It has been slightly more than a month since all of our hearts were broken with the horrible news of the passing of Chester Bennington. We all are still going through the pain of loss and putting into words what we in the fanbase are feeling is impossible. But in some uplifting and hopeful news, the band just released a statement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, mentioning the future of the band and that a special Los Angeles event will be held soon. You can read the full statement below. Just wanted to say thank you to all our fans around the world for the tremendous outpouring of love, which has strengthened our spirit during this incredibly difficult time. The five of us are so grateful for all of your support as we heal and build the future of Linkin Park. We are working on a special public event in Los Angeles to honor Chester's memory, and look forward to sharing details with you soon. Peace and love, Phoenix and Linkin Park As you can see, no details about the event are mentioned, so we don't know what it will entail. But it's safe to say it will be emotional. We haven't posted much in the time since Chesters passing, so we want to take this opportunity to say to all the fans and other fansites, Thank You. Thank you for being there for each other and helping in whatever way you can. If it's attending a memorial, talking to someone feeling down, doing charity auctions or cataloguing all the memorial events and putting them into an interactive map ... Thank You. The Linkin Park fanbase has truly shown it has the best fans. Come discuss this in our forums. Source: Linkin Park Facebook via Decay
Phoenix's letter today reminded me of the back of one of my Linkin Park shirts... "The five of us are so grateful for all of your support as we heal and build the future of Linkin Park." This, like Mike's letter, gives me hope. *Edit* I was gonna link/upload a photo, but for some reason, my phone doesn't want me to...
My heart melted while reading this, it'll be hard to see them on stage without Chester and even harder for them to perform but it's nice to read they aren't giving up. As for LPA, I'm pretty new here but don't know what I'd do without this message board at a time like this.
The band has had so many emotional moments while performing over the many years. This will be most emotional of all.
This post has made me smile. It's so good to read things from the band. It gives a bit of normality knowing that they are still there.
I feel like an asshole because I keep seeing comments everywhere from fans saying we'll support you guys with whatever you choose to do, but honestly I can't. Chester has been a huge part of my life for so many years; dealing with depression myself, and having my own personal struggles, he's been someone I've looked up to as a role model. So, if they do decide to get a new vocalist to "replace" Chester, I just can't bring myself to continue to go on being a fan of the newly assembled Linkin Park, and please understand, it kills me to feel that way, since they as a whole have had a big impact on me. I've been literally obsessed with this band since the Meteora days, and I'm just so torn. Personally, I hope they find a way to make it work as a 5 piece.
I'm happy they're able to think about the future, no matter what that entails. Finding the strength to carry on with their lives must be tough, but there's nothing worse than letting the grief envelop you and keep you back from living life.
That should be very emotional. Reading "the five of us" part was very strange and sad, I can't imagine them on a stage without Chester.
I believe performing, doing their own memorial and writing songs is their way of healing because music does help. It can be their way of saying goodbye. Their wounds will always be there but it's easier when you have music to express yourself through. It will be so hard to see them on stage
Seems like they're choosing to continue on under Linkin Park. I know many feel differently about this and I obviously didn't know Chester on a personal level, but I just couldn't imagine him not wanting Linkin Park to continue on. I know it has to be beyond difficult for the band to make these decisions, but I'm proud of them. I didn't expect them to hold an event so soon.
Wow this has been quite the last few weeks. I was very heartbroken to not attend the Chicago memorial. I hope you are all taking time out to spend your time with close friends and more importantly family. Again I want to take this moment to thank each and every one of you for rallying together during these tough times. It's easy for us to lose sight of what's really important in our lives and Chester's death has been a heart wrenching reminder of the evil and darkness that unfortunately ravages this world, in this existence we face so much injustice and despair that it is very easy to fall into patterns of self-destructive behaviors like violence, low self-esteem, and several other kinds of behaviors that are too long to list here. We have to remember that in the end, love triumphs over evil. Always. Don't ever forget that. Don't ever sell yourself short, don't ever settle for less than you deserve, don't ever stand for mediocrity, don't ever shy away from a fight against these evils, don't ever be afraid to smile (even in the darkest of times when laughter and love seem like an impossibility), don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something that you love, don't ever let your flaws get in the way of your true inner beauty, don't ever forget to love more than you lust, don't ever give up on your dreams (no matter how much other people may encourage you to do so), don't ever forget to express your creativity, don't ever stop standing up for your morals and principles and most importantly don't EVER let yourself get into a situation that you don't think you can handle. And if you do fall down and feel like you can't get up, just always remember no matter how hard it is or how bad you think you got it in this life just keep in mind there are those who have it MUCH worse. Easier said than done, I know, trust me, I've been in that mindset too. I think a lot of people have, don't get sucked into that victim consciousness, it does you no good to mope around and hang your head low feeling sorry for yourself because somebody told you that your life is meaningless and you are just this small insignificant pathetic little being that's only here in this big scary world all alone. Don't fall for that shit. You're better than that, you're an amazing, beautiful, loving, caring, and Godly being; and don't you EVER fucking forget that! I can't wait to see what they have in store for this event, all I know is it is going to be amazing and they will absolutely KILL THAT SHIT LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO! Sorry for the long drawn out post... Just had to put down these thoughts somewhere like this. So in summary; You are an awesome, awesome, AWESOME SOUL and you are very much loved and appreciated in every way possible. Chester lives on through all of us, especially through his family and friends in the band. Just remember this last part; "may your love never end, and if you need a friend, there's a seat here alongside me."
This statement was intriguing for the reasons mentioned above, but I"m also really glad to see they're planning something for Los Angeles. I went to a public memorial at Central Park in NYC a few Fridays ago and it was great -- but being in NY that weekend meant I missed the big Los Angeles fan memorial, so I'm really hoping to make it to whatever this one is.
"Build the future of Linkin Park"....Interesting. However, I hope the only future of Linkin Park is a One More Light remix CD similar to Reanimation. Then retire the name Linkin Park and adopt a new name. To continue on as Linkin Park without your primary vocalist whose scream defined Linkin Park just wouldn't be right.
I think exactly the same. I love the decision to continues with Linkin Park, but only with the 5 members. They are a family since they were young. And Chester is irreplaceable.
I for one am glad they are looking into moving forward as Linkin Park. Why does everyone think they'll replace Chester? I think even the band would agree that he's irreplaceable. Mike has been singing live comfortably for years now. There's no reason why they couldn't make a setlist built for his strengths. They could include some classics and either let the crowd sing or find the best live recordings of Chester's vocals to play along with the music.
I totally agree with the part of your comment I've highlighted... I can't for 1 minute believe Chester would want the boys to retire... we're talking about the man who continued with a broken wrist .. continued with a broken leg... he wasn't 1 to quit... Before ppl jump and say about what he ultimately did... I believe deep in my heart that this was the actions of a person in an extremely dark... bleak moment... & I mean a moment.. . As someone who's been there twice... it does only take a moment.. I was lucky i chose the slowest of methods pills... and changed my mind.. and found help.. I for one hope they continue as they are with guest performers as and when.. as this is the ultimate way to keep the legacy Chester left alive...