In Memory of Chester Bennington
A new Linkin Park
I have been a fan of Linkin Park ever since my big brother introduced me to rock music.
Few rock bands stood out — Green Day, Evanescence, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Nickelback, Paramore, Wheatus, Imagine Dragons. But the band I loved the most was Linkin Park.
The band was an interesting dynamic. Wikipedia describes Shinoda as a rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. While Shinoda was known for his rapping verses, it was Chester who shattered our nerves with his outstanding vocals.
I was in class seven when rock music punched that indelible ink into my life. Emotions were getting out of hand as I swam deeper into the adolescence pool. Rock music stabilized me.
Outsiders don’t realise how soothing rock music can be. For a late bloomer like myself, Wheatus’s Teenage Dirtbag represented me. As a dreamer, I looked to songs such as City of Angels by Thirty Seconds to Mars. Songs that tugged at my humanity came from Green Day, Evanescence, Nickelback, Paramore, The Script, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, and, more than most, Linkin Park.
Numb was their first song that trickled down my pores to clench my heart in a tight fist. It had the effect of almost bringing me to tears. Later, the collaboration they did with Jay-Z hit a special sweet spot.
They literally crawled under my skin with their other hit, Crawling.
Then they released a song that doubled as the theme song for Transformers, New Divide. Personally, it had the same effect as Evanescence’s Bring Me to Life. They woke me up inside.
When I joined campus, I started a blog, popular among my classmates, but I stopped pursuing it for various reasons. My first post was about the uncut truths of rock music. By rock music, I was referring to the kind of music sung by the groups I have mentioned.
These groups were raw with emotion. The voices of the lead singers tried as much as they could to smooth the edges, but it only sharpened the blade of their message. Of all vocalists, it was Chester Bennington that I held with the highest regard.
Chester would not just sing. He would bleed on the microphone. You could see him stretch his cords by the taughtness of his neck muscles, and his face didn’t leave room for any mistakes — Chester felt what he sang.
Anytime I sang any of Linkin Park’s songs, my head would register Chester’s voice, with the occasional rap from Shinoda.
My first phone was a pink LG flip phone. My brother gave it to me when I was selected as one of the top students in the country for a one-week training. My family needed to know my whereabouts and that I was safe, or even that I was enjoying my stay far from home.
I didn’t know what to do with a phone of that kind. But I loved music. So the first thing I asked my brother was how I could get music to listen to besides radio stations.
That was how I downloaded all Adele’s and Linkin Park’s hits. My first ringtone was What I’ve Done. The effect of this song has been with me since primary school. Just writing about it, I can hear the electric guitar playing at the back of my mind.
The effect was so potent that even after my phone was stolen, I could hear the song whenever I walked to or from work.
Every Wednesday, between 5 and 6 pm, KTN would play rock music. The moment I heard this song and saw the video, it became embedded in one of my heart chambers, like a tattoo.
Tattoos can be painful. The first bite of the needle on the flesh is the most excruciating, but after that, it gets comforting. So I’ve heard. I don’t have tattoos.
But that’s how I felt when I heard Chester break into the chorus. The climax of the song stuck with me. I was 13 then.
Five years later, I downloaded the music on my phone and use it as my ringtone. Chester did that to me.
It was a strange feeling, because as I looked into his bio, I discovered he was born on the same day as me. Same date, different years. This was someone who you could see was in touch with his emotional side, the effects of which reverberated into his performance as a musician.
Then…
His death took me by surprise.
Linkin Park would be the first I would list if asked to name rock bands. Chester and Shinoda were the images that I would conjure. Now I had to fade one picture while preserving another.
But Shinoda had released a song with his other group, Fort Minor. The hit song was a reminder that we should never forget the name. More accurately, we need to remember the name. The name I remembered today was Chester Bennington.
The announcement of his demise shook me because I began asking myself how Linkin Park would thrive without the highly saturated emotional power of Chester.
Other similar bands have lost some of their pivotal members, such as The Script, which lost its guitarist. Rock is not rock without a guitar.
But a rock band needs a voice. What would Linkin Park be without a voice? Not just any voice, but a voice that defined the band? It’s like taking Amy Lee from Evanescence. In her words, Cheser’s voice…
Still lingers here
Indeed, Chester is immortal.
Chester’s memory comes at a time when my family is mourning the death of one of my cousins. She was the same age as me. And the songs that came to mind were my rock songs.
Rock songs don’t get their deserved praise for how much they can keep you intact when life feels like it's falling apart. Someone like Chester was getting numb within, yet his gift to the world brought so many people together. It restored faded hope.
Recently, my faith was restored when I went to watch the Champions League final with my friends. It was by a stroke of luck that one of my close friends showed me the band that played before the kick-off.
He had initially told me that Linkin Park had gotten a new lead vocalist, and it was a lady. What crawled into my mind was how anyone could replace Chester’s legacy.
Then I heard her sing.
True, Chester Bennington will forever live in our minds and hearts. Also true, Emily Armstrong was a perfect addition to the band. Her vocals brought back Chester Bennington.
I found myself almost tearing up, listening to how she sang the Linkin Park classics. Hope was restored. You can find the performance here:
As Shinoda reminds us:
The hardest part of ending is starting all over again.
It took Linkin Park years to recover. But here they are once again.
What I’m trying to say is…
Linkin Park mourned for seven years.
Sorry to sound biblical, but that’s just how long Jacob took before he got a hand in marriage. And Linkin Park has gotten someone to sing.
Emily Armstrong has a powerful voice. Before the Champions League final, she sang:
Don’t know what you’re expecting of me
But under the pressure, of walking in your shoes
I felt that. Chester’s shows were big. The pressure can be too much. But then she also sang the words:
To be more of me and less like you.
And there and then, I knew Chester might understand the decision to pick her as his replacement.
In my book, Chester is without a doubt the king of vocals in rock music. And I feel Emily Armstrong knows this. But she needs to build her legacy. I think she knows it. This is what she asked for.
Indeed, heavy is the crown that Chester wore. He wore it valiantly.
Here’s a small curation of songs I loved by Linkin Park, when Chester was still alive. They inspired this article.
My first introduction to Linkin Park. Source — YouTube
Another favourite, as I was headed to high school. Source — YouTube
Witness as the band bleeds. Source — YouTube
The collaboration I liked featuring Jay-Z. Source — YouTube
I was so moved by this song and video that I downloaded it to use as my first ringtone. Source — YouTube
As a Transformers fan, this song also got to me. Source — YouTube
Only reminds me of FIFA. The words, however, hit differently. Source — YouTube
I loved the transition from subtle instrumental to Shinoda’s rap and Chester’s entry. Source — YouTube
The bridge flowing into the chorus of this song carries its theme. Source — YouTube
This song was released 14 years ago, and is just as relevant now. Source — YouTube
I could say the same about this song. Source — YouTube
When this light went out, was when we knew how impactful it was. Source — YouTube
The first song I heard from Linkin Park after Chester’s passing, with Emily Armstrong as a member. Can’t wait to see what more songs they produce. Source — YouTube