ABC/Randy HolmesBring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes was one of the many artists who paid tribute to the late Chester Bennington during Linkin Park's memorial concert, held October 27 in Los Angeles. Now, Sykes has shared his remembrances of Bennington and Linkin Park in a piece for Kerrang! magazine.
"I must have been about 13 when I first heard Linkin Park and, to be honest, music had never played that much of a part in my life to that point," Sykes writes. "Then I saw a Linkin Park video...and it made me think, 'F****** hell, this is really cool!' I felt like the music was speaking to me, the lyrics really resonated, and they were the band that really got me heavily into the scene."
Sykes met Bennington for the first time in 2014 during a Kerrang! cover shoot.
"I told [Bennington] Linkin Park were the first band I ever saw live and the reason I wanted to be in one," he writes. "He seemed really taken aback about it all when I said how much he influenced me. He seemed to really appreciate it and be humbled by it. He was really nice, really genuine, really calm."
Sykes was in Los Angeles July 20 when he heard that Bennington died in nearby Palos Verdes Estates, California.
"At first I didn't believe it, to be honest," Sykes remembers. "When it was clear it was real, I felt weird. I know we've lost a lot of great artists over the years, but no one had the impact and influence on my life that [Bennington] did."
Sykes' tribute is included in the new issue of Kerrang!, which also includes pieces from Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and Korn's Jonathan Davis.
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