Chester Bennington’s bandmates blame the singer’s suicide on his demons.
“We’re trying to remind ourselves that the demons who took you away from us were always part of the deal. After all, it was the way you sang about those demons that made everyone fall in love with you in the first place,” the crew penned in an open letter after Bennington allegedly hung himself earlier this month.
Bennington killed himself on the birthday of his friend Chris Cornell, who also committed suicide earlier this year.
Christian and former rocker Alice Cooper says both deaths rocked him.
“It is really weird what’s going on right now,” Cooper tells Blabbermouth. “First of all, Chris Cornell was one of the most positive people I’d ever met in my life. He had everything going for him on every level. Same with Bennington; same with Chester. I mean, I knew both of these guys pretty well. And they were not heavy drug guys, they were not wild, crazy, insane Keith Moon types; they were really solid, solid, solid and the last people I would ever guess to commit suicide. So I have no idea what’s going on with all of this.”
He continues: “I think that people think that and I think that you feel that you have to be the tortured artist. I have never felt that. I came up against a battle with alcohol and drugs and I turned it to a different thing—I became Christian—and it took care of the whole thing. I haven’t had a drink in 37 years, and I’ve never been happier in my life. Other people go, ‘Well, I’ll meditate,’ or, ‘I’ll do yoga,’ or ‘I’ll do this or that.’ I don’t know. For me, it was turning to my faith and believing it’s something bigger than me, and it worked. So that’s all I can go by. But I was drinking a bottle of whisky a day, I was throwing up blood in the morning, and I was about ready to go until I really got hold of myself and decided what was important.”
Though no drugs were found at the scene, investigators are waiting on official toxicology results. Bennington previously opened up about his extensive alcohol and drug abuse.
“I was on 11 hits of acid a day. I dropped so much acid I’m surprised I can still speak! I’d smoke a bunch of crack, do a bit of meth and just sit there and freak out. Then I’d smoke opium to come down. I weighed 110 pounds. My mom said I looked like I stepped out of Auschwitz. So I used pot to get off drugs,” Bennington told Blabbermouth in 2016.
Bennington’s wife, Talinda, spoke out today for the first time since his death last week.
“One week ago, I lost my soulmate and my children lost their hero—their daddy. We had a fairy-tale life and now it has turned into some sick Shakespearean tragedy. How do I move on? How do I pick up my shattered soul?” Talinda says.
“The only answer I know is to raise our babies with every ounce of love I have left. I want to let my community and the fans worldwide know that we feel your love. We feel your loss as well. My babies are so young to have lost their daddy. And I know that all of you will help keep his memory alive. He was a bright, loving soul with an angel’s voice. And now he is pain-free, singing his songs in all of our hearts. May God bless us all and help us turn to one another when we are in pain. Chester would’ve wanted us to do so. Rest In peace, my love,” she says.
