Linkin Park's Chester Bennington Dead at 41

That was 14 years ago.

I don't think so.

The whole album of OML feels like a Suicide note.

 

I'm over it. I've dealt with tragedy within my family, so I'm somewhat hardened to stuff like this. I've got a hardened heart. A used and abused brain. I've been rocking HT/Meteora all day without any sadness. Gotta celebrate what this band did now. Honor! They won't be forgotten. Life goes on and any day could be your mother fucking last day. Live it up. All LP fans will become stronger because of this. It's a gift. I know that sounds bizarre but please believe me. I've been through this shit before. When you get a call at work from your mom telling you your dad died unexpectedly, you learn a few things about life. Get angry. Get pissed. Let it all out. Don't give a fuck. You will be better off, I promise. Sing and jam out to LP more than you ever have before! Amen.

 

I still can't believe this is a reality. It still feels like a nightmare that I'll eventally wake up from

 

I've signed up cos I feel like I need to say something for catharsis' sake.. And I have also appreciated reading everyone else's thoughts in this thread so thank you to all others who have taken the time to say what they're feeling in light of this horrible turn of events.

It's weird how you can feel so affected by the death of somebody you have never met. And weird how when you hear of some celeb deaths you can feel like "oh that's a shame" but it doesn't move you in any deeper way than that surface acknowledgement. But when I heard of Chester's suicide, it was like a literal kick in the guts. It's hard to put into words the reasons why. The songs of Linkin Park have been a unique and important piece in my life since I was about 16 years old. I'm now 32 and married with 3 children. So for about half of my life, whenever there has been pain, there has been Linkin Park. They have always gone hand in hand. As a teenager trying to make sense of the untimely deaths of 3 of my friends? Linkin Park. Navigating the sea of shitty emotions after messy breakups? Linkin Park. Dealing with the fallout of a mentally ill mother for whom I acted as an all seasons scapegoat? Linkin Park. General life depression and sense of angry lostness? Linkin Park. I think you see my point. They are so closely intertwined for me. No music was called upon more in any of my times of most desperate need.

Listening to LP was such an effective coping mechanism for all of the times I have hit rock bottom for the precise reason that it made me feel like I was not the only one. I wasn't the first or only person to sink this low and feel these exact feelings. And even though those feelings were horrible and unpleasant and felt like the end of the world at the time I was feeling them, hearing Chester give a literal voice to them took away some of their power. You could hear his pain and you could plainly feel it. And so you didn't feel alone and you knew that this darkness wasn't unique to you alone. And there was just so much solace in that.

I wish that someone could have made Chester feel like he wasn't alone. And I wish I could say thank you for the all the times that his music was the reason why I didn't feel alone. Why I got through.

RIP Chester, I'm so sorry that it ended this way.

 

Well-said my man. Thanks for coming here to share. Although it's a hard time, hearing all the stories of people's personal experiences really helps to show how wonderful Chester was.

 

This time this post will not be about Chester or Linkin Park. I want to take some time and thank you. All the members here. I'm 32 now and for years reading in Forums and especially writing wasn't my thing anymore. Thought I was too old for that. I've just checked the news every day and concentrated to the music itself without discussing the latest interview to the detail. But for what I have seen the last 2 days makes me really sad that I didn't join you guys before. To every comment where someone feels really really sad (where you hope they don't do something stupid) there were like 10 people who immediatly reached out and tried to help. I'm very glad that I came here after this heartbreaking news and even though I am here alone in my flat sitting on my computer it feels like I'm not alone. I'm happy to not have to go through this on my own like I usually do. We all share the same sorrow and I feel really united with you guys. Where ever you are in this world. This is a very strong and caring community. So in all the darkness a can still see a tiny light. One day it will consume the darkness. We'll just have to wait. I guess it will take some time.

Love you guys. Peace.

 

Everybody has gone through something. Theres a reason why we all have gravitated to LP.

My reaction is switching from sadness to anger (because I cant stand fucking dead beat parents and chester just traumatized his whole fucking family. Suddenly in the back of his kids head suicide is and option now. I question why I'm even grieving for someone so fucking selfish) to moments like you when I don't care.

 

Don't post here much anymore but felt compelled to. Absolutely shocked and gutted by the news, these guys had a role in raising us so there is no shame in being upset.

Hope the band and the community can stay together.

 

Yeah it seems like One More Light was his saying Goodbye to all of us

 

I wish it was just a dream...Chester, we miss you.

 

There are people out there that think that Cris Cornell and Chester were murdered by some reason... its very confusing.

