ABC/Randy HolmesAvenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows is one of many artists performing at Linkin Park's Chester Bennington memorial concert, held tonight at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Speaking with ABC Radio, Shadows, who lost a band mate himself when A7X drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan died in 2009, remembers reaching out to LP's Mike Shinoda after hearing about Bennington's death.
"I'm actually very close with Mike and [bassist] Dave ["Phoenix" Farrell], and I just knew Chester in passing," Shadows says. "The first thing I did was reach out to Mike, and Mike was like, 'You know, if there's any band that knows what we're going through right now, it's you guys, when you lost The Rev.'"
"I said, 'Listen, we're here for you guys, I know there's nothing I can say. We're here for you,'" he continues. "So a week later, [Shinoda] hit me up and said, 'Will you guys sing with us at a benefit?' and I said, 'Dude, we're easy. You send me the song and tell me what you want me to learn, I'll nail it.'"
Shadows will perform alongside Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates. The concert will also feature Blink-182, Korn's Jonathan Davis and Bring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes, plus members of System of a Down and No Doubt, among others.
Shadows doesn't want to "spoil" any of the show, but assures that he'll "be there, and we're gonna be celebrating a friend's life."
"Hopefully, it's a beautiful night," he says. "And it'll be fun to hang out with System of a Down and Blink-182 and Korn and all those guys, and celebrate Chester's life."
The concert will stream live online via Linkin Park's YouTube page beginning at 7:45 p.m. PT.
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