ALTHOUGH CHESTER BENNINGTON passed away three months ago, family, friends and fans of the singer have still yet to get their heads around the fact that he’s gone.
Earlier this week, his wife Talinda Bennington shared a video from 36 hours before his death to show that ‘depression doesn’t have a face or a mood’, and the extent to which people suffer in silence.
She was since praised for raising awareness on the subject of mental health.
Following Talinda’s heartbreaking post, Linkin Park announced a date for their first performance without Chester.
The band will play in Los Angeles on the 27th of October. Bandmate Mike Shinoda was convinced to perform again by producer Rick Rubin told him:
I think you guys need to get on stage. I think that’ll be the thing that’ll feel good. It’ll be super, super hard. The fans want to see you. Not because they want to see a show. There’s a cathartic experience that needs to happen and it’ll inform what you guys are doing.
After a lot of deliberation and consideration for how the other band members would cope with doing this, Mike decided ‘it feels like the right way to celebrate Chester’.
In addition to this announcement, the band released a video for ‘One More Light’, a song that was not intended to be a single until it became a great comfort to fans after Chester’s death.
Linkin Park’s DJ Joe Hahn directed the video. It was accompanied by a statement from him when it was released:
It has been incredibly emotional to work on this, and especially to watch it. I feel that by doing it, we not only faced some of our biggest fears, but it enabled us to use our talents to bring some light to people that need it.
It’s very hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to create a music video like this dedicated to one of your closest friends. Bennington’s wife Talinda took to Twitter to say that she was completely unable to watch it.
Hahn’s statement continued:
As we move forward to the Hollywood Bowl show and beyond, I think about the people that connect with the band, outside and inside our circle. This video is a gesture of good will to the people that want that connection.
Mike Shinoda also released a statement with the music video.
One More Light was written with the intention of sending love to those who lost someone. We now find ourselves on the receiving end. In memorial events, art, videos and images, fans all over the world have gravitated towards this song as their declaration of love and support for the band and the memory of our dear friend, Chester. We are so very grateful and can’t wait to see you again.
Fans on social media expressed that they could not help but shed a tear while watching the video.
If you need to talk, contact:
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Aware 1800 804848 (depression, anxiety)
Pieta House 1800 247247 or email mary@pieta.ie – (suicide, self-harm)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 666666 (for under 18s)