 

I have been a visitor for many years, but never posted here before. I am glad that we have a place like LPA to come and read the experiences of people with the same pain as me. Some of your messages are helping me a lot, thank you.
This is a very difficult time for all of us. My deepest condolences to Chester's family, Mike, Brad, Rob, Joe, Dave and the team.


I also hope LPA can stay strong during this very difficult and painful period to continue helping us all. The LP community needs you.

 

This is one of the most positive message I've read on this board, and I wholefully agree with it. It's life. Sometimes, it's shit, sometimes, it's awesome. It's made of up and downs, all the time.

I'm getting better, and I hope each of us here eventually will. Stay strong everyone.

 

"Nobody Can Save Me"
"Heavy"
"Good Goodbye"
"One More Light"

It's crazy looking at the OML tracklist now.

Also, all the LP songs I listened to a hundreds times before hit me SO much harder now. Every line of it. I feel like now I TRULY understand them.

 

@rocker94: yournewswire is known for fake news and conspiracy theories.

 

We ll never see him Retiring Linkin Park as a fucking old man .... we never see him smiling again....
His children wont see him again....
Just WHY ???????????? ( the rumors of murder ....just wondering WHY? )
Why this is happening ?

 

The first time i heard LP was when i was just 9 years old and saw the video for "Pts.of.Athrty" in between watching cartoons. I remember how amazed i was by that video and i knew these guys were were truly something else. As i grew up and went through some bad experiences like being bullied daily or my parents fighting constantly, i started to understand and relate to the songs instead of just thinking "this sounds awesome!". I'd like to share some short stories about some of the albums with you.

I remember when ATS was released and i was at an all time low. My parents were seperating, i had anger issues, broke my hand and i had found out my grandfather was diagnosed with lungcancer (He's still alive and kicking today!). Waiting for the end and Iridescent got to me the most and were on repeat constantly. Eveytime i felt overwhelmed by everything going on i'd start up Iridescent and how the singing along with the line "Remember all the sadness and frustrations and let it go" tru;y felt like letting go. While that whole album is amazing, those 2 songs will always have a special place in my heart.

Fast forward to THP and i was doing alot better mentally and without those issues bringing me down it was finally time to "fix" myself. The first step was getting my weight under control so i started working out alot. Hearing Chester screaming on Keys to the Kingdom got me pumped everytime. So every morning for 5 days a week i was at the gym literally working my ass off while blasting THP in my headphones and i can honestly say that if i didn't have Chester screaming "NO CONTROL, NO SURPRISE" to me every morning for a solid year and a half, i wouldn't be where i am today.

Then the OML cycle came along and this time my mother was hospitalized with blood poisening and almost died. OML releasing shortly was the only positive in my life at the time. I hated my job, i hated myself for not getting a usefull degree and most importantly, as i mentioned before, my mom had almost died. This cycle was weird for me, They released Heavy when shit was actually getting pretty heavy for me personally, a snippet of "One more light" was leaked on instagram when my mom was still very sick and it didn't really look good and then when my mom started getting better, i heard "Battle Symphony" for the first time. Already this album meant a whole lot to me and yet again, through Chester's beautiful voice combined with the message of the songs, LP had helped me get back into a positive mindset.

Chester, thanks for sharing your stories and helping thousands of fans through hard times with your songs. I hope you found the peace you were looking for.

 

Hi guys

I've been a daily visitor and member of the LPA since 2005 but only posted once . I've found a lot of comfort reading all of your personal accounts regarding Chester and Linkin Park and wanted to share mine really , including the recent experience I had at the O2 Arena.

My love for LP started when I turned 11. I was an obese , unconfident wreck and on top of that my parents got divorced and we moved away with our mum. I'd never been allowed to listen to any modern music until now . The first time I turned on my freeview box I switched to the music channel and there he was , Chester Bennington , belting out the chorus to numb and instantly I connected with the lyrics, the sonograph of sounds . I remember them releasing FTI and BTH which I loved too- hearing a scream in a song for the first time . I went to HMV the day the album Meteora was released and bought it . It was the first album I ever bought and played it in the car with my mum on way home . She connected with the music too going through her divorce and it made us closer .

I found out the next day that they were my all time best friends favourite band too. I then went to y first ever concert with him : Road to Revolution , where they filmed the live DVD. It was incredibly exciting , from the moment I heard the extended intro to OSC to them blasting out numb. I was in my first mosh pit too and got incredibly sun burned .

