While the new Linkin Park -now with singer Emily Armstrong- are sweeping the global charts, even triumphing in Spain and convincing live, there is someone who is not so happy: Chester Bennington’s mother, who died tragically 7 years ago.
Susan Eubanks has written a letter to Rolling Stone in which she says she feels “betrayed.” According to her account, the last time she saw Mike Shinoda was two years ago, and she promised him that she would tell him about her plans with Linkin Park: “They told me that if they ever did anything, they would let me know. They didn’t let me know, probably because they knew I wouldn’t like it. I’m very upset.”
She continues: “I feel like they’re trying too hard to erase the past. They’re singing songs that Chester sang. And I don’t know why fans are buying into this, but I know how I’m taking it. And me singing my son’s songs hurts.”
She insists, referring to Samantha, Chester’s first wife, and his son Draven: “They said they would let the family know if they were going to meet. They haven’t. And it hurts.”
Susan also claims that Mike Shinoda’s plans to bring a female singer into Linkin Park date back a long time. He even suggested it to Chester at one point, hurting him, according to her mother. “Mike once told Chester that he thought singing these songs would be better with a girl. And Chester called me and said, ‘I think they’re going to replace me with a girl.’ Mike told him, ‘If you decide to leave the group, we’re going to replace you with a girl.’ And Chester was very hurt. The truth is that they have now done it. Of course I’ve remembered that now. I didn’t think they could do it.”
