Claim: The Catalyst was the first single off of A Thousand Suns.

`` The Catalyst '' is a song by American rock band Linkin Park . Released on August 2 , 2010 , it is the first single from their fourth studio album , A Thousand Suns , which was released on September 8 , 2010 . The music video for the song , directed by the band 's turntablist Joe Hahn , was released on August 26 , 2010 .   `` The Catalyst '' is used in the trailer and credits of the video game Medal of Honor and also the opening song of Namco-Bandai 's Arcade game , Mobile Suit Gundam : Extreme Vs. . It was also used in select commercials of the Discovery Channel series , Surviving the Cut . The song was also featured in the video game Linkin Park Revenge for the iPhone , iPad , and iPod Touch . `` The Catalyst '' has also been used in the advertisement for the 2011 movie The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey .   `` The Catalyst '' , along with five other songs from A Thousand Suns , are featured in the `` Linkin Park Track Pack '' as downloadable content for the rhythm video game Guitar Hero : Warriors of Rock . The track pack was released on October 19 , 2010 .