Linkin Park was a formative band for many growing up during the 90’s, including me and millions of gamers across the country. When everyone else at school was listening to the ilk of Backstreet Boys, et al, Linkin Park was a refreshing new sound in music. Songs like Points of Authority, One Step Closer and Numb struck a chord with me instantly, and songs like In The End could be heard being performed by every college band in engineering colleges.
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Chester Bennington, the lead singer for Linkin Park has died at the age of 41, and it has been confirmed to be a suicide.
Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.
— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) July 20, 2017
Bennington was found dead in his home in LA County on Thursday morning, and officials didn’t say much apart from confirming that it was a suicide. He had been known to have struggled with drug abuse and depression before, and had confessed wanting to change things:
“In 2006, I had a choice between stopping drinking or dying. I did some counseling with the guys and they really opened up and told me how they felt. I had no idea that I had been such a nightmare,” he said. “I knew that I had a drinking problem, a drug problem and that parts of my personal life were crazy but I didn’t realize how much that was affecting the people around me until I got a good dose of ‘Here’s-what-you’re-really-like.’ It was a shock. They said that I was two people – Chester and then that fucking guy. I didn’t want to be that guy.”
— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) July 20, 2017
Chester joined Linkin Park in 1999, and back then they went by the name Hybrid Theory, which was also the name of their first album. His screaming vocals were starkly in contrast to Mike Shinoda’s hip-hop style vocals.
His suicide coincides with the birthday of his friend and singer, Chris Cornell, known best for his work with Audioslave and Soundgarden, who had also committed suicide. Bennington had addressed that by saying, “I can’t imagine a world without you in it,” he wrote. “I pray you find peace in the next life.”.
Chester is survived by his wife and six children.
RIP Chester Bennington, you will be missed.
