Iridescent

Background

"Iridescent" is a ballad about a person in the face of a place destroyed by nuclear warfare. It's the twelfth track on A Thousand Suns and the fourth single from the album, in conjunction with the release of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, in which the song is featured. It starts off with dramatic piano before building up with guitars, powerful drums, and big gang vocals in the bridge that lead to the song's climax. There is an alternate "Energy Up" version which features drums right from the start of the song rather than them coming in later. Chester has cited the song as one of his favorites on the record due to the way is builds and climaxes.

Tracklist

CD Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Iridescent	Linkin Park	4:01
2	New Divide	Linkin Park	4:30
3	What I've Done	Linkin Park	3:25

iTunes Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Iridescent (from Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon)	Linkin Park	3:59

Music Video

Transformers Version

A music video for the Transformers: Dark Of The Moon mix of "Iridescent" was shot in April 2011 in Los Angeles, California, and was directed by Joe Hahn. The goal of the video was to combine the soulfulness of what the band does with the soulfulness of the film. Joe said, "The video explores how human existence might be affected by the elements of Transformers robots and the threat of the Decepticons. What would it be like to be citizens in a decaying universe? I tried a lot of new things here, and we had a lot of fun shooting it."

During the shooting, the band members had to do some things they weren't comfortable with. Mike, for instance, really doesn't like snakes and had to hold one for 5 hours; and Chester had his face mashed in warm milk. Joe personally picked three snakes to be used in the video.

The single was mixed in Dolby Surround 7.1 audio format by Neal Avron and the video was converted into full 3D by Passmorelab, being shown in select theaters worldwide following the end credits for Transformers: Dark Of The Moon. The company had previously worked with Linkin Park on a 3D version of "Waiting For The End".

"We had a very tight schedule to complete all the 3D elements of Iridescent in time for the Transformers 3 premiere. Throughout the 3D production process, we worked very closely with the band's digital post-house Ghost Town Media in Los Angeles to stay true to the director's vision for the video. Without a high level of communication and efficient workflow between everyone involved with this project, it would not have been completed on time. The collaborative end result is truly a beautiful and dramatic use of 3D. Hahnʼs post-apocalyptic vision and our 3D mesh wonderfully," said Greg Passmore, CEO of PassmoreLab. The 3D video was also available on the band's official YouTube channel for a limited period.

An alternative version of the video exists and is currently available on the Warner Music Japan YouTube channel. This version is slightly different from the original, with the scene with Optimus Prime at 1:13 being replaced by a scene with dogs running. Some of the colors present on the original video are also absent from this version, specially the red color. Bumblebee is shown in black and white instead of yellow.

Stars Of The Season Version

Stars Of The Season is an annual gala fundraising affair for Banner Children's at Cardon Children's Medical Center in which Chester has taken part in many times.

For the event and hospital's fifth anniversary, an "Official Event Music Video" featuring Linkin Park's "Iridescent" was shot at the hospital, located in Mesa, Arizona, in October 2014. Chester was the only Linkin Park member on the video.

Chester and his wife, Talinda, were the honorary chairs of the event alongside David Curran, M.D.

The music video was written and directed by David Kinsler and produced by Jack Chapman (who also edited the video) and David Curran, M.D. Sephora Skye Kinsler stars the video as an angel.

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Iridescent	A Thousand Suns	4:56	2008-2010	September 8, 2010
Iridescent	Iridescent Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - The Album	4:01	2011	May 27, 2011	Drum beat in the intro. Shorter break between first chorus and verse 2. Different lyrics during bridge. Different mix. Renamed to "Iridescent (Version 2)" in 2019. Also known as "Iridescent (Energy Up Version)".
Iridescent	A Thousand Suns Instrumentals	4:56	2008-2010		The CD dates from September 15, 2010. Official instrumental version.

