Chester Bennington, who was one of the most beloved frontmen in the world with Linkin Park, has tragically died at the age of 41. His representative confirmed that he committed suicide in his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California.
Chester has admitted to having severe bouts of depression in between album releases. In an interview with 102.7 KIIS-FM, he told host JoJo Wright, “I always find myself struggling with certain patterns of behavior… I find myself stuck in the same thing that keeps repeating over and over again, and I’m just, like, ‘How did I end up…? How am I in this?”
“Heavy,” which is the first single from Linkin Park’s new studio album One More Light, touches upon this subject. The record became their fifth album to debut at number one.
While promoting the record, Chester caused a bit of controversy after verbally attacking people that called them sellouts for the change in music.
The singer committed suicide on what would’ve been Chris Cornell’s 53rd birthday. The Soundgarden vocalist took his own life nearly two months before Chester. At his funeral, the Linkin Park frontman sang Leonard Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah.” Both Chester and Chris have performed with each other on numerous occasions over the years, including the 2008 Projekt Revolution tour.
Chester’s death puts the future of Linkin Park on hold. The band was slated to kick off the North American portion of their world tour on July 27 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. There’s no word yet on what will happen to these and their upcoming shows in Japan.
Upon the news of his death, Linkin Park rapper Mike Shinoda tweeted, “Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”
