Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park, committed suicide at his private Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County on Thursday. His body was found by his housekeeper around 9 am.

He was 41.

Bennington’s interest in music began at a young age, with bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Depeche Mode being his early inspirations. Unfortunately, a troublesome problem with drug abuse also began early, and after experiencing his parents’ divorce at age 11, he began abusing cocaine, meth, LSD, alcohol, and marijuana—a problem which would come to periodically haunt him.

In an interview later in life, Bennington revealed that he had been sexually abused by an older male friend from the age of seven to thirteen, but was afraid to ask for help.

His difficulties weren’t confined to the home. Bennington was also bullied at school, and was “knocked around like a rag doll…for being skinny and looking different.”

“When I was young, getting beaten up and raped was no fun,” he said, in a 2011 interview with The Guardian. “I remember that stuff happening to me at that stage and even thinking about it now makes me want to cry. My God, no wonder I became a drug addict. No wonder I just went completely insane for a little while.”

He found solace, however, in art, poetry, and songwriting—outlets which would later serve him well.

After a frustrating experience singing in a band called Sean Dowell and His Friends?, everything changed for Bennington when vice president of A&R at Zomba Music offered him an audition with the other future members of Linkin Park. Sensing an opportunity, Bennington immediately quit his job at a digital services firm and moved with his family to California.

After a successful audition, Linkin Park—called Xero for a time—was born.

Bennington’s first musical triumph came in October of 2000, when Linkin Park released their debut album, “Hybrid Theory,” singing songs that dealt with “everyday emotions you talk about and think about,” according to an interview with BBC Radio.

It was the band’s album, “Meteora,” that cemented Linkin Park’s place in history, becoming the most successful alternative album of all time, selling over 27 million copies worldwide as of 2013. “Meteora” is also ranked 36 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums of the Decade.

Linkin Park’s propensity to combine alternative metal, nu metal and rap rock with alternative rock and electronica gave them a unique sound that has been described by Rolling Stone as “risky, beautiful art.”

Bennington poured the very real pain of his childhood into his music, distilling those emotions into an unmistakable sound, creating signature, fan-favorite songs like “Crawling” and “Numb,” tapping into the angst of millions of youths.

But his music didn’t just inflame angst—it soothed it. In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, Bennington said that “It’s easy to fall into that thing – ‘poor, poor me’, that’s where songs like ‘Crawling’ come from: I can’t take myself. But that song is about taking responsibility for your actions. I don’t say ‘you’ at any point. It’s about how I’m the reason that I feel this way. There’s something inside me that pulls me down.”

Bennington’s unique vocal style, which traded the roar of traditional metal for clear vocals made his music “socially valuable,” according to Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian. Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone expounded on this, writing that “Bennington’s voice embodied the anguish and wide-ranging emotions of the lyrics, from capturing life’s vulnerable moments to the fury and catharsis found in his belted screams, which he would often move between at the turn of a dime.”

With Bennington’s help, Linkin Park sold more than 70 million records, won two Grammy Awards, became one of the greatest bands of the 2000s and became the first rock band to exceed a billion YouTube views.

That’s no small feat.

While Bennington’s personal legacy is immense, his personal legacy carries just as much weight. On Twitter, Jimmy Kimmel wrote that “Chester was one of the kindest men I’ve had on my show. My heart breaks for his family and friends. He will be missed terribly.”

Bennington’s bandmate, Mike Shinoda, also Tweeted about the lead singer’s death, writing that he is “Shocked and heartbroken.” Governor John Kasich, a fan of Linkin Park, wrote that he “Met Chester in Columbus & he was kind enough to call my daughters on the phone. This is a sad day.”

Bennington’s death came mere days before the band was scheduled to start a new world tour after the release of their latest album, “One More Light.” The singer was reportedly grieving for musician Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden, and had trouble finishing the song, “One More Light” in rehearsal and live recording.

Bennington leaves behind six children from two wives—Elka Brand and Talinda Ann Bentley.