‘Lost’: Linkin Park return with archival treasure

Millennials were left achingly nostalgic when American nu-metal band Linkin Park dropped an unreleased song from their multi-platinum album Meteora on February 10.

Lost is one of the six previously unreleased songs on Meteora 20 — a homage to the album’s 20th anniversary. And listening to Chester Bennington’s riveting vocals over 3 minutes and 19 seconds gave us, millennials, goosebumps. The lead singer-songwriter died by suicide in 2017.

A day after the release of Lost on YouTube, fans expressed their love for Meteora in the comments section in languages spanning Mandarin to Spanish and Hindi to French, which is a testimony of its global and enduring appeal. The early 2000s aesthetic and anime vibe in the accompanying music video stand out.

“Finding this track (Lost) was like finding a favourite photo you had forgotten you’d taken like it was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself,” Mike Shinoda, the band’s co-frontman, expressed in a statement.

This isn’t the first time Linkin Park revisited their old music. In 2020, they came out with their debut album Hybrid Theory’s overhaul with unreleased tracks — the same album that gave us ‘But in the end, it doesn’t even matter’. And last year, they unveiled the deluxe version of the 2007 album Minutes to Midnight.

Lost is part of a larger 20th-anniversary limited edition ‘super deluxe set’, which will be revealed on April 7. It will include songs, demos, B-sides, two vinyls of their live shows in Texas and Nottingham, unreleased concerts and behind-the-scenes footage in four CDs and three DVDs.

One could be a jazzhead, metalhead, or a fan of blues or pop music but possibly every millennial living in cities had heard at least one song from Meteora.

The band’s 2003 album sold over 16 million copies worldwide, becoming the eighth best-selling album of the 21st century. Songs like Numb and Somewhere I Belong became cult favourites. Session earned a Grammy nomination in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category in 2004.

The band’s sophomore album, Meteora had a unique sound in that it blended rap and alternative rock. It was a shift from the more traditional sound of rock bands in the early 2000s, which was centred around amplified electric guitar riffs with an average of 100 to 140 beats per minute (bpm). Between 2000 and 2004, Linkin Park merged parts of classic rock and metal with electronic sound, albeit slower, averaging 108 bpm. Their circuit-bending mix of guitars, turntables, rap, and slower beats would go on to inspire and influence the style of subsequent rock bands.

Meteora was a spectacular display of Linkin Park’s range, ingenuity, and technical prowess. It was a must-listen back then and its 20th-anniversary edition is unlikely to disappoint. The numbers don’t lie — Lost debuted at number 21 on the global Spotify chart, and it has crossed 15 million views on YouTube since.