ALL THE WORLD'S LOVE COULDN'T SAVE CHESTER BENNINGTON AND THAT'S HEARTBREAKING

Picture this. One childhood, marred by sexual, physical abuse and the ensuing mental torture. Then you finally come of age and find out that you have one outlet: music. So, you end up creating music, screaming your lungs out, and hit the right notes.

That was Chester Bennington. Despite his troubled childhood and struggles with drugs and alcohol, he went on to become the front man of one of the leading rock bands of the 90s, Linkin Park, in his early twenties.

Twenty years later, he is found dead. On 21st July, 2017, the musician was found dead in his residence in the United States of America. He was apparently found hanging. A suspected case of suicide.

Bennington’s rugged, yet melodious voice, cut across religion, caste and gender. Linkin Park, back in 2000, became the earth shattering rock band that completely changed the game of music that was being played out then.

At a time when the industry was being ruled by boy-scout vocals and teen pop, Bennington and his army of men came in like a breath of fresh air. Except that this air was rugged, heavy and unlike what one would generally breathe in.

“He sang like a f****** beast, the same way he sings now,” the band’s rapper Mike Shinoda said in an interview in 2008, as he described Bennington’s audition for the group, which was soon to become the biggest hit in terms of an amalgamation of hip-hop and metal.

Linkin Park became a symbol of hope, despair, anger and sadness for many. The band was symbolic in the sense that many tuned into it to vent out and could relate to. From ‘Numb’ to ‘One Step Closer’, the sadness and angst in the songs was met with love. And it all mostly was because of Bennington.

His voice was sad, disturbing and raw. There was something about him that made us want to listen to him on loop. “I’ve become so numb”, “This is how it ends”—some of lyrics from LP’s songs pierced our hearts. And it was all Bennington. His voice made the song deeper, more influential and created this indelible imprint in our minds that, hands down, will remain in us forever.

He had once famously said, in an interview, that going through abuse and battling drug and alcohol issues ‘paid off for him’. His music was proof of his statement.

He had tapped into the negative things in his life and millions of millennials caught on to it. Even when teenagers had a loving family and friends, many of them would still be crying their eyes out at night. For no reason. But Bennington screamed for them. He stirred their souls. And he sang for them. He was their knight in shining armour, screaming his love and pain out.

He made a choice to suffer, at the hands of his own art. And sadly so, he did it beautifully. His pain and angst made for great music. But that was not enough. All the love in the world was not enough for him.

Whether his music legacy will continue to its best possible ending is yet to be seen, but the fact that no amount of fan following could save him is enough for us to be talking about suffering. Sure enough, suffering and pain make for great lyrics, but that shouldn’t be the end of it.

Nobody really noticed how Bennington, song after song, went back to the same wounds despite adapting so well with his team’s forwardness. One after the other, Bennington happened to be only one creating magic with his pain. And that, when you think of it now, hurts the most.

He didn’t reach out. While his songs saved the lives of millions, he didn’t reach out to even one. His wounds were left open, with nobody to tend to it. His music was his outlet which soon became his tragedy. His gigs would be complete sell outs but beyond the lights and glamour, there was a man screaming and singing for the rest for the world which couldn’t hear.

His death comes almost a month after his close friend and Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell killed himself. Depression clearly is a raging topic that is not talked about enough.

Their deaths, and also of those like Kurt Cobain, only bring forth the saddest truth that exists in the real world. Loneliness can creep in, even when you have the world at your feet. And its about time we get real about this.

If nothing, we can at least save our heroes. And heroes don’t always come wearing capes.