The voice that brought solace to so many ears and hearts for close to 20 years is no more. Linkin Park frontman, Chester Bennington, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself, on Thursday, July 20, at his Palos Verdes Estates, California residence. He was 41.
The news, which was first broken by TMZ, came as a shock to all his loved ones and his adoring fans worldwide. Fellow Linkin Park bandmate, Mike Shinoda, took to twitter to confirm the reports and express his shock and grief.
Chester had been no stranger to mental health struggles, and had been admirably open and candid about them in the public. He battled depression all his life. His parents divorced when he was just 11, at which point he started abusing alcohol and hard drugs. He had also been the victim of molestation by an older friend, which started when he was just 7, and went on till he was 13. He had stated in an interview-
If I think back to when I was really young, to when I was being molested, to when all these horrible things were going on around me, I shudder
Chester had also talked about contemplating suicide in the past, because of his molestation.
He worked really hard to get and remain sober, and used his music to channel his inner sufferings. In a 2009 interview, he stated-
I have been able to tap into all the negative things that can happen to me throughout my life by numbing myself to the pain, so to speak, and kind of being able to vent it through my music
About his hit single, “Crawling”, Chester said that it was about him feeling like he had no control over himself in terms of drugs and alcohol.
In his very last interview, Chester discussed death and how he had fought through his darkest times. Talking about the lowest point in his life, he said –
I came to a point in my life where I was like, ‘I can either just give up and die or I can fight for what I want.’ And I chose to fight for what I wanted. I wanted to have good relationships. I wanted to love the people in my life. I wanted to enjoy my job. I wanted to enjoy being a dad and having friends and just getting up in the morning. Because that was a struggle for me
There’s no doubt that Chester was a fighter through and through, but ultimately lost the battle.
RIP Chester, you will be missed.
YourDOST extends it sincerest condolences to all those affected by the death of Chester Bennington.
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