It's so easy to understate Linkin Park's impact on a generation of people. This news will upset people all over the entire world of a certain age. So sad.
My son is 10 and inherited my old CD collection (after rummaging through the garage) and discovered a lot of my favorite old albums, but Hybrid Theory is what he jams to the most. Just bought him an electric guitar for his bday a couple weeks back and On Step Closer is the first song he wanted to learn. Chester influenced a generation of kids with his lyrics, ability to rage but also be gentle, and his music is absolutely timeless. Gonna be jamming their discography for the next weeks in his honor...RIP buddy.
I'm of the same age range (32 in sept) and he absolutely bridged the gap between metal and rock, rap, rhythm, all of it. Every song on Hybrid Theory is a jam, and they just continued to evolve.
Damn. What a terrible day. Like many others, their music acted as a kind of gateway drug for me, one that ultimately lead to me discovery other bands in the "emo" scene years later. RIP. I hate that it had to end this way. Suicide is a terrible way to go. It always saddens me when someone feels that it's the only way.
I remember having to cut an article out of the newspaper with a quote from Chester stating he thinks it is lazy to curse in your lyrics so my mom would let me buy Meteora.
This is actually sticking with me a lot more than I thought it would. Linkin Park was a big deal for me from ages 16-19, and even to this day I still liked their new albums save for the most recent one. LP was my transition from listening to Hip hop like my older brother did into liking rock in my own way, and from there I moved into TBS, Blink and much more. It's a sad day for music, whether you liked the band or not. RIP Chester
It's funny how albums hold space in your memory. I'm getting nostalgic about road trips to the Oregon Coast, and playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted on mute while jamming Linkin Park records. Wishing if my parents could just listen to Hybrid Theory they'd know what I was feeling in my adolescent years...
So fucking sad. Feel like I'm the 100th person to say this in this thread alone but LP really were the first 'heavy' band that I ever got into, and the fact that thousands of people are saying the same thing today is testament to the huge impact the band, and of course Chester with that incredible voice, had on so many. Hybrid Theory is legendary status (I think one of, if not the, biggest selling album of the 21st century? Meteora not far behind too) and Chester was an icon of that era. He will be so missed.
Just listened to some of their newest stuff. Fans were going after them for that? Sure, it's a little more mainstream, but they still sound like Linkin Park. They've always had a slight pop bent IMHO, even when he was screaming.
33 in November. I've seen them half a dozen times. My wife wound up loving them so much, she learned how to play some of their instrumentals on cello ("Powerless" is a fucking JAM on classical instruments). I'm listening to the new record and "Sorry For Now" is hitting like a ton of fucking bricks. There's always help. There's always hope.
Was going to say similar, I perform at Second City and someone here was blasting their new album in the hallways and I found out it was them and actually dug a lot of it. Its different, but far from a bad record. This thing is just sad.
Hybrid Theory was one of the first cds that I ever bought on my own, and one of the first concerts I ever went to, this is terrible news R.I.P.
1st scream I learned to love - I think someone else said this too. HT was my first record where I sat in my room and was like "this is some special s**t!" Led me down the path of some amazing music. RIP Chester!
Got the Live in Texas CD/DVD for Christmas when I was 12 (I think) and just as many others have said that was the first time I ever got into heavy music. I've drifted away from this band more than many on this site have but this is still an awful loss. RIP Chester. Also, friendly reminder that public speculation about a person's mental health, including possible struggles with addiction, is never okay no matter how famous the person is. You never know how what you post might affect someone reading who is struggling with similar issues.
This is so sad. I remember being in 5th grade and loving good charlottes first album. I showed my buddy that album and he responded by showing me HT which for the time was on another level. These guys and story of the year were two of the bands that got me into music with screaming. Rip bud
Holy fuck this is so sad :( he seemed so nice and happy on Good Mythical Morning a few weeks back, I'm completely shocked.
Linken Park was the first band that felt like it was all mine back when I was only 6. My dad downloaded me a Dragon Ball Z music video edit of in the end off of Zazaa for me and I watched that thing a billion times. This is hitting me a lot harder than I thought it would, but him and I are more similar than I knew. Depression is no joke.