The way the members of Linkin Park saw it at the time, July 6th 2017 was supposed to be just another night on the job: more specifically a show at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England, held just a few weeks in advance of a massive North American trek behind that year's chart-topping album, One More Light.
To the despair of the alt-rock icons, and indeed the entire music world, the concert proved anything ordinary, for one, simple, heartbreaking reason — it was the last performance of frontman Chester Bennington's life. The singer, 41, committed suicide at his California home just two weeks after the gig, on July 20th.
Even though the singer had never shied away from airing his struggles with mental illness, abuse, and addiction in his music, the news shocked his colleagues and loved ones nonetheless. "He was on top of the world," recalled Sean Dowdell, drummer for Bennington's previous band Grey Daze and a close friend of the singer childhood, in a Rolling Stone interview; the two had spoken on the phone just two days prior to his death.
The remaining five members of Linkin Park were devastated by the loss, but still they carried on. That October, the group hosted a star-studded memorial concert in Bennington's honor in Los Angeles, marking their first onstage appearance since his death. Beyond that show, Linkin Park's future remains in the dark.
