Mike Shinoda Opens Up on Losing Chester Bennington, Explains What Late Linkin Park Frontman Was Really Like

Mike Shinoda described how the late frontman's challenging upbringing influenced his attitude and their relationship, claiming that no one in Linkin Park understood the severity of Chester Bennington's depression.

 The world was left in ruins following Chester Bennington's sad suicide in July 2017, in part because his life and work gave so many people a crucial lifeline during difficult times.

 Chester never concealed the emotional weight he carried throughout his life and the wounds left by the abuse he experienced as a youngster, either in his music or in his personal life. However, the extent of everything only became clearer when individuals closest to him began sharing tidbits of information with the public.

In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Mike Shinoda said that Chester was somewhat mysterious to his other Linkin Park members.  Recognizing that he was upset after the death of his friend and bandmate  According to Shinoda (transcribed by Blabbermouth):

 Yes, there were times when I had that feeling.  It must have been the same for others.  By the way, even supporters.  And that's normal, it's natural.  Anger is a part of one of the phases of mourning.
 When asked if it was challenging to work with someone who was depressed, Shinoda responded that at first he didn't know much about them but that they immediately connected over their personal traumas:

Nobody was aware of its depths.  I was unaware of Chester's stories when I first met him.  'I've never heard such a wild upbringing, such a crazy childhood,' I realized as I got to know him.  He barely avoided going to jail while running amok in the streets and using heavy narcotics on the roof of his high school.  And that's what created the dynamic we had.

"That is not how I grew up.  Being a mixed-race child without a community to call home made me feel like an outcast.  I'm partly Japanese.  I don't look Japanese, and I didn't speak it.  I was clearly not white, according to the white children.  I didn't speak Spanish, but the Latino kids were beginning to use it.  I had no 'home' and was constantly moving around.

When asked if Chester may be difficult to work with professionally, Shinoda responded:

 "No, not all at once.  The early days were more challenging because we were unsure of how things would turn out.  'Hybrid Theory' was just getting started, much like in its early days.  Additionally, we would win here and lose there. They're playing a song we provided to the radio. "Oh, the show is going to be kind of a small show," they said.  Getting there is going to be difficult.  It will be necessary for you to drive all night.  It will be difficult.  You will be worn out.  We all just became ill, by the way.  It was challenging.

"There was a person who would sneak out in the middle of all of that.  He would simply disappear and return completely destroyed, so inebriated that you couldn't even speak to him.  However, it's also humorous.

 Have you watched the episode of Friends where they had 'Fun Bobby'?  'Fun Bobby' is hilarious; everyone adores him, but as soon as he gets sober, everyone stops liking him.

 Sometimes Chester was really playful while he was that way, and the next day he would typically be really gloomy.  "He's really drunk; he's yelling and getting mad at everyone, and you're just like, 'Let's get through the day.'"

"Lost" is a previously unreleased song from the "Meteora" era that Linkin Park recently released.  Below, you can see it.