Night Island

CW: Suicide:

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington commits suicide at age 41

Regardless of what you thought of their music, this is tragic. Another life lost to suicide... I don't know everyone else's experiences with the band, but I can't imagine my adolescence without them. There was a time in the 2000s when Linkin Park and Evanescence songs reigned supreme in AMVs, which is how I discovered both of them. As cliche as it may sound, their music *spoke to me* at a very emotional part of my life. They were the soundtrack for many nostalgic Yu Yu Hakusho AMVs (especially those made by Maze Castle back in the day) as well as many angsty nights. While my musical taste has shifted away from them in recent years, they were a formative band for me. I've spent the afternoon listening and singing along to Linkin Park songs old and new in his memory.

Maybe nobody cares about this band in fandom anymore, but I just did not expect to wake up to this news today, especially since I can relate to his mental health struggles. Somehow, I made it through all those trying years, and I hope you all do, too.