In a recent interview with Kerrang!, frontman Oli Sykes of metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon shared his in-depth thoughts about Linkin Park’s lead singer Chester Bennington.
Sykes spoke fondly about his brief meeting with Bennington for a Kerrang! cover shoot, recalling their conversations about Warped Tour and how he was heavily influenced by the band in the first place: “I told him Linkin Park were the first band I ever saw live and the reason I wanted to be in one. He seemed really taken aback about it all when I said how much he influenced me.”
After viewing a live video of Linkin Park, Sykes admitted that the band had a positive effect on him, encouraging him to take the next steps and start his own band: “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.”
He continues, “From there I got into hardcore and metalcore, but I’d always check out their new albums.”
As Sykes dug deeper in the interview, he revealed how much he admired Bennington’s style as a singer and the mark he left on the world: “Chester’s voice was a huge inspiration, too. He was someone I looked up to. He was the benchmark, because I don’t think anyone sounds like him. He was such an iconic and unique singer. I don’t think anyone sounded like him before, and I don’t think anyone will ever again.”
You can check out Oli Sykes’ performance of “Crawling” at Linkin Park’s Tribute concert below:
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