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Iridescent	Live In Madrid	5:01	November 07, 2010	April 1, 2011	A Thousand Suns+ DVD. Includes bonus MP3 of the show.
Iridescent (Live)	iTunes Festival: London 2011 - EP	5:04	July 04, 2011	July 8, 2011
Iridescent	Live In Red Square	4:19	June 23, 2011	July 21, 2011	Energy Up version. Released as a prize for the "Iridescent" "Super-Fun Trading Fun-Cards" game. After all six cards were collected, the person could enter the codes of each card at linkinpark.com to get a free download of the full show.
Iridescent (Live From Paris, 2010)	A Thousand Suns - Live Around The World	4:58	October 25, 2010	June 19, 2012
LOATR/SOTD/Iridescent	Live At Admiralspalast Berlin, Germany		June 05, 2012	March 29, 2013	DVD only. Living Things+ bonus DVD.

Live

"Iridescent" debuted on KROQ's Kevin and Bean Breakfast Show in 2010, and was played at every show of the A Thousand Suns cycle except for the final three shows on the Australian 2010 tour in Melbourne, Homebush, and Bruce. The song was usually played after "Wisdom, Justice, And Love", like on the album, but it was occasionally played in conjunction with "Numb". In 2010, the song was played after "Wisdom, Justice, And Love" in sets A-1, A-3, B, B-1, and the Madrid setlist, after "Numb" in the one-off New York City setlist, and was completely omitted in set B-9. "Iridescent" didn't see much movement in 2011. During the North American 2011 tour, it was played after "Wisdom, Justice, And Love" in sets A-1, B-11, C-5, and C-6, and after "Numb" in set B-13. The European and Asian 2011 tours had "Iridescent" after "Wisdom, Justice, And Love" in sets A, B, D, E, and the one-off Moscow and Singapore setlists, and followed "Numb" in set C. A shortened version of the song was used during the band's presentation of A Thousand Horizons in Japan. The show in Moscow featured what was dubbed the "Energy Up Version", which was just the version of the song found on the Transformers 3 soundtrack. That show is the only performance of that version of the song to date. After the A Thousand Suns tour ended, the song was dropped and hasn't been played in full since.

Once the Living Things cycle kicked off in West Hollywood, the bridge and final chorus of "Iridescent" returned in the "LOATR/SOTD/Iridescent" medley. The drums from the single version are also played during the "Shadow Of The Day" portion of the song.

Mike performed a shortened piano version of "Iridescent" in Moscow while touring in support of his solo album Post Traumatic. He later debuted the studio version in Toronto, and would continue to play the song fairly consistently for the remainder of the tour.

Variations

Linkin Park

Last Updated: December 25, 2015

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Alternative	Energy Up Version	June 23, 2011	June 23, 2011
Alternative	Ballad Medley (LOATR/SOTD/Iridescent)	May 18, 2012	November 14, 2016

Mike Shinoda

Last Updated: July 10, 2019

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Alternative	Piano Version	September 1, 2018	September 1, 2018
Alternative	Shortened (No Second Verse or Second Chorus)	September 1, 2018	September 1, 2018

Lyrics

When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying, "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone
 
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go
 
And in a burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms
 
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go
 
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
 
Let it go [x2]
Let it go / Woah, oh
Let it go
 
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation? (Oh)
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go

When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying, "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go

And in a burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
No one there to catch you in their arms

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go

Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go / Woah, oh

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go
Let it go

Gallery

• 

  Single

• 

  Promo

• 

  Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - The Album digital version

• 

  Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - The Album US CD

• 

  Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - The Album artwork without Black Veil Brides

• 

  Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - The Album EU CD

In Other Media

• "Iridescent" is featured in the 2010 film Alpha And Omega.
• An alternate version of "Iridescent" is featured in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and was included in its soundtrack album.

External Links

• Iridescent (Music Video): LPTV | Vimeo | WMG | MTV | DolbyInsider's YouTube | Paramaount Pictures France's DailyMotion
• Iridescent (Alternative version): WMJ
• Iridescent (Official SOTS Music Video): Official SOTS Advisory Council YouTube
• Iridescent (Madrid 2010 & MSG 2011 Live Clip) - WMT
• Iridescent (Madison Square Garden 2011) - WMG
• Iridescent (Moscow 2011) - LPTV | Vimeo | Paramount Pictures France

References

• http://www.mtv.com/news/1664427/linkin-park-transformers-dark-of-the-moon-moscow/