I didn’t want people to think I was gay or that I was lying. “Like most people, I was too afraid to say anything. “It destroyed my self-confidence,” he told Metal Hammer. He had a rough childhood and was molested and beaten up by an older friend beginning around age seven. The band has won two Grammys.īennington was born March 20th, 1976 in Phoenix, the son of a police officer. Their most recent LP, One More Light, came out this past May. Over the years, they’ve proven themselves to be a malleable act, focusing more on electronic music sometimes and harder rock at others, and even teaming with Jay-Z on the platinum-selling Collision Course EP in 2004 and Steve Aoki on the remix release A Light That Never Comes in 2014. With the exception of 2014’s The Hunting Party, which debuted at Number Three, each subsequent Linkin Park release would claim the Number One spot. Its blend of rap, metal and electronic music propelled it to Number Two on Billboard, and the RIAA has subsequently certified it diamond, signifying sales of more than 10 million copies. Linkin Park were a breakout hit when they released their debut, Hybrid Theory, in 2000. In addition to working with Linkin Park, he also fronted Stone Temple Pilots between 20 and the side project Dead by Sunrise and supergroup Kings of Chaos. All of us at WBR join with millions of grieving fans around the world in saying: we love you Chester and you will be forever missed.”īennington’s screamed and emotional vocals provided a gritty counterpoint to co-frontman Mike Shinoda’s raps on the group’s nu-metal hits like “In the End” and “One Step Closer.” He sang the poppy melodies on the band’s recent hit “Heavy,” which featured singer Kiiara and reached Number Two on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart and Number 11 on the Top 40. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family, his bandmates and his many friends. “Chester Bennington was an artist of extraordinary talent and charisma, and a human being with a huge heart and a caring soul,” Warner Brothers Records CEO Cameron Strang said in a statement.