|
 Bennington, 41, known for his powerful, belting
vocals, died at his Palos Verdes home near Los Angeles, the Los
Angeles County Coroner's office said.
Spokesman Brian Elias said the death was being handled as an
apparent suicide, and celebrity website TMZ, citing law
enforcement sources, said Bennington had hung himself while
alone at the house when his family was out of town.
"Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true. An official statement
will come out as soon as we have one," tweeted Linkin Park
vocalist Mike Shinoda.
Bennington had a history of alcohol and drug abuse. He spoke
openly in the past about his struggles to overcome his demons
when Linkin Park first found fame in 2000 with their
best-selling debut album "Hybrid Theory" and went on to become
one of the most popular alt-rock bands of their generation.
The band's latest album, "One More Light," was released in May,
and Linkin Park had been touring South America and Europe until
two weeks ago.
Bennington's death came a week before the band was due to kick
off the U.S. leg of the tour on July 27 in Mansfield,
Massachusetts. It also came the same day as the release of
Linkin Park's music video "Talking to Myself."
"This BREAKS OUR HEART. Suicide is the devil on earth walking
amongst us," tweeted U.S. band One Republic.
Punk rock singer Tyson Ritter, frontman of All-American Rejects,
said on Twitter that Bennington was "another gifted voice
silenced to the spirit in the sky-forever alive in song."
[to top of second column] |
Bennington, who was twice married and had six children, was a close
friend of Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell, who committed suicide
in Detroit in May.
Fans noted on Thursday that Bennington had apparently taken his own
life on what would have been Cornell's 53rd birthday.
"Just when I thought my heart couldn't break any more," Cornell's
wife Vicky tweeted on Thursday on hearing of Bennignton's death.
Linkin Park's debut album "Hybrid Theory" included hits such as "In
the End," "One Step Closer" and "Crawling," which won a Grammy award
in 2002 for best hard rock performance.
The band experimented with rock, metal and rap, most notably
collaborating with Jay-Z in 2004 on the "Collision Course" album.
The album, a mash-up of the rapper's hits with Linkin Park songs,
included "Numb/Encore," which won a Grammy award in 2006 for best
rap/sung collaboration.
The band has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide.
(Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing
by Leslie Adler and Meredith Mazzilli)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
