Linkin Park’s Chester Never forgotten – In the End it Really Does Matter

Last week we lost another music great, Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington. Chester reportedly took his own life and while I know suicide is a harsh reality and this does happen.. I’m still in shock. Having just toured and played London’s Brixton Academy two weeks ago this feels completely out of the blue- or is it?  As reports are reveal that Chester had a turbulent life, drugs, abuse as a child and thrown into a life of entertainment where your life is scrutinised and magnified maybe this end was inevitable?

Linking Park were the soundtrack of my teenage years, I  remember blaring out Linkin Park from my room with my brother telling me to turn that ‘rubbish off’ but to me the music was almost visual and really spoke to me, the perfect blend of rock pop and hip hop.  It was all I needed at the time to get me through my younger years.   Chester’s voice captivating, raw and fresh  I was hooked from the very beginning with ‘In The End’ being my go to track playing it on rotation at Uni. His words really spoke to me and some of the greatest lyrics ever written ( in my eyes anyway).

Lyrics as super personal, simple but yet expressive as “I tried so hard And got so far, But in the end, It doesn’t even matter,  had to fall to lose it all, But in the end, It doesn’t even matter” and lyrics to ‘Numb’ from the album Meteora, listening to them all again and realising  half of all the songs I like from Linkin Park are in affect drenched with pain and can in affect be suicide songs ( but maybe I’m just being glum and reading too much into the lyrics). 

With many artists such as  the late Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston and many others the magic in the music always comes from a great source of pain. It seems that even in such an Information Age its still hard to speak about  concerns,  worries, pain and any kind of depression with pressures from the media to constantly be photoshop ’perfect’

A coroner confirmed that Bennington, who was found at home on Thursday morning, died by hanging. He was 41, and left behind a wife and six children.

Linkin Park have cancelled their North American summer tour, which was due to begin next week and have launched a suicide prevention site after Chester Bennington’s death

The memories will never fade thanks for your honest lyrics and for bearing your soul- RIP Chester💫

Put simply– “LIFE IS TOO SHORT SO LIVE IT” 

Linkin Park

https://linkinpark.com/

Advice lines and support:

Samaritans: Talk To Us – samaritans.org‎

www.samaritans.org/‎