Linkin Park is a massively successful alternative rock band from Agoura Hills, California. When they formed in 1996, no one knew just what a success they would become. In the early 2000's, they rose to popularity quickly with songs off of their album "Hybrid Theory," which includes hits like "Crawling," and "One Step Closer." After the success of "Hybrid Theory," the band set out their new record "Meteora," which was again monumental and gained them even more success.
Band history
The rest of the band's history is very well recorded by many different sites and sources. Unfortunately, the band has been through some rough times as of this year. Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, was a huge friend and fan of Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden. Sadly, early in 2017, Chris Cornell was reported dead in his hotel room after an apparent suicide.
Chester Bennington took this news very hard, being that he was friends with Chris Cornell. He often would talk about suicide prevention at Linkin Park's own concerts and other musical gigs, along with posting about his platonic love for the late singer.
Around two months after the news of Chris Cornell's suicide, the world was saddened once again by the news of Chester Bennington's suicide. Linkin Park, as a band, took some time to grieve and organize an event dedicated to the memory of Chester Bennington's life. But, now that the world's grieving has passed a little, we have questions. What will happen to Linkin Park? Will they get a new singer? Will Mike Shinoda take over the singing? Well, let's take a look at recent events.
Chester's Death
Chester Bennington was found dead in his home on July 20th, 2017. He had apparently hanged himself, just as Chris Cornell was found, a few months before. Chester had obviously suffered from depression for a long time, and this was prevalent in his music lyrics.
The link provided will take you to another article I wrote about writing songs and evoking emotions. Common sense dictates that songs like "Crawling," paint pictures of being trapped within yourself as if you can not break free and be the person you actually want to be.
Mike Shinoda
After the news of Chester's death, his bandmates, including Mike Shinoda, went on to write on Facebook and Twitter posts about their sorrow and shock, while asking for some time to grieve. This was completely understandable to ask of fans, especially when there are so many of them.
Fans reached out to the band members with nothing but condolences and reassurance to take as much time as the band needed to take. Mike Shinoda posted a while later, thanking fans for their kind words and for allowing time to heal.
He also made a statement revealing the event that Linkin Park was organizing to celebrate Chester's life. Now that all that commotion has settled down, Mike commonly posts about what the band is thinking about doing and awards, or other things going on in his world.
What will Happen to Linkin Park
Nobody knows for sure what will happen to Linkin Park. It's probably safe to say they will keep creating music, but who will sing? Again, will Mike step-in and fill the void without having to find someone. Or, will they hunt for a new, creative, and powerful singer that will shake the world with his voice as his predecessor accomplished?
It's not really going to matter how Linkin Park will continue. They will overcome this and when they do, they will be a stronger, brighter, and more passionate band than they ever were. Songs will surely come from this tragedy and fans can't wait to hear the expression of emotion from this already powerful and capable band.