The song was released to radio stations, as well as a digital download,[8] on April 16, 2012, as the lead single and the third track from their fifth studio album, Living Things.

The song's working title was "Buried at Sea" and was recorded in February 2012, as revealed by numerous LPTVs (behind-the-scenes footage) released in April and May 2012.

"[14] Mike Shinoda, the band's rapper and producer, noted that the song's meaning can be open to numerous interpretations, with an example being "what we do in pop culture, where we build somebody up to be the next great thing and then we just like to destroy them at the end of the day, and we've lived through that, so I think there's a lot of personal energy that went into the connection of that story.

[24] On September 4, 2012, "Burn It Down", along with "Breaking the Habit", "Shadow of the Day", and "New Divide", were released in the "Linkin Park Pack 02" as downloadable content for the music rhythm video game, Rock Band 3.

[25] The band performed the single for the very first time at Third Encore Rehearsal Studios in Burbank, California on May 16, 2012, to an audience who won passes from radio station KROQ.

Nick Catucci from Rolling Stone described Bennington's verses as his "prettiest ever" and concluded that the song "leaves open the option of just dancing the night away.

[32] According to Chris Martins of Spin, "Burn It Down" is "seared but still high-sheen slab of cross-pollinated pop driven by four-on-the-floor pump and the pulse of guitars and synths irreparably fused together.

[34] Anne Erickson of Loudwire praised Bennington and Shinoda's vocals, commenting that the song is "packed with subdued rhythms, riffs and raps, draped in a sea of atmospheric electronics.

Club were both negative towards "Burn It Down", in which Koski said that the song "amplifies its mediocrity with its preening self-importance" and "seems to be competing for some sort of award for Vaguest Lyrics.

"[40] Jeff Sorensen, writing for The Huffington Post, thought that the song's lyrical content was "like they were flipping through a dictionary and put crappy drop D guitar riffs to it.

Perri Tomkiewicz of Billboard praised the music video of "Burn It Down" as "simple yet striking...[it] displays the group's new electro influences without relinquishing their long-standing and rebellious rock roots.

"[44] Marc Hogan of Spin noted that the video "soundtracks an emotion-wracked live performance accompanied by — you guessed it — fiery visual effects.

"[53] David Greenwald of MTV echoed similar comments, calling it a "darker, industrial offering, with trippy sci-fi special effects and a Matrix-y all-black wardrobe palette.

[55][56] On August 7, the overall winner, Jem Garrard, was chosen by Genero, the band, and Warner Bros.; the other finalists were: Pauline Goasmat, Tomato22, iVideoMaking, Supers4upen, RiKYaN, TKJAC, A Strike to Burn Productions, JPKaukonen, Little Earth, Alexander_Oph, and Dackant.