Linkin Park, “Papercuts.”

Members of Linkin Park have not appeared publicly together as a band in years, and the group’s future remains up in the air, but that hasn’t stopped the alt-rock trailblazers from putting out previously unreleased music. The band has premiered its latest unearthed track, “Friendly Fire,” as part of forthcoming release Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023, coming April 12.

Longtime Linking Park fans will likely recognize the sound of the track from 2017’s One More Light, the final studio album with vocalist Chester Bennington, who died months later.

The song takes on a poppier sound than the band’s earliest work, bringing a lyrical and emotional maturity fiercely divergent from the angst and anger. Distorted guitar lines and screams take a back seat to synths, samples and harmonies. There is a haunting timeliness to the song. While it’s not a war protest, the imagery of war and conflict feels oddly prescient in the current state of world affairs.

“We’re pulling the trigger in a useless war/ If we come back and go into the black/ What are fighting for?” Bennington asks.

The 20-track compilation features tracks spanning Linkin Park’s discography, with obvious staples  “Crawling” and “Faint” to later singles like “Waiting For the End” and ballad “One More Light.” The only album not represented is the heavier The Hunting Party.

The video is directed and edited by longtime Linkin Park videographer Mark Fiore, featuring studio footage and live shots, including video of Bennington performing the track in the vocal booth. The visual is both a tribute to Bennington and the camaraderie between all of the band members. It’s both a fitting retrospective and a respectful nod to the group’s creative vision as a collective unit.

The greatest hits collection also includes more recent single “Lost,” a demo track the band dropped along with the anniversary release of its smash sophomore effort, Meteora. Rarity “QWERTY,” which debuted during a 2006 live show in Japan but never saw an album release and made only a few appearances in the band’s later live sets, is also represented here.

This is the first time Linkin Park has released a compilation record. As for the band’s future, everything remains a mystery. Vocalist Mike Shinoda recently released single “Already Over” and has been busy releasing collaborative performances of the track with YouTube musicians, as well as remixes.

The rest of the band has remained out of the public eye, save for a passing social media posts. Shinoda is often asked whether the band would consider reuniting. He has said that the circumstances aren’t right to bring everyone together, though the book doesn’t seem to be entirely closed.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.