Chester Bennington’s Linkin Park Pens Tribute Launches Suicide-Prevention Site

UPDATED with band statement: Days after singer Chester Bennington took his own life, his longtime Linkin Park bandmates today released their first statement on his death. It comes a day after they set up a suicide-prevention web page in his honor.

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

The suicide prevention page, Chester.linkinpark.com, leads with, “In case you or someone you know needs support, here are some resources” and lists contact numbers and sites and prominently features #ripchester. It doubles as a place where fans can pay their condolences to the singer, with posts from various social media updating in real time.

Bennington, who co-fronted Linkin Park with rapper Mike Shinoda for more than two decades, was found dead Thursday at his home south of Los Angeles. The county coroner ruled his death suicide by hanging.

Bennington was a close friend of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, who hanged himself in May. Thursday would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday. Both men had struggled with substance abuse for many years.

The Los Angeles rap-rock band, which had just filmed a segment for Carpool Karaoke: The Series, has scored five No. 1 albums, including the May release One More Light, and placed dozen songs atop various rock charts. Its breakthrough album Hybrid Theory (2000) is considered the zenith of the nu metal genre, having moved more than 11 million units in the U.S. alone. Linkin Park was set to launch a North American tour next week in Boston, but it was canceled Saturday.