“A person most had thought to be immune to problems like this. It just goes to show that no one is immune to the human condition” #RIPChester
It was a sad morning for local fans of American alternative rock band Linkin Park.
Many of them woke up to the news that the lead singer of the Grammy award winning group, Chester Bennington, had passed away in his home at the age of 41.
According to the band’s spokesman Brian Elias, his death is being handled as a suicide, with celebrity news website TMZ reporting that he had done the act while his family was out of town on Thursday (20 July).
Fellow bandmate Mike Shinoda confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: “Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.”
Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one.
— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) July 20, 2017
Local Fans Pay Tribute:
Although Linkin Park was last in Singapore for the F1 Live Concert in 2011, they have certainly made an impact on fans way before that. For Singaporean youths, Linkin Park was arguably their first introduction into the world of alternative rock.
At their peak in the 2000s, the band broke new ground by exploring sensitive themes of teenage angst, personal struggles and alienation with hit songs like Breaking the Habit, In The End, and Somewhere I Belong.
Chester’s powerful and wide ranging vocals were key to their success, as he delivered each song in a heartfelt and personal manner.
The sadness was certainly felt among local fans who grew up with Linkin Park. One such fan was 25-year-old Andrea Flavia William, who currently works at local radio station Kiss92 FM.
As someone who is constantly surrounded by music, the news came as a personal loss. She said:
“I thought it was a joke at first, as TMZ had reported it. Then, it blew up all over…our DJ’s spoke about it on radio today and we played their latest single, Heavy, right after. I had goosebumps.”
“As someone who grew up loving alternative, rock and emo music back then, their music in particular allowed for catharsis.”
“Chester’s story, his background and his pain all allowed that angsty teenager (within me) to find my individuality and know that it’s alright to not be happy go lucky 24/7.”
For university student Kelvin Lau, he was awake 4 minutes right after the news broke. Likewise, he shared of the times Chester Bennington’s music gave him solace in his teenage years:
“His voice and music had made growing up in a stress school environment more bearable, and to see him commit suicide was absolutely heart breaking.”
“Unfortunately, I was unable to afford tickets back then, but whenever I was having a bad day, I would just turn on my copy of Meteora on a Discman at max volume.”
Local DJs Pay Tribute:
Local radio DJ Jeremy Ratnam from Power 98FM, who had met Chester twice at a Linkin Park concert and an MTV Asia event, also paid tribute to the American songwriter in a Facebook post.
Cheryl Miles, a radio presenter from ONE FM 91.3, also paid tribute to Chester on Facebook by sharing a photo of them from the time they met at the 2003 MTV Asia Awards.
A Shock To The Music World
The tragic news came as a shock to the music world, seeing as to how Chester spent his final days.
On July 15, he retweeted an optimistic tweet of himself, Mike Shinoda and rappers Watsky and Chukwudi Hodge with a caption that stated “Can’t wait to see where this goes”.
Undoubtedly, Chester’s past was a dark one. Apart from growing up in a divorced family, he was also a victim of sexual abuse in his childhood.
Chester was very open with his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and revealed in an interview with Noisecreep that the singles “Crawling” and “My Suffering” were a direct reflection of the experiences he was going through.
Music was his way of coping, as he revealed to Rocksound that “If it wasn’t for music I’d be dead. One hundred per cent.”
This was probably best seen from their latest album “One More Light”, which was released on 19 May, as they shifted towards a more positive and introspective tone.
For example, in the single Battle Symphony, the lyrics say: If my armor breaks / I’ll fuse it back together / Battle symphony / Please just don’t give up on me / And my eyes are wide awake.
In an interview with Variety, lead guitarist Brad Delson said: “ We were in a really honest place with each other…There’s a theme of fragility of life and that what we love can be taken away from us in an instant.”
The Reality of Mental Illness
Certainly, their songs made an impact for local fans like 24 year-old Timothy Low, who shared that Linkin Park’s music was a major source of comfort in his teenage days.
“They helped show you that in a world on fire, you weren’t alone in your troubles. There(sic) was someone out there (who) “got” you, and understood.”
Timothy added that more importantly, this tragic incident should bring to light the harsh reality of mental illnesses.
“He had a family of six children. It’s hard to believe he would do something like that.
“This was the guy, the leader of the band so many young adults today had counted on once upon a time to help express their stress and their angst.”
“A person most had thought to be immune to problems like this. It just goes to show that no one is immune to the human condition I suppose…mental illness is real.”
