Manic Drive released a cover of Linkin Park's iconic classic "Numb" following the news of Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington's death. 

In an emotional post on facebook just hours after the news broke that the definitive nu-metal singer had died by suicide at 41, Manic Drive shared "They always said Shawn sounded like Chester, so in honor of him, we did our best. Prayers and thoughts go to his family and friends." You can watch the cover, featuring clips from the original music video, below.
 

Linkin Park was widely regarded as one of the most influential creators of rock since the 2000 release of Hybrid Theory. Christian musicians were among those shaped by their sound.

"I LOVE linkin park and I LOVE Chester's voice and it has been ripped away and stolen. There's no way to sugar coat this , or make it prettier. This just simply SUCKS," Skillet frontman John Cooper, a longtime vocal Linkin Park fan, shared in a raw instagram post. "I don't want to preach. I don't want to judge. I don't want to make trite statements as if I have this figured out. I do not. Just like all his other fans, I'm confused. I want to say out of total love and respect for the fans, just look at what suicide does to those who love you. It ravages the lives of those you leave behind. It's not poetic. It's not an answer." He ended the post with Psalm 43:1: "God is my refuge and my strength. He is always ready to help me in my times of trouble."

Brian "Head" Welch had been a longtime personal friend of Chester due to history with Korn. He shared multiple posts publicly wrestling with the news over the weekend, ranging from grief to anger to nostalgia. "I know this could have been me back in the day after getting wasted one night," he shared. He also shared a video entry, which you can watch here.

Many other Christian artists have taken the opportunity to spread hope on the subject of suicide and mental illness. Switchfoot shared an article by TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski on the subject, captioning it simply with the lyrics "every breath you take is a miracle." Seventh Day Slumber summarized their thoughts by posting "What you are looking for cannot be found at the bottom of a bottle of pills or at the end of a razor blade, it can't be found in another drink, drug or another relationship. What you're looking for can't be found online or at the end of a rope. The truth is, what you are looking for can only be found in the arms of Jesus."

A recurring theme in artists' posts was a plea to pray for Chester's wife and six children. A memorial page has been set up at http://chester.linkinpark.com/, where all social posts tagged with #RIPChester have been collected.

 

ADVERTISEMENT