My all time best friend who I met At the age of 6 and saw almost every day until he was twenty tragically tripped and fell infront of a train and passed away . Then less than 4 months later my dad at the age of 49 got diagnosed with a rare cancer and I had to watch him slowly pass away within a month of diagnosis over Christmas . I was away from family at university at the time and I suppose a coping mechanism I used was to listen to Linkin Park , they were also the connection I had to my best friend and in a way their music helped him live on in my heart .

I also remember my mum came to pick me up from university once , she was in a new relationship and I was excitedly blasting out New Divide but I could tell she wasn't well . It turns out she was still suffering the side effects from attempting to overdose on medication due to her new relationship deteriorating . But that song switched her , gave her hope and she fought hard and has fully recovered. I have since taken her to see LP live 3 times and we even saw Dead By Sunrise soon after my dad died too.

I'm known as the LP guy , every texts me when they hear new music (normally months after I have already had it on repeat ) . They are such a big part of my life and motivated me to lose 6.5 stone and better myself , to fight my demons . I actually went on to study medicine and work in general practice where I see lots of mental health and there's nothing more heartbreaking and complex.

I was right at the front at The O2 this July and inches away from Chester when he came into the crowd to sing OML and crawling with a lucky lady in the audience . He seemed incredibly connected and in the moment at that time , looking at the expression on his face . I even turned to my brother and said ' it almost seems he is saying his goodbyes to us' . I find that the most haunting .

I suppose as avid fans , in particular I almost feel partly responsible for his death as in ' why couldn't I see through his facade ? Etc'. Chester wasn't just a singer . He alone represented times in our lives and moments of struggle and pain that we always overcame because of his voice, his lyrics, his charisma . He takes us back to when we were weak and gave us the strength to get through and become who we are today. To me he represents the unity I share with my family and had done with my best friend. He represents the struggle I went through when I was younger and the determination I had to get me through . He represents part of me as a person and this is the worst part of it all : that with him passing away , I personally have lost a piece of my heart, soul and life interest .

Mental health is the dark house pet that some people put up with and live with continuously . Just remember if you find yourself in a dark place , get help, speak to someone, get a relative or a friend to go to the doctors with you and share how you feel . You're not being silly or weak . You're a human being and a valuable part of this planet and what makes it go around . Sometimes you may not be able to see it but it doesn't mean it's any less true.
To LP fans globally, Family and friends of Chester and anyone affected; we are here for each other and will be for the foreseeable future. We can get through this

Love and hugs from Andy xxxxxxx

 

Hey forum.I posted the following words over to Lplive and I'm posting them here as well. I have not been following the site for some years now, but when I learned the news about Chester I felt like I had to pay my respects.

I've known LP since 2004 when I first saw Breaking the Habit on TV, and I had been aboslutely obsessed with their music since about 2005, when I first bought Meteora and then, during one summer, everything on their discography till then, and also became a member of the good old official Linkin Park messageboard. Good times. I'd been all aboard the LP train until the Living Things era.

All this is to say that I also was one of the kids on whose life, Linkin Park's music had a tremendous impact and looking back at it now, I have nothing but good memories. Memories of endlessly listening to HT, Meteora, M2M, Reanimation, admiring the album art, going over my friend's house only to watch Live in Texas, downloading the EP, the XERO demos and the acoustic Morning After from Berlin,2001, on Limewire (!) and obsessing with them as well. And memories of the two times I saw them live,in 2008 and 2009 which I still consider to be one of the best experiences in my life. Along with that, I made very strong friendships and relationships based on mutual love for LP, some of which still hold to this day. To sum it up, Linkin Park have offered me my first pure experience of discovering and deeply admiring music and art, an experience that shaped my interests in life as a person up to what they are today, at age 26.

And Chester, oh man. In my head, Chester was the leader in all this. To my ears, he was the perfect voice to externalize every dark thought and feeling a young person could possibly have. I never had the difficulties he had in life and that he was singing about, but the raw energy and feeling that he put into his singing and performing was touching enough for me. I admired everything about him, from his singing talent, the way he moved on stage, his kindness, humour and down to earth mentality. Ultimately, to me, he was my major inspiration to start playing music, pick up a guitar and sing.

Honestly, I was not expecting an end like this, This seems very vicious for Linkin Park, because to me, despite their depressive lyrics, they were always about dealing with their problems and overcoming them. Being positive and trying to power through the darkest situations. This is LP's legacy, this is Chester's impact on a whole generation of people, and can be summed up with one, very Linkin Parkish saying from back then:

If someone falls down, PICK. THEM. UP.