Linkin Park’s lead singer Chester Bennington commits suicide

chester bennington linkin park drew de f fawkes flickr

Chester Bennington, the lead singer of nu-metal band Linkin Park, has died in an apparent suicide at his home in Los Angeles.

News broke Thursday evening SAST, just a few hours after Linkin Park’s latest music video “Talking To Myself” debuted on YouTube.

Bennington, who led Linkin Park’s vocal ensemble for much of his career, helped the band to 70-million album sales and two Grammy Awards. He also formed the electronic rock ensemble Dead By Sunrise in 2005.

Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park’s chief songwriter, took to Twitter to confirm the news.

The tweet has since received over 210 000 retweets, and a slew of positive sentiment from fans and those in the industry.

Linkin Park’s official Twitter account led with a still of Bennington in concert, receiving close to 500 000 retweets and close to 800 000 likes in just over 10 hours.

Musicians and celebrities led the tributes on social media. Rihanna took to Instagram hailing Bennington as the “most impressive talent” she’s seen live.

Chance the Rapper took to Twitter to offer condolences to Bennington’s friends and family.

Lupe Fiasco tweeted a number of responses to the news.

“Damn This really hurts a lot man,” he writes in one.

Paramore lead Hayley Williams posted a heartfelt introspective into the life of a musician.

“[A]rtists are ppl compelled to bring beauty into a world that can be so dark. makes sense then that artists are always conscious of darkness….. & maybe at times made more vulnerable by it? i don’t know. life can be relentless. heart hurts for Chester’s family/band/friends/fans,” tweets Williams.

OneRepublic and Nickelback also took to the social network to pay tribute to the musician.

Fans expressed how Chester Bennington and Linkin Park helped them through the toughest periods of their lives.

“He got me through my suicidal period,” on user writes.

Chester Bennington was 41.

Feature image: Drew de F Fawkes via Flickr (CC BY 2.0, resized)

Andy Walker, former editor
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