MEZman

July 20th, 2017 at 2:51 PM ^

For anyone else who's not sure who Chester is he's the singer. Had to look it up.

I know their songs but don't have any idea who the various members of the band are... RIP.

IMissJohnCooper

July 20th, 2017 at 2:53 PM ^

Absolutely terrible.  Just months after Chris Cornell.  There is a post circulating on Twitter now about a letter written by Chester to Cornel after Chris' death that is so heartbreaking and so eerie now.  RIP.

pdgoblue25

July 20th, 2017 at 2:55 PM ^

Everyone had Hybrid Theory when it came out, it was impossible not to hear it in the parking lot when the student parking lot emptied out.

I was never a huge LP fan, but I did see them open up for Metallica and they were impressive.

UESWolverine

July 20th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^

Sad new. Got to see them a lot over the years. Really had a blast seeing them open for Hed (PE) and P.O.D. at the State Theater back in 2000. Good dudes. 

JamieH

July 20th, 2017 at 3:01 PM ^

We seem to have the latest entry in the "fame and fortune don't guarantee happiness" history books.



I couldn't stand listening to them live, but some of Linkin Park's studio tracks, are, IMO, awesome.  They had a sound that was so completely identifyable as them, and yet didn't stay stuck on repeat doing the same thing over and over after gaining success.  



Depression is just a horrible thing.  Money, success, none of those things seem to matter when someone is deeply depressed.  It is really unfortunate that someone didn't see what was going on with this guy and get him the help he needed.  

RIP

SiKa7x

July 20th, 2017 at 3:11 PM ^

It's incredibly sad but it's also damn near impossible to tell with so many people going through that because they try to hide it from everyone they know. Spoken from experience unfortunately. Just happy to have made it past it all

JC06Z33

July 20th, 2017 at 4:08 PM ^

Hybrid Theory was one of the first few albums I ever bought.  I can't remember how many times I had to re-burn a copy because my CD got scratched from bringing it to every car I rode in in the early 2000's. 

Seeing them at DTE as headliners of the Projekt Revolution Tour was still my best concert experience.  Thousands of exhausted, hot, buzzed folks singing along with every word of every song through 3 encores after having to suffer through MCR (ugh).  I got to see them a second time about 5 years ago as well.  Not quite as good of a venue, but Chester and Mike still brought it. 



I know they weren't everyone's cup of tea, but for those of us who grew up on late 90's alt, they were one of the pillars of your music collection.

LSAClassOf2000

July 20th, 2017 at 4:45 PM ^

Linkin Park was a little after high school (and even after undergrad) for me, but I can definitely point to songs I do in fact enjoy despite it not being quite my style. I did seem them live once as part of a bigger show and I was actually impressed.

I didn't hear today's news until just a little while ago actually - I know Bennington had struggled through some health issues and injuries, but this is very tragic news indeed. 

robpollard

July 20th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^

I know Chester has had a lot of battles with drugs and depression in his past, but it seems too coincidental that he killed himself so soon after his friend Chris Cornell, and it seems in a similar manner (hanging).



If you know someone who is unfortunate enough to have lost a friend / family member to suicide, make sure you check in on them.

https://www.hhs.gov/answers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse/what-does…

alum96

July 20th, 2017 at 5:43 PM ^

Damn!!

With so few rock bands out there in the past 20 years this was one of the biggest we had.  Man tough one - tons of charisma as a front man and crazy unique pipes.

translator82

July 20th, 2017 at 8:31 PM ^

Crawling and Hybrid Theory came out during my freshman year at Michigan and I had a feeling the bad was going to hit it big. Sure enough, I couldn't stop listening to Meteora when that came out in 2003.

Also saw the band perform at Ozzfest in 2001 at Pine Knob...wish I had seen them again since because I'm not sure how the band recovers from this (especially since they were supposed to start a tour this month).

Hanniballs

July 20th, 2017 at 6:34 PM ^

Since I've heard the news today I've been listening to all my favorite Hybrid Theory/Reanimation/Meteora songs, and many of them were hard or even impossible to listen to. Chester committing suicide completely changes the tone of most of my favorite songs- In the End, Numb, Crawling, Easier to Run, etc.

 

Quick story: When I was 19 I ran my first half marathon, never having run a race longer than a 5k. I hit "the wall" at mile 10, and was totally dying when I got to my last mile, so I threw on Place for My Head on repeat.

My last mile was my fastest mile of the whole race.

 

RIP Chester. Thank you for giving me so much, especially as an angsty teenager and I hope you find peace wherever you are.

ScottyP

July 20th, 2017 at 7:51 PM ^

I grew up during the grunge era, towards the end I felt LP was a good
Transition from grunge. Dang it, this sucks. eddie vedder Is all I got left.

ommeethatsees

July 20th, 2017 at 9:50 PM ^

Best band I ever saw live.  And I've seen some goods ones.  U2, Springsteen, J Geils, Clash, Who, Stones,Zeppelin, White Stripes, GNR, Prince, etc., etc.  Nothing touched me quite like the soulness, lyrics and energy of Chester.  Had tickets for August 7 at DTE. Suicide is a disease we need to find a cure for.  Nothing more to say.

uminks

July 21st, 2017 at 8:22 AM ^

In 1999 when I lived in Lubbock, TX, Metallica and Linkin Park were touring together and they had a concert in Amarillo, TX. only a 2 hour drive for me at the time. But  I had to work that evening.

I like many of their songs but in the past few years they really got more of a pop sound. Which is not my cup of tea!

SpaghettiPolicy

July 21st, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^

My Junior High guidance counselor was giving us a talk about anger and how to deal with our frustrations. In the lesson he showed us the music video for One Step Closer. This was his example of how things shake out when you're taking out anger in an unhealthy way.

 

Hilariously enough this is what exposed Linkin Park to me and they became the favorite badn of min and a number of the other students in the room for a few years after. Not exactly the message intended! haha