Chester Bennington, the front man of rock band Linkin Park was found dead on Thursday at his Palos Verdes home near Los Angeles. He has reportedly committed suicide by hanging. His body was discovered Thursday morning just before 9 am.
Mike Shinoda, the vocalist of Linkin Park, confirmed the news and tweeted, “Shocked and heartbroken, but it’s true. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one”. Bennington, who was twice married and had six children, was a close friend of Sound garden front man Chris Cornell, who committed suicide in Detroit in May.
His suicide came on the day of his late friend Chris Cornell‘s 53 birthday. Bennington had a history of alcohol and drug abuse. He spoke openly in the past about his struggles to overcome his demons when Linkin Park first found fame in 2000 with their best-selling debut album “Hybrid Theory” and went on to become one of the most popular alt-rock bands of their generation. Linkin Park’s debut album “Hybrid Theory” included hits such as “In the End,””One Step Closer” and “Crawling,” which won a Grammy award in 2002 for best hard rock performance. The band experimented with rock, metal and rap, most notably collaborating with Jay-Z in 2004 on the “Collision Course” album. The album, a mash-up of the rapper’s hits with Linkin Park songs, included “Numb/Encore,” which won a Grammy award in 2006 for best rap/sung collaboration.
Linkin Park were one of the best selling alternative rock bands of all time, scoring a string of hits including ‘Faint,’ ‘In the End’ and ‘Crawling.
