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The death of Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, last week came as a complete shock. The singer, a close friend of Chris Cornell who took his life in similar circumstances only a few months ago, had been suffering from severe depression for many years.
Bennington had recently disclosed in an interview to NME the state of his own mental health issues, describing his mind as 'a bad neighbourhood'.
It was confirmed today by a coroner that the singer's cause of death was by hanging and shortly after this the band released a heartfelt tribute to Chester Bennington.
Dear Chester,
Our hearts are broken. The shockwaves of grief and denial are still sweeping through our family as we come to grips with what has happened.
You touched so many lives, maybe even more than you realized. In the past few days, we’ve seen an outpouring of love and support, both public and private, from around the world. Talinda and the family appreciate it, and want the world to know that you were the best husband, son, and father; the family will never be whole without you.
Talking with you about the years ahead together, your excitement was infectious. Your absence leaves a void that can never be filled—a boisterous, funny, ambitious, creative, kind, generous voice in the room is missing. We’re trying to remind ourselves that the demons who took you away from us were always part of the deal. After all, it was the way you sang about those demons that made everyone fall in love with you in the first place. You fearlessly put them on display, and in doing so, brought us together and taught us to be more human. You had the biggest heart, and managed to wear it on your sleeve.
Our love for making and performing music is inextinguishable. While we don’t know what path our future may take, we know that each of our lives was made better by you. Thank you for that gift. We love you, and miss you so much.
Until we see you again,
LP
Meanwhile, news surfaced over the weekend that the band recorded an appearance on an episode of Carpool Karaoke in the week prior to the singer's death that will be screened later in the year.
The show, a spin-off of the popular music segment from The Late Late Show With James Cordon, filmed an episode featuring Linkin Park on 14 July with comedian Ken Jeong. Following the announcement of Bennington's passing, Jeong posted his reaction to the news on Twitter:
I am in shock and heartbroken. All my thoughts and prayers go out to Chester and his family and friends at this time.
— Ken Jeong (@kenjeong) July 20, 2017
Fun day with @kenjeong @CarpoolKaraoke @AppleMusic - stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/v8tSBG1cwF
— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) July 14, 2017
While Carpool Karaoke as a show unto itself seems a dubious idea at the best of times, there will be an odd poignancy to the presumably rather jocular episode when, or even if, it does air in early October. After what has happened, it'll be difficult to watch the band engaging in the light-hearted frivolity of the show, knowing in hindsight the tragedy that lay just around the corner.
It'll certainly be a difficult watch.
