I'm strugggling for words to describe how devastated and heartbroken I am right now. Linkin Park has been my favorite band since 2001 when my brother got me Hybrid Theory for Xmas. Fell in love with them right away and have listened and will listen to them for the rest of my life. Best live band I've ever seen, been to 5 LP concerts. Chester just had so much raw emotion bottled up that you could feel it resonate with each lyric. Actually saw LP and Chris Cornell together in 2008 or 2009, Cornell actually came into the crowd right by me and my friend. Crazy that they're both gone less than ten years later. Listening to My December on repeat in my car when I'm supposed to be working but just can't get up. Chester was one of a kind, words can't express how much we'll all miss him. I love you Chester, hope you are at peace now.
I'm shocked. Utterly shocked and devastated. And if I'm feeling like that I can't imagine what his family is going through. I found out 33 minutes after it was reported in the press, my mum phoned me and told me, we'd just spoken on the phone, and 2 seconds after I hang up, she phones back and tells me. RIP my favourite member of my all time favourite band. I'm furious at myself for not meeting you 3 years ago, at the concert when I could have, you and LP have meant so so much to me over the years, and got me back in to music after I took a break, your lyrics helped me, I suffered depression too, and even tried to commit suicide myself once. Numb Easier to Run, Crawling, Waiting for the End, and many others spoke to me, and I related so much to them. You and LP are deserving of all awards and accolades you got. Thanks so much for all those childhood memories and fantastic relatable, accessible music. I can't put into words any better how much LP meant to me. I still don't believe it. EDIT: I don't know if you noticed but every album cycle I change my little line underneath my avatar to be a pun of them current album name. I'll have to stop doing that now. I believe LP is sadly finished. Chester and Mike, LP can't exist without the pair of them. We had a discussion years ago about this and everyone agreed they both were important the band couldn't exist without them. Then we talked about what would happen if any of them left, and we basically laughed it off, never ever thought we'd be in a situation where it actually happened.
I'm not shocked at all. I'm just sad and heartbroken. This was my band, they never left my rotation and I just love them. I hope they can cope and find a way to keep making music in the future for themselves, Chester and everyone else.
At first I wouldn't believe it. I was hoping that Mike would say "it's a hoax, a bad joke. I had news from him on the phone he's fine". I saw Chester's name on TV, on the news. I broke down, I cried non-stop for 1 hour. My family was there and knew it was a big deal. They cried with me. My mother, my sister, my brother, who all liked Linkin Park to a certain degree, but nowhere as far as I do. They all knew that I was bad, real bad. Chester Bennington was a star, a gem that shined through the entire universe. Everyone knew the one who could sing like an angel and shout like a demon. And nobody expected this to happen. Nobody. If you know someone who thinks about death, please reach out to him or her, tell this person he's not alone, and that everything gets better. We will probably never know the reasons to his death, he probably kept all for him and couldn't get the hate for One More Light anymore, and moreover the death of his beloved friend Chris. Those are maybe not the primary reasons, but it may have had an impact. Whatever the reasons are, there is a widow and six children crying all their tears, there are band mates in deep sorrow who know nothing about the future of Linkin Park or their own future. Chester was a brilliant rockstar, but most importantly, he was one of the most loving persons anyone would have loved to have in their life, as a parent, as a lover, or as a friend. Take care of your friends and your family. You don't know what you've got until it's gone.
I was never much into music until I heard Hybrid Theory, and then I was hooked on art/music from that day forward. I think it is safe to say that I would never have taken the path in life that I am on if it hadn't been for Chester and Linkin Park. I'm devastated that it has been 9 years since I saw them live and won't get to see them when they were going to be here in a few weeks, but I'm glad I at least got to see them live twice and have been able to enjoy and grow with their music for all of these years. RIP Chester, you made an immeasurable impact on the world.
I honestly couldn't believe it. My gf texted me and said "Did you hear what happened to Chester?" And I had suspicions but never did I think this would happen. It's all too surreal.
Instead of going into how heartbroken I am (make no mistake, I am heartbroken), I thought it'd be only right to instead go into my brightest memories involving Chester. I feel like that kind of tribute to be more fitting. One of my favorite moments involving Chester was at the LPU Summit in The Woodlands, TX during the Carnivores Tour. We all got to play around on stage, tour the back, and eventually were treated to a Q&A, acoustic performance, and autograph session with the band. While the band were trying to figure out the logistics of sound for the performance (they ended up playing Final Masquerade), Joe grabbed the guitar and started playing Free Fallin' by Tom Petty. Chester, on the other side of the row of chairs, apparently misheard the chords and thought it was a different song. Mike corrected him, and in my infinite stupidity I decided to just start singing the chorus to the song. Chester immediately turned to me, pointed, and was like, "Yeah, you sing it." I looked in confusion as he tried to give me his microphone, then he clarified. "But instead of Free Fallin', you're going to sing Free Ballin'." And so I did, and everyone cheered. That's the kind of person Chester was. He saw someone who he thought had some talent, and instantly decided that this needed to be seen by everyone else. He didn't have to make me sing. He didn't have to even acknowledge it at all. But he did, because that's who he was. Afterwards during the autograph session, members of the band came to me asking what the name of my band was. When I told them I wasn't in a band, they were dumbfounded. "Why the fuck not?!" I have always made clear when there were things LP did that I didn't like. I have never shied away from saying when someone was out of tune, or that certain albums were crap, or if Chester's voice wasn't in the right place for a certain song. But that doesn't mean that I don't respect and love who the band, and specifically, Chester for making the music they wanted to make, for doing what they wanted to do. I have been a member of this forum for 14 years now. That is literally half of my life. Being a fan for longer, that means that LP have been a part of my life for longer than I can remember. And with that come so many memories of joy, pain, and the like that are too numerous to list. I grew up with this band, as did many of the people still here today. While we may not have been outright friends with Chester, many of us literally grew up with him, and his loss is like the loss of a family member. It's okay to be devastated. God knows I am right now. But let's also cherish the memories we have of Chester. We're all on this fansite for a reason, and it's only fitting that while still being saddened and respectful for everything that has happened, we also share with each other how LP, or more specifically, Chester, has touched our lives. What did he do to make you laugh? What did he do to inspire you? What do you plan to do in tribute of a musician who is such a huge part of our lives? It's okay to celebrate a life while mourning the end of it. So let's do that.
I hope they won't disband. The best thing they can do in my mind would be a mute album, or maybe an album with just a few tracks singed by Mike. But I would respect them if they don't feel like continue with their career together. This has to be hard.
Posted this on Facebook but felt it should be put here too: Whilst going through the motions as your typical angsty teenager back in the early 2000s, a band came along that quite honestly changed my life. That band was Linkin Park. I remember seeing the video for "One Step Closer" for the first time as a 13-year-old and being utterly enthralled. There were ninjas flying around, the rapper had this bright red spiky hair, and the lead singer had these cool flame tattoos on his wrists. I was hooked by the energy and intensity of the music. They were my first favourite band. I signed up on their official message boards in the lead up to their remix album Reanimation and struck up a few friendships. One chance conversation with a member about some scans from a music video eventually lead to my joining the staff of the Linkin Park Association, a fan site that had recently launched. Running the LPA's news page became a passion of mine during junior high, high school and into the first few years of University. The site took off and became the largest, most-visited and most-trusted LP fan page in the world, routinely taking in a hundred million hits every single year. We built up a relationship with the band members themselves, frequently getting them to do shoutouts for our site or join us for podcasts. At meet and greets, all you had to do was say you were a staff member from LPA and a band member's face would light up. It was an incredibly cool thing to be a part of, having that sort of friendship with the highest-selling band of the 21st century. Life happened and my involvement in the site has dwindled in recent years as fresh talent joined the team and took up the mantle, but I never left. Even as other bands became my favourite and pushed LP down the list (but still in my top-5). What kept me around, I think, was the genuineness and kindness with which we had been treated by the band. A sense of loyalty had developed. I respect the hell out of those guys. From their audacity to consistently challenge their core fans' perception of what the band should sound like, to their charitable endeavours in disaster-afflicted countries, to just how grounded they were despite how huge the band had become. It’s been almost 17 years since I became a superfan and 15 years since I joined the LPA. Over half my life with these guys in it. Specific moments tied to specific songs and albums. In a way, I grew up with Linkin Park. Chester Bennington was one-of-a-kind. A truly gifted singer with remarkable range. But more than that, he was a bubbly, giddy personality who was incredibly gracious and kind-spirited. Earlier this year, I posted a gut-wrenching performance of “One More Light” that Chester delivered as tribute to his good friend Chris Cornell who had passed earlier that day. Today, on Chris’ 53rd birthday, Chester leaves this world as well. One more light goes out. Thank you for being such a big piece of my formative years, Chester.
Just waiting for an official statement on the future of the band. I can't believe this is happening...
15 years into this band...I dont have words right now to express how lost I'm feeling today. Poor Talinda and their children. I can't believe I won't hear a new song from Chester and the band anymore. That's unreal for me. I don't know if the band will continue after this (I can't see how), but If they do,I hope they change the name, start over because there's not LP without Chester Bennington.
I hope they stay together. And get no replacement. Just mike on vocals. And they can play Chester's voice during the live shows or have the crowds sing Chester's parts.
I just... I love you guys. All of you. I cried and broke down this morning when I got the news. Chester meant the world to me growing up, and to lose such an amazing soul...
Three months ago I lost my father to suicide. My hero, my role model. To make it through, I listened to the song OML a million times and I felt so understood. Today I lost my other hero. My role model. Because of him I started making music, I founded a band and I've never been as big of a fan of anything as I was of Linkin Park. I just don't know what to do now...