"White Noise" is a song by American rock musicians Chester Bennington, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, and Alec Puro of Deadsy. Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop Records released it on October 17, 2014.
The song promoted the 2014 American drama film Mall, based on Eric BogosianâÂÂs novel of the same name. It is one of four unreleased Linkin Park demos included in the filmâÂÂs soundtrack.
Linkin Park wrote âÂÂWhite Noiseâ as an unreleased demo during sessions for their sixth studio album, The Hunting Party. On October 15, 2014, the band announced that the song would feature in the opening credits of Mall. Two days later, the song became available for free download on the filmâÂÂs official website as the first promotional single. Joe Hahn, in an interview, noted that he completed the filmâÂÂs score before the band began recording The Hunting Party.
Due to the early DVD release of the film in France, half of âÂÂWhite Noiseâ leaked online, alongside three other unreleased demos: âÂÂIt Goes Through,â âÂÂDevilâÂÂs Drop,â and âÂÂThe Last Line,â known during production as âÂÂLuna,â âÂÂWarm Spell,â and âÂÂAmmosick,â respectively. The song retained its original title from the recording sessions. Although âÂÂWhite Noiseâ served as a promotional single, the filmâÂÂs score focused more on the other three demos. âÂÂThe Last Lineâ appeared on YouTube and as a digital download under the title âÂÂMall: Theme Song.âÂÂ
Loudwire describes âÂÂWhite Noiseâ as featuring a distinctive toy piano sound in parts, with Chester BenningtonâÂÂs intense vocals and a fast-paced tempo. At the filmâÂÂs premiere, Mike Shinoda explained that Hahn selected ten unreleased Linkin Park demos from their career to form the basis of the soundtrack. He described HahnâÂÂs choices as âÂÂrawâ and âÂÂstream-of-consciousnessâ pieces, ideal for the filmâÂÂs music.
Gary Graff, writing for 101 WRIF, noted that âÂÂWhite Noiseâ did not appear on The Hunting Party. Hahn, making his directorial debut with Mall after his short film The Seed, chose unreleased demos from Linkin ParkâÂÂs earlier albums for the soundtrack, finding them a natural fit for the project.