Late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington was one of the musicians who contributed to infusing genres to create unique sounds for his band. Their characteristic sound derived from band members’ early influences before becoming worldwide rock stars. In Bennington’s case, the rocker credited a variety of acts like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, and more for creating his ultimate musicianship.
As a result of their different influences, Bennington’s band blended the elements of rock and hip hop music throughout their career. However, the singer wasn’t only interested in these genres as he had a background in metal music as well. Furthermore, one of his last works before his tragic death in 2017 was with Lamb of God’s Mark Morton since the duo was working on a secret metal project, released after Bennington’s passing.
Chester Bennington And Mark Morton Announced A Project
In April 2017, Mark Morton shared a post on his official Twitter account, including Chester Bennington by his side, marking the original announcement of their then-unknown project. The Lamb of God’s lead guitarist noted that their recording sounded ‘killer’ after Bennington released some lyrics via a now-deleted Instagram post.
While this thrilling news brought excitement to their fans, Chester Bennington devastated the entire music community on July 20, 2017. Just three months after their collaboration, the Linkin Park singer committed suicide at 41 after his long struggle with depression and substance abuse, starting in his childhood.
Though his family, band members, and fans grieved this tragic loss, they were curious to know why Bennington had been working with Morton. People assumed it could’ve been a secret supergroup the two rockers formed or a metal album both musicians played on for one’s new album for a long time. However, they had to wait two years to find Bennington’s final work before his death.
What Was Chester Bennington’s Last Metal Project?
More than a year after Bennington’s death, a fan asked Mark Morton if their project together was finished and would be released at any time. The rocker later shared a tweet, saying that they created music together. Moreover, they were incredibly excited about it before the heartbreaking incident. Without giving further details, Morton announced he would release it eventually.
Morton said in his words:
“Chester and I made some really cool music together that we were both super stoked about. And you will hear it!”
Following this 2018 tweet, Mark Morton released his first solo album entitled ‘Anesthetic’ in March 2019. He stated that this album reflected his point of view different from Lamb of God. However, there was something more unique than this since the record had featured many impactful names, and Chester Bennington was one of them.
The project Mark Morton had been working on with Bennington was the song called ‘Cross Off.’ The track received lots of praise when it came out with the album, two years after the Linkin Park singer passed away. Moreover, the song’s music video got many fans emotional after featuring a microphone without a singer.
During the interview with Loudwire after the release, Morton detailed his collaboration with Bennington. He stated that when he met Chester, they adapted to each other instantly to create something new. Morton mentioned Chester loved the work they were making and was excited to sing it. If his tragic death had not occurred, perhaps he would have performed the song live for his fans.
Mark Morton said in the interview:
“We instantly hit it off on a creative level. I really didn’t know Chester before we started doing this song. We had a real creative rhythm right away. You can’t really plan on that. You can’t bet on it. You can’t buy it. You can’t fake it. You either vibe with someone, or you don’t.
He didn’t have to be there. He didn’t have to come to record a song with the guitar player from Lamb of God. He did it because he loved the tune and because he was excited about screaming again and being on something more metal, a little heavier.”
You can see the Twitter posts and listen to the song below.
Sounds KILLER too! 😉 pic.twitter.com/YbbYgB0BFy
— Mark Morton 🇺🇸 (@MarkDuaneMorton) April 12, 2017
Chester and I made some really cool music together that we were both SUPER stoked about.
And you will hear it! https://t.co/wsu0hmjBHH— Mark Morton 🇺🇸 (@MarkDuaneMorton) October 28, 2018
