Today we tell you the story of Chester Bennington, lead singer of the nu metal band Linkin Park, of the Dead by Sunrise group he founded and, from May 2013 to November 2015, of Stone Temple Pilots. Not an easy story, tragically ended on July 20 five years ago.
A difficult youth for Chester Bennington
Chester Charles Bennington was born on March 20, 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona, to a policeman father and a nurse mother. Chester has two younger sisters and a half-brother, Brian, who is 13 years his senior.
He attended Greenway Middle School and Washington High School, where he graduated in 1994.
As a child, Chester sang all over the house imagining himself to be the fifth member of Depeche Mode. We have to admit that, a few weeks after Depeche Mode’s Andrew Flecther “Fletch” died, this phrase has a sad irony.
Instead what you read in the next lines will make you shiver. Chester was sexually abused by a family friend when he was only 7 years old. His parents divorced when he was only 11 years old. He then fell into drugs. From then until the age of 16, Chester admitted he was addicted to cannabis, then to cocaine, methamphetamine and LSD. He never hid his alcoholism and drug addiction, de facto describing himself as a drug addict.
Before his musical career, he lived on odd jobs: assistant in a digital service company, he also worked in a bar. Chester also had his own idea of religion: “I believe in God but I don’t practice, preach or openly discuss my idea.” The artist thus tries, throughout his career, to use his pain to create. Let’s see now how.
Chester Bennington’s career
Chester Bennington has always had the ambition to become a singer, as we told you in the previous paragraph. His first band to him was Gray Daze, a band from Arizona he joined in 1993. But sometime later, Chester left the band because he wanted his talent as a songwriter to be fully recognized. After auditioning, he joined Linkin Park in 1997 to become their second singer besides Mike Shinoda.
In 2000, the group signed with Warner Bros and released their first album: Hybrid Theory, which became a worldwide hit with 24 million copies sold. I think those born in the 80s will all remember this album and Chester’s powerful voice in songs like One Step Closer very well.
In 2002, Chester and Linkin Park released Reanimation, a remix of songs from Hybrid Theory. Then in 2003 a new album was released: Meteora. In the same year Live in Texas was released, recorded during the tour with Metallica.
During the summer of 2003, Bennington began to suffer from severe abdominal pain and gastrointestinal problems while filming Numb’s music video in Prague. He was forced to return to the United States for treatment. The rest of the video was then shot in Los Angeles.
In 2004 he appeared on Collision Course, an album produced with Jay-Z. In 2007, Linkin Park released Minutes to Midnight, followed by the live album Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes in 2008.
Other projects
On October 12, 2009, his new band’s debut album, Dead by Sunrise, titled Out of Ashes, was released as he finished recording Linkin Park’s new album, A Thousand Suns, released on September 13, 2010. In 2012, the band released their latest studio album, Living Things, then in May 2013 they announced they were in the studio preparing a new album.
On May 19, 2013, Chester becomes the new lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots. About his new band, he says: “I’ve loved Stone Temple Pilots since I was 13 and they had a huge influence on me. When the opportunity arose to create something together, I jumped at it. . The guys from Linkin Park gave me all their support to do this collaboration while I continued to work with them on our new album. ” He left the group in November 2015. In 2013, Linkin Park released a new remix album: Recharged, the album The Hunting Party in 2014 and 2017 “One More Light”.
We can add that Chester Bennington was also active in the cinema, making cameos in Hyper Tension (boy in pharmacy) in 2006, replicating in Hyper Tension 2 and then also in the hit Saw saga. Specifically, in 2010, Chester played the role of Evan in Saw 3D: Final Chapter.
Trauma and health problems
Bennington sadly had health problems off stage. He suffered a severe spider bite on the Ozzfest tour in 2001. He struggled with health issues while making Meteora and also struggled to participate in part of the album recording sessions.
In addition, he sustained a wrist injury in October 2007 while attempting to jump off a platform during a show in Melbourne, Australia, at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite the injury, he ends the show with a broken wrist before going to the emergency room. He will receive five points.
During a basketball match between members of the Linkin Park group and those of Of Mice and Men, Chester Bennington falls and breaks his ankle. This event takes place during their US tour The Hunting Party Tour on January 20, 2015. He still manages to attend the show that night but then Linking Park had to end the tour.
Death of Chester Bennington
On July 20, 2017, the singer was found dead by a hanged employee at his residence in Palos Verdes Estates in California. The coroner confirms a suicide.
The reasons for his action are undetermined, but the press reports that he was deeply shaken by the suicide of his friend Chris Cornell a few months earlier. In May 2017, Chester Bennington had in fact written in a letter: “I can’t imagine a world without you”. In fact, July 20 would have been Chris Cornell’s birthday. Forget the speculations about the relationship between the two singers that the press has wallowed in too much.
On July 29, 2017, a funeral ceremony was held at the South Coast Botanical Garden in Palos Verdes Estates, California, in the presence of many rock musicians.
A few days after Chester Bennington’s death, his wife publicly showed a video, which we report below, in which she shows today’s leading singer having fun, a few days after his disappearance. In this video Talinda wants to show how subtle and invisible depression can be.
Chester leaves six children upon death: four boys and two girls (twins). Jaime Bennington, his eldest son, was born in 1996 from his relationship with then-girlfriend Elka Brand. Isaiah Bennington was born the following year. Isaiah is the son of Elka Brand but he is not the biological son of Chester. Chester separated from Elka Brand in 1996 to marry his first wife Samantha Marie Olit. However, he officially adopted Isaiah in 2006. Draven Sebastian Bennington was born in 2002 from his relationship with his first wife Samantha Marie Olit. Tyler Lee was born in 2006 from his relationship with his second wife Talinda Ann Bentley. Lily and Lila Bennington were born in 2011 to their last wife.
Is there a future for Linkin Park?
On September 18, two months after Chester Bennington’s passing, the five remaining members of Linkin Park announced a special concert in memory of the singer, Linkin Park and Friends: Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington, which took place on October 27 at ‘ Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and where they were accompanied by numerous musicians and colleagues including Avenged Sevenfold, Blink-182, System of a Down and many more.
During the special concert, Shinoda debuted the unreleased song Looking for an Answer, which he composed eight days after Bennington’s disappearance.
Even today, 5 years after that tragic 20 July 2017, Bennington’s colleagues are asked what will become of Linkin Park, whose career was interrupted with the death of the singer.
In April of this year; Mike Shinoda, chatting on Twitch with fans of him, revealed that he has no plans for Linkin Park, stuck at the stake after Chester Bennington’s death.
“The only Linkin Park news I have to give you is that, yes, we talk about it every now and then but there are no tours in sight, there is no new music, there are no albums in the pipeline. Remember that it will not happen, for now I will not add more, “he said.
This could be the answer to the rumors spread on the net of a possible involvement of Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 to replace Bennington. Shinoda added:
Whenever anyone in the band says or does something, everyone tries to build the hype. We strongly ask not to do it, because there is only from being disappointed.
#imaboutobreak
#castleofglass
