Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington took his own life last month, resulting in tributes and some speculation that his decision may have been influenced by Chris Cornell, the Soundgarden singer who also took his own life earlier this year. In a new piece from Rolling Stone, Bennington’s close friends dispel that myth, citing that Bennington’s death was more directly related to his own mental health and addiction issues.
Ryan Shuck, a friend and collaborator of Bennington’s, says the singer had opened up to him a month before his death about his struggles, describing via text “an hour-by-hour battle with addiction.” Apparently, Bennington had relapsed from his sobriety as recently as October. Other friends say that he was often upbeat, and Linkin Park’s tour manager described him as being in “the best physical condition of his life.”