Death of Linkin Park lead singer: A talent of darkness and hope

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For those growing up at the turn of the century, it is likely that hard-rock band Linkin Park was on their MP3 players.

With Chester Bennington's piercing and pained vocals, Mike Shinoda's rapping and the band's irresistible pop hooks, Linkin Park grew from a nascent group full of unfamiliar faces to a household name in many countries.

Today, fans are devastated at the news that Bennington has died, aged 41, in an apparent suicide. His body was found at his private home in the United States at 9 local time.

Shinoda confirmed the news on Twitter, and the official website soon changed its cover.

 Tributes to Bennington were flooding in.

Songs of darkness and hope

Chester's parents divorced when he was 11 years old. He went to live with his father, whom he described as "not emotionally very stable then". He said in an interview, "there was no one I could turn to."

Chester is said to have struggled with alcohol and drug abuse for years, and has talked about contemplating suicide in the past as a result of being a victim of child abuse. He was married twice and has six children.

Linkin Park's songs have had a far-reaching influence on fans with some even describing them as life-changing. 

As Bennington sang:

We all fall down,

We live somehow,

We learn what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

One fan wrote:

I have experienced numerous parts of your life…I want to thank you for helping me win mine many years ago. I hope you have found the peace you were looking for. You were a man of so much talent, lyrically and musically. You will be missed.

A music talent

Linkin Park's first album Hybrid Theory became the biggest selling album of 2001 and has sold over 11 million albums in the United States, making it one of the biggest selling albums released since the start of the millennium. The band also won two Grammy Awards.

Early this year, the band released its latest album One More Light and was planning a world tour. On the internet, people posted tickets of their past concerts and memories of the late music talent.

Bennington's milestones

• Born March 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona, son of a police officer

• Performed with Phoenix post-grunge band Grey Daze 1993-98

• Joined Linkin Park in 1998; Hybrid Theory was released two years later

• Fronted the Stone Temple Pilots between 2013 and 2015

• Also performed with super groups Dead by Sunrise and Kings of Chaos

Editors: Jiao Jie, Zheng Peihan (intern)

Sources: Newsweek, BBC

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