The Used’s Bert McCracken on Chester Bennington: “He saved my life”

November 9, 2017

The Used’s Bert McCracken has been honest in talking about what their new album, The Canyon, means to him. Lyrically raw, the record touches on loss—including that of his good friend, Chester Bennington.

“There’s a lot of stigma surrounding depression, we know there’s no cure. And to speak of suicide with any connotations to selfishness makes me sick and so angry that I end conversations immediately,” McCracken tells Forbes.

“Chester was there for me at a time where I was deadly suicidal and he saved my life in 2004. The fact that nobody was able to be there for him in those moments is something we all should think about.”

And through the loss of Bennington and those others so close to him, he has found himself dealing with death differently than he has in the past. He wants to speak about it and recognize that depression is a massive problem that so many people deal with.

“How I’ve chosen to deal with the death of Chester and my friend Traegan is to try to deal it with the opposite way I dealt with death in the past and that’s not internalize anything and maybe speak about it all the time, put it out there to fans, strangers even. And in that way I kind of feel more connected to what depression might be, more a problem of humanity, a problem with American entitlement and boredom,” McCracken says.

Through his writing, he’s hoping to find a way for his words to help others going through the same kind of loss.

“I lost someone so close to me and what that felt like and understanding that pain was love, it helped me and I hope it helps other people because that’s the only reason I can find for this whole f**king thing. 'Why am I here?' Maybe I’m here for an opportunity to help someone else through their same thing that I go through and then they’ll go through,” McCracken says.

The band's new album, The Canyon, was released Oct. 27. They’ll be hitting the road this fall with support from Glassjaw, and you can check out the full list of cities and dates below.

Dates:
10/27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
10/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
10/30 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
10/31 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
11/2 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
11/3 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
11/5 – Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
11/7 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/8 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
11/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
11/12 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
11/14 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
11/15 – Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium
11/17 – San Antonio, TX @ The Vibes Event Center
11/18 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
11/19 – Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom
11/21 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
11/24 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
11/25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
11/28 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
11/29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness, there is help to be found. Please consider these online resources and talk to your regular doctor about your symptoms:

MentalHealth.gov – Get Immediate Help
ImAlive – Online Crisis Network
International Association For Suicide Prevention – Resources
The Anxiety And Depression Association Of America
The National Alliance On Mental Illness
American Psychiatric Association – Finding Help
National Institute Of Mental Health
American Psychological Association – Psychologist locator

Watch more: Nick Major's Tour Guide: THE USED 15th Anniversary Tour