According to reports, Bennington had struggled with alcohol and drugs, and previously said in interviews that his addiction inspired lyrics for the band. “[It’s] literally about [how] being an alcoholic and a drug addict has paid off for me in many ways,” he told Noisecreep in 2009 . “I have been able to tap into all the negative things that can happen to me throughout my life by numbing myself to the pain so to speak and kind of being able to vent it through my music.” In another interview that year with SPIN , he talked about how he no longer uses drugs or alcohol and is embracing sobriety. PEOPLE reports that Bennington was close friends with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, who also died by suicide in May.