SHOUT Remembers Chester Bennington

My favourite is Numb. Mostly because it tells us that there will always be societal and familial pressure, but we've got to rise above it. Try being yourself, rather than anyone else in the world–for better or worse. Chester's vocals, lyrics and visual presence are unmatched; a huge gem lost in oblivion.

-- Rafidah Rahman 

Chester's voice echoes throughout the soundtrack of my pre-adolescent and adolescent years. And although it's difficult to pick a favourite, Hands Held High stayed with me for a long time. Not only did this band capture the frustration of growing up, and moments of sadness that last for days, but also the rage of being young and helpless in a world inevitably growing darker.

-- Fatimah Akhtar 

Waiting for the End is a song about letting go and starting anew, and why that's such a difficult thing to do. Mike Shinoda's rap talks of hope, while Chester Bennington sings with despair of the terrors of letting go. It has helped me in difficult times, because 'the end' happens one way or the other, and one can either keep looking back to lick their wounds or look forward to make the most of what's to come.

-- Azmin Azran 

For me the song that holds the most meaning is Iridescent. The lyrics of the song and Chester's vocals did save me when I felt impossibly alone. I have him to thank for teaching the young[er] me to let go of all my sadness and frustration and it's awfully sad that we couldn't do for him even half of what he did for us.

-- Tasnim Odrika 

Leave Out All the Rest has been a healer for me since I was a little kid. As I grew older, it felt as if the song's meaning and depth grew with me. A song that could perfectly grasp what I felt when depression had me totally vulnerable. Chester's voice goes so perfectly with the lyrics and the atmosphere of the song that it's almost as if he was born to sing this melancholic masterpiece.

-- Ishmam Ahmed 

Numb helped me get through a very difficult and confusing phase of my life. Although it's a song that describes a state of mind, it echoed the fight that comes along to get out of that phase. An artist has to personally go through all that hurt to make a song that's relatable to thousands out there. 

-- Nazifa Raidah 

Hard to pick one from so many but I've always found comfort in What I've Done. A big part of growing up is getting familiar with the person you've grown into. And while regret and guilt for the things said and done kept weighing me down, Chester's vocals in the song – talking about owning up to the mistakes and carrying on – were a solace.

-- Nuren Iftekhar 

A Light that Never Comes holds a special place in my heart. It was the first song of theirs that I'd heard, and it told me I wasn't alone at a time when I was starting to believe otherwise. The lyrics and Chester's vocals in this song were like therapy for me, and I still turn to this song when things seem too bleak.

-- Marisha Aziz 

I remember Somewhere I Belong being on top of my playlist for a very long time. I liked listening to it because in my head full of teenage angst and despair, Chester singing about wanting to heal felt like home. For a person who probably spent a lifetime searching for somewhere to belong, Chester and his band did a mighty fine job helping thousands of others like me fight their inner demons.

-- Mashiat Lamisa 

Faint has been my go-to song. I can't say that "I loved the lyrics" or the song "gave me strength" since I was too young to care about what the words meant. All I cared about was how much I wanted to be like Chester. I'd try to growl like him all day long. I would imagine myself somewhere in the crowd of "Live in Texas", singing and headbanging along with the band that felt like my family. Now that I finally realise how Chester meant every word, Linkin Park songs will never be the same to me.

-- Nafis Imtiaz Onish 

Crawling has mostly dominated my angsty teenage years. Listening to Chester begin by screaming his lungs out helped me channel my frustrations somewhere else. Right after the blaring guitar riffs stop and he starts singing again - voice dropped and careful - it felt like he was only confiding in me. "There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface." I realised he wasn't singing to me from a detached domain but rather was telling me about his problems, that he was still surviving.

-- Iqra L. Qamari 

Leave Out All the Rest was the song I related to the most. In my case, I have always been my biggest critic. Whenever I felt emotional or vulnerable, I looked around and saw all these girls who seemed so much stronger than me. The song resonated with me and made me realise that so many people put on a mask of strength while they deal with insecurities, problems and what not on the inside. And once I internalised this, I felt like I was much more empathetic towards everyone and gave myself the permission to be whatever I wanted to.

– Fahrisa Islam