There is a thing called the Rock and Roll Curse that any central powerhouse legend of rock and metal wouldn’t live past 27.
This pattern repeated for several of the greats from the 80s, where their freewheeling and daring lifestyles lacked health concerns.
They partied hard and often and usually paid the price. But the curse persisted in other ways.
Even if the rockers were clean as a whistle for much of their lives, eventually, the Sandman called, and they had to answer by themselves.
Chester Bennington was one of the 90s and early 2000s stars as the lead singer of Linkin Park. He also fronted several other bands and was a prolific lead vocalist.
He beat the rock and roll curse by a good 14 years and died at 41. Still too soon, and in a far more tragic way. It wasn’t drugs and hard-partying.
The man who sang In The End and Numb suffered from the same aggressive sadness that his lyrics reflected.
10 /10 It Starts With...
Chester had a troubled youth. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a detective explicitly assigned to child sexual abuse cases.
Chester ended up being one of those cases as young as seven when he was abused by an older male friend, who himself was a victim.
The abuse lasted until Chester was 13, by which time his parents had divorced.
When it came time for Chester to confront his abuser finally, after learning their past, he chose not to pursue them once he realized that they suffered first.
9 /10 Breaking The Habit
Most rock stars overindulge in hard drugs after they gain massive success. Chester got all of that out of his system in his youth. His abuse led to a disturbed mental state.
He frequently had the urge to run away and harm others. He self-therapied by drawing pictures and writing songs.
While in high school, Chester abused marijuana, opium, cocaine, meth, and LSD and was bullied for his depleted, skinny frame and for looking so different that young.
Once he moved back in with his mother, he was shut inside to prevent his destructive behaviors.