In the days following the death by suicide of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, all sorts of tributes have flooded in for the influential singer, but this new mural by controversial street artist Lushsux is drawing its fair share of criticism.
As Music Feeds reports, the mural was put up in Vienna, Austria, and at first glimpse seems to be a loving tribute. However, the inclusion of lyrics by Korn alongside Linkin Park’s own has some fans up in arms, considering that Korn guitarist Brian Welch took to social media immediately following the tragic news to decry Benson as “cowardly”.
The choice of lyrics, then, seems to some like a cheap jab at the late singer, and there are no arguments from the artist behind it, with Lushsux defending the work.
“No [one] ever said it was too soon to make a joke about the dead,” he told the publication. “I’m a huge KoRn fan, so…”
Other criticisms extend to the placement of the mural directly alongside an image of Kendall Jenner (today slammed by Metallica’s James Hetfield for stealing musicians’ images for her own clothing line), with some finding the placement disrespectful. Others in the comments, however, take no issue with the mural, and see it as a fitting tribute.
It’s also important to note that, while the comments out of the Korn camp had a lot of people worked up, the