Gerard Way is “devastated” over the death of Chester Bennington, crediting the late singer for "changing his life".
The former My Chemical Romance frontman has opened up about coping with the tragic passing of the Linkin Park musician, who committed suicide earlier this month (20Jul17).
Chester had struggled with drink and alcohol addiction in the past as well as depression, taking his own life on what would have been the birthday of his close friend, Soundgarden and Audioslave star Chris Cornell, who committed suicide in May.
Recalling to nerdist.com when his band played at 2007’s Projekt Revolution, a music festival hosted by Linkin Park, Gerard sighed, “I was devastated to hear about Chester. He was actually at my wedding. Not a lot of people were there because we got married super quickly at the end of the tour when half the people had gone home. So there were literally only 30 or 40 people there, and he was one of them.
“His band and bringing us on tour, that changed my life. I met my wife. We have an amazing life now and a daughter. My memories of that period and meeting Linds again are tied into Chester and his band. It’s so sad.”
Gerard married Mindless Self Indulgence’s Lyn-Z backstage on the final date of the shows that same year and the couple welcomed their daughter Bandit in May 2009.
The 40-year-old rocker has turned his attention to comic books recently, rebooting his own version of Marvel’s Doom Patrol in September 2016. He hopes to use the stories, which are illustrated by Nick Derington, to draw attention to topics that have arisen following Chester’s death.
“I think a lot about mental health and it’s something I’ve always wanted to address in Doom Patrol, so I definitely think we’ll see a lot more of that now,” Gerard added. “I’ve been through depression, dark times, and therapy. I can really apply that stuff to these characters.”
