I think it would be a bit unfair to judge the music based on what we got from the band many years later, like expecting ATS-quality songwriting during a time where the band didn't have that creative maturity or freedom. This is a window to where LP was creatively back then and only then. And remembering how this type of songs were at the forefront of the music industry, I'm yet to hear the full song but I would say that in 2003 a track like this would've charted anyway.
I don't know what to expect cause it's been so long since we've had any new material but I'm looking forward to give it a listen.
Really excited to see this, having a release date for a single with snippets etc brings back great memories. Seems that they re-wrote the chorus to give the song a far more Meteora-esque big chorus feel, which I dig but would still be interesting to hear the demo chorus as that felt more of a departure from what was (then) the bands staple sound.
So, it's out in NZ, and I've heard it through...special means. Overall, viewing it through a 2003 lens, I consider it a more potent track than most of that album. It's unique for that period, as it sounds nothing like Hybrid Theory or Meteora, except for the chorus' power chords. I find it funny that OML was treated as such a departure for the band, yet as this song shows, they were making extremely poppy songs as far back as Meteora, even though they didn't include this on the record. Through a modern lens? The lyrics suffer from the same thing that sunk Meteora lyrically: the feeling that these lyrics were deliberately dumbed down in spots to appeal to angsty teenagers. Vocally, it's one of Chester's best performances, and he elevates this song to a new level. I'd say it's a 7/10. Catchy as hell, with great performances from both Chester and the band, but slight cringe on the lyrics.
Chester performance on this is stunning, and the instrumental got a real nice uplifting atmosphere. Some of the lyrics are indeed ... uhm.... "cliché". It's not really about what they're saying, but more about the choice of words/phrasing/etc. That said, I am really happy that we got the chance to hear the song. And it is quite a catchy cinematic tune.