On Linkin Park’s Legacy — RIP Chester Bennington (1976–2017)

I wasn’t quite 13 years old when Hybrid Theory was released. My musical world consisted the music of my parents — classical music and the singer songwriters of the 1960s and 70s — as well as what little I could pick up on the radio (“Blue” by Eiffel 65 for example…) My big cousin Dan was a couple of months away from giving me that first mind-blowing mixed tape for my 13th birthday. If “Egregious Classics” (that tape) shattered my musical glass ceiling, Linkin Park were the first cracks.
I distinctly remember sitting in the car with the radio on as my parents were grocery shopping the first time I heard “One Step Closer.” The aggression was exhilarating. But when that bridge kicked in — “SHUT UP WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU!” — it was the first time music had genuinely FRIGHTENED me! I actually switched the channel. But I was hooked. I started hoping I could hear “that angry song” again. Then “In The End” came out and altered my mind even further. It didn’t just touch me, it touched a generation. “In The End” reached NUMBER 2 on the Billboard main charts. That’s insane. Further more, Hybrid Theory was the best selling record of 2001!
I spent hours with my sony walkman/fm radio just waiting for it to come on. I memorized the lyrics. I could rap along to the whole thing before I even bought the album. It was my third album I ever bought. And I bought it on a Quebec exchange trip because I figured I could keep my parents from finding out. It may seem a small rebellion, but it was one of my first and as such, vital. I spent hours pouring over the album jacket; I read every. single. word, from the lyrics to the thank yous to the recording personnel. I even tried to draw visual representations of each of the songs’ themes.

Rock and hip hop had blended before, but I’d never heard it, and some how by focusing on emotions rather than bravado the album felt so totally new. For my vanilla ears it was extreme, but because they avoided cursing I felt like it was okay for me to delve in.
Later Reanimation, a collection of remixes with heavy hip hop contributions, blew my mind further by exposing me to more rap styles as well as electronic music. My obsession deepened. Then Meteora secured LP as my favourite band. By expanding sonically and having vulnerability replace some of the vitriol of the first album (without losing any energy), it resonated even more deeply. Chester Bennington’s voice was a large part of the connection I felt. I saved up, bought tickets, and convinced my parents to take me across the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver to see them and P.O.D. perform. It was my first big concert and it was visceral and overwhelming. It was the loudest thing I’d ever heard, and the most exciting. I screamed along with every word of both bands until my throat hurt too much to continue. The ringing in my ears afterwards seemed to last forever.
Over the years other musical interests took over, and Linkin Park faded from the forefront. They will always be a foundational group for me. They are a soundtrack of firsts and a gateway drug into both hip hop and metal. I bought my first guitar because I wanted to play along with them, and the first song I tried to learn at my first guitar lesson was “One Step Closer”. My first real make out session was at that first concert too (sorry to the guys who came to the concert with me). My first band poster on my wall. My first attempts at screaming. Beyond metal and hip hop they also introduced me to electronic music, DJing, graffiti art (I bought my first spray paint can after watching the video on the creation of Meteora’s album art), and baggy pants. I even wanted to get those hideous flaming wrist tattoos.
So deeply entrenched is Linkin Park’s music in my mind that I still probably have about 90% of all three albums memorized to this day. Chester and the rest of the LP family gave voice to my teenage angst and created an outlet for unnamed frustrations and emotions. I’m sorry that Chester didn’t find the peace or connection he was so fervently searching for in his music; the connection and sense of “I’m not alone in feeling this” that he gave thousands of fans over the years. My thoughts are with his wife and kids and the rest of the band as they mourn. Chester gave a voice to a whole confused generation, including me. This music fan will remember his voice and his heart gratefully and fondly for years to come. RIP.
