Good morning! Had a weird dream about Sharon Osbourne. I was holding some of her jewelry for her and I lost it. Then I woke up. So I will never know how Sharon reacted to the news. Sigh.
Well, let’s start out with some news from Blabbermouth. It says according to TMZ, a preliminary investigation into Chester Bennington‘s suicide last week has turned up no apparent signs of drug use at the time of his death.
Law enforcement say investigators found no illegal drugs or prescription drugs while searching the Linkin Park frontman’s home following his Jul 20 passing. It was previously reported there was a partially consumed bottle of alcohol in the bedroom where the 41-year-old singer was found hanging. It is not presently clear if Bennington had any drugs in his system at the time of his death. Toxicology results are pending. Bennington was found dead in his home in Palos Verdes by one of his employees shortly before 9:00 a.m. last Thursday. A Los Angeles County coroner confirmed that the cause of death was “suicide by hanging.”
In a 2013 interview with hardDriveRadio, I asked Chester about bullying and what advice he’d give to someone who felt hopeless. He advised kids who are having a tough time with life to avoid taking such a drastic step. “The thing about life is like, you can’t predict the future but the future’s there,” he said. “You just have to wait out. Life gets better, so don’t make those in-the-moment rash choices like suicide. Talk to your parents, you know, talk to the counselor at school. They’re there for you. They’re the people that are gonna care about you and they are gonna care about your feelings.”
Chester bought the home just two months before he committed suicide there. The singer paid $2.4 million for the five-bedroom, four-bathroom resident in June and moved into the two-story, 3,956-square-foot house about seven weeks ago.
Please, if you are suffering from depression or thinking about suicide, please contact SAVE.org or call 800-273-8255 (TALK). It can be the first step to getting help. Be listening to hardDrive the weekend of Aug 5-6 for a special edition tribute to Chester. Chester will be the focus of all five interview segments, as well as the Featured Artist of the Week Aug 14-18 on hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus.
Meanwhile, over on RollingStone.com, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance reflected on how his friendship with Chester changed his life.
Gerard Way reflected on the late Chester Bennington in a recent interview, saying that Linkin Park “changed [his] life” by bringing his former band, My Chemical Romance, on the touring Projekt Revolution festival. “I met my wife [Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z on the tour],” Way told Nerdist. “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.”
Linkin Park created Projekt Revolution in 2002, recruiting major acts from alternative metal, hip-hop and alternative rock for the traveling fest. My Chemical Romance joined for the 2007 trek, and Way married Lyn-Z backstage during the final show.
Bennington beamed with pride about his accidental matchmaking role during a 2008 Rolling Stone interview alongside friend Chris Cornell, saying, “I felt really proud that … Gerard and [Lyn-Z] reignited their friendship and then ended up getting married backstage on the last show. I was like, ‘This is freaking awesome.’”
Way, who has ventured into comic book writing in recent years, told Nerdist he was “devastated to hear” about Bennington’s suicide last week, adding that he aims to tackle the subject of mental health in DC Comics’ Doom Patrol series.
“It’s so sad,” he said. “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. I’ve been through depression, dark times, and therapy. I can really apply that stuff to these characters.”
Greta Van Fleet, our new friends from Frankenmuth, MI, have announced a batch of new shows that have been added to their fall headline run. New dates are set in Grand Rapids, Clarksville, TN, Huntsville, AL, New Orleans, LA, Tucson, AZ, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle. Find them in Road Rage. Also, the band stopped by the hardDriveRadio studios with Paulie Walnuts, so check out a new hardDrive DL podcast and a hardDriveRadio YouTube video soon!
Another dearly departed member of the metal music community, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, will still be remembered with the release of a covers album featuring one of the last songs ever recorded by the iconic frontman: His take on David Bowie‘s “Heroes.”
The upcoming Under Cover, due Sep 1st, from Motorhead has 11 studio recordings, also including songs by The Rolling Stones, Judas Priest and Dio. Also on the album: Their version of Metallica‘s “Whiplash,” which won them a Grammy for best metal performance in 2005.
“Heroes” was recorded during the band’s Bad Magic sessions in 2015, the same year Kilmister died of cancer.
Under Cover Track List:
1. “Breaking the Law” (Judas Priest) 2008
2. “God Save the Queen” (Sex Pistols) 2000
3. “Heroes” (David Bowie) 2015
4. “Starstruck” (Dio) 2014
5. “Cat Scratch Fever” (Ted Nugent) 1992
6. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (The Rolling Stones) 2001
7. “Sympathy for the Devil” (The Rolling Stones) 2015
8. “Hellraiser” (Ozzy Osbourne) 1992
9. “Rockaway Beach” (Ramones) 2002
10. “Shoot ‘Em Down” (Twisted Sister) 2001
11. “Whiplash” (Metallica) 2005
And finally today, Theory Of A Deadman are premiering their new tune, “RX” from their forthcoming album, Wake Up Call, today on Billboard.com. The album is due Oct 27th and the single will show a new sound for the band. It was recorded in London with producer Martin Terefe (Jason Mraz, Train, Mary J. Blige) and takes a decidedly more mainstream pop-flavored turn than the heavier sound on its predecessors. That was the result of Tyler Connolly acquiring, and learning to play, the piano. Read more over here.
Happy 44th today to Abe Cunningham of The Deftones!