The comment was made shortly after the suicide
Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch spoke in an interview about the comment he made shortly after the news of Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington's suicide. Head commented on his social media that “giving up on your children, your fans, and your life is the cowardly way to escape .
Head went on to publish a new statement shortly after the first comment, explaining that it was an emotional reaction and that he didn't mean to sound insensitive.
Now, in a new interview with an American radio station, Head spoke more about his comment:
“It was unfortunate. What I said came from a broken heart, a shattered, devastated, hurt heart. And I would have said it differently. But when in the history of music have we seen this? The two guys who had monstrous voices, so inspiring to so many people. Chris Cornell ended his life and I was devastated. I wasn't that close to him, but it was something like… You expect that from people who are finished in life, not a guy who has a family, who is doing so well. And you hear stories, it could have been the medication that did it. So tragic, right? And then I started to feel better about it because time passed. And we wake up and see the news about Chester on TMZ. And I think, 'this has to be a hoax. It has to be. It can't be real.' And then you find out it's true. And we were all devastated. You should have seen our faces. The whole world, I'm sure, knew this guy. We were in shock. The band The whole town talked about nothing but that.
What happened was that I started to suffer. I was alone. I went to my hotel room and was in shock thinking about everything, reading everything. 'Are they sure? Did they tell the truth?' And I kept thinking, 'No, man. Stop!' Two guys dead. They took their own lives. And I found out that Chester ended his life on Chris Cornell's birthday. I was scared. Like, 'This has to end.'.
Slash put it best. I was tweeting and he tweeted 'an avalanche of feelings: sadness, anger, confusion, loss, heartbreak. I could go on, but the feeling of loss and heartbreak is what predominates here'. And I think I was feeling all of that and reacted online. And I've learned not to deal with grief online. And I apologize to all his fans. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I was devastated, heartbroken, and sad for my friends who were always close to him. But it's been a week. It's just a sadness that prevails everywhere.
I blame myself for saying that, because it's my fault. I would have said it differently. Because I owe it to Chester and the guys from Linkin Park, who are incredible people; they are amazing
