I think selfish or not it is depended on how you look at the problem. I'm sorry if I will offend anyone though. It is selfish to make depressed person to continue to live through his mental & physical pain. But it is also selfish for the depressed person to just throw away his responsibility with his family and friends for a way out. Coming from military family, I was taught and forged with state of mind that "responsibility is above your own wellbeing as long as you deem your family to be worthy of your sacrifice". Sounds terrible but it does keep me alive when I do hit the bottom which I did, and thus I have mixed feeling about Chester's death. I'm sad but I don't really feel as much sympathy as I should. On the topic, I'm not sure. Let's say that LP gets a new guy. New songs will be made to fit him but, what about the old one? I doubt LP would do anything to the old songs and I doubt the new guy can do anything to make the fan accept that, it is him who sing old classic track like In The End not Chester. LP should take a different name altogether and maybe, scrapped the old song in their live set? I don't like the idea that they should take Xero, that's like a step back before Chester.
I just think it's unfair to make any judgments about a person by comparing your experience with theirs, especially when it comes to mental health. Most of these "Chester was selfish" comments keep coming from people with depression, which a lot of people keep missing and kneejerking with "Fuck you, you don't even understand depression". And time after time I keep seeing them respond "I fought through it because I knew it would crush my friends and family". I understand that some people have that experience. But your mind is not Chester's mind and you cannot possibly judge him based on your own experiences with depression. That's incredibly self-centered...as if everyone's case of depression is to be judged based on how you've experienced it. The truth of the matter is that we have no clue what happened in Chester's head. (Speaking in general, not aiming these accusations at you @thesungoesdown )
The band does deserve to move forward, but it just doesn't feel right for them to continue as Linkin Park. For me, Chester was one of the biggest reasons I was a fan of the band and Linkin Park is not Linkin Park without him. I might be wrong, but I can't imagine Mike even wanting to be on stage performing as Linkin Park without Chester by his side. I would be okay with them moving forward under another name, but I don't think I'd still be a fan. It's just not the same without Chester. And for those calling Chester selfish: please just shut up. I'm sorry, but I can't stand people saying that. You can't judge him if you haven't walked in his shoes. He seemed like the most kind and caring person in the world, anything but selfish. For him to have done this he must have been in a very, very dark place, where he just couldn't see a way out. I hope you never find yourself in a place like that.
IMHO, if the band retire the name LINKIN PARK, it's like they're leaving behind Chester as well.. They need to continue to make music under LINKIN PARK, it's hard for you guys to accept but that's the most logical way to do it. LINKIN PARK is an established name. I know without Chester is not LINKIN PARK. They need to continue the legacy of the band and carry it with them to honor Chester and it's family. I know Chester would be proud that the band continue without him and still carrying the legacy under LINKIN PARK. Fans would be having hard to accept them being 5 piece group but the fans will able to understand it over time.
But I don't even see how that would work as a 5-piece? How would they perform the old songs without Chester? It's not possible. Unless they leave the old catalogue behind, but that would be strange. And I sure as hell don't want them replacing Chester. I don't think I could handle that.
Because if you put it this way, If they adapt the name Fort Minor, not everybody knows who the hell this is. When you say, LINKIN PARK, then people would say, "Yeah, I know that band". but hey, just my opinion. I'm thinking how to perform it live without Chester. Great point.
I think the attitude I've seen from others here is just the opposite actually, they seem to think going on as Linkin Park without Chester would be like leaving him behind. Not saying I necessarily agree with that, but that's how I've interpreted others' posts.
There is nothing they can really do about the situation that works naturally, besides starting a new band. Chester's voice carried LP. If they continued as LP, they'd just have to ignore their back catalog unless they got a new singer, which is really not appropriate considering the circumstances. Mike can't carry the songs that Chester did.
You have a point, mate. Chester named the band LINKIN PARK when he joined back then... It seems Fort Minor would be the safest way to go for Mike and the rest of the band as well. But Fort Minor is not an established name like LINKIN PARK (except for those who know) but for casual listeners, it would be hard for them to go mainstream except they reinvent a new sound and breakthrough just like Hybrid Theory 17 years ago.
LP's future is too soon to think about. If anything, I'm torn as to what they should do. Part of me wants them to continue performing as LP while the other thinks calling it a career is the right call. Regardless what happens, Mike, Brad, Rob, Phoenix, and Mr. Hahn have my support.
Just was thinking about a new name for the band if they decide they want to retire the LP name: One More Light. It'd be a nice tribute to Chester by choosing that name.
Some of you here may not be familiar with Joy Division. They were a post-punk, New Wave band from England that was around in the late '70s. Ian Curtis, their frontman, killed himself right around the release of their new album at the time. The surviving members of Joy Division took time off and came back as a group the whole world knows today as New Order. Could the same thing happen to Linkin Park given Chester's untimely passing? That's an answer I wish had.
I think if the existing band members decide to continue, the band name will certainly evolve. Linkin Park was Chester Bennington. If they get a new singer - he will not be a replacement, it will be an evolution - the spiritual successor of Linkin Park's legacy represented with another name, for another chapter in the life of the band.
I think the one option I couldn't support would be Linkin Park adopting a new singer and going about business as usual after an appropriate amount of time off. I watched some other band perform a cover of One Step Closer yesterday in memory of Chester and my heart broke all over again. These songs are Chester's babies and I never, ever want to see someone else singing them. I think it would initiate the heartbreak all over again every time I had to watch someone else sing In the End or Breaking the Habit. Never. I couldn't take that. Mike is in the absolute prime of his career, though. His singing has never been better, he's a good producer, and he still enjoys dabbling in Hip-Hop. I don't see his career ending, and I don't want it to. I could see him focusing on either more producing or solo things. Regardless, I'd support the guys no matter the choice, as long as they don't try to get some new guy up there singing Chester's songs. That's the only thing I couldn't ever handle seeing.
I really can't see how they can continue without him under this name....as much as I want them to, his voice was too iconic
I wouldn't be surprised to see one more album under the Linkin Park name. I would imagine they have a lot of material recorded in the studio that hasn't made it onto existing albums. If they have enough good quality recordings, they could put together one more album with Chester. I think that would then be the end of LP - I just can't see them continuing without Chester - however, I would like to be proved wrong. I think Mike might want to put some time into Fort Minor, maybe work with the other LP band members but it just doesn't seem to sit right with me at the moment; the whole "feel" of Fort Minor is too different for it to be appropriate at the moment. Does that make sense? Whatever they do, I'd like them to take their time. Deal with their grief. Get the funeral taken care of, and the estate, be there for Chester's family, and their own, and each other. Take care of the practical things. Let some time pass. Once they're ALL ready to address the question of the band, then they should do so. But it shouldn't be rushed; they shouldn't feel the need to make a decision just because the fans are waiting. They need to take care of themselves first, just as the fan community is doing right now. And I'll support whatever they decide, even if I don't agree with it.
I think mike is too driven to not continue on in some form. No way would he quit music completely. As for the other guys, I'm not too sure. I could see the rest still continuing on, but not necessarily as LP. IDK, everything's all up in the air now. Who really knows? As bad as it is without Chester now, I'd be shattered for them if they split and went their seperate ways. In some form, they still have so much to offer.