Chester Bennington’s Mom Says Linkin Park is “Trying Very Hard to Erase the Past”
Oh, to go back to the initial reveal of Linkin Park‘s reunion… Everything was sunshine and rainbows as the world was introduced to a new version of the beloved band despite the tragic death of vocalist Chester Bennington. But here we are, a couple weeks removed and the band’s replacement for the late singer Emily Armstrong is in the midst of a scandal involving Scientology and Bennington’s family is pissed about the whole thing.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, it’s been revealed that the late singer’s mom Susan Eubanks is furious over how things went down. Especially since she found out about the band’s intentions at the exact same time the rest of the world did.
“I feel betrayed. They told me that if they were ever going to do something, they would let me know. They didn’t let me know, and they probably knew that I wouldn’t going to be very happy. I’m very upset about it.”
Yikes. If that’s true, that’s a crazy bad look. Apparently the band had reached out to let her know they were going to release some previously unreleased tracks that featured Bennington on vocals, so communication was obviously there. Yet despite having also run into both vocalist Mike Shinoda and turntablist Joe Hahn in recent years, she said they never let her know that a reunion was potentially in the works.
But that’s not all she’s got a problem with. Eubanks thinks that hiring Armstrong to fill in for Bennington was just the continuation of plans that her son was worried would happen while he was still alive. That this was all just a foregone conclusion and now Shinoda’s getting everything he wanted.
“Mike told Chester one time that he thought singing these songs would be better with a girl, because he often put Chester down. And Chester called me and said, ‘He thinks that they’re going to replace me with a girl.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said Mike told him at rehearsal that, ‘If you decide you’re leaving, we’re going to replace you with a girl.’ And Chester was dumbfounded and hurt.
“And the fact is that now they did it. So, of course, all that comes right back into my mind. I had a talk with my son about this. I didn’t think they’d probably do it.
“Like I said, I thought Mike would go out and sing the songs, and they just wouldn’t sound the same. They wouldn’t be as high or as loud, and it would just be very different. And I would’ve been OK with that, but I’m not OK with this, to have somebody replace him and try to do what he did.”
Ultimately, she reiterated that she felt betrayed by the whole thing. It’s never a good look to go back on your promises. It’s especially shitty if you do that to a woman who suddenly lost her son and just wants to protect his legacy.
It will be interesting to see if Linkin Park have anything to say about all this. Either way, it’s a shitty situation all around. Check out the full interview over at Rolling Stone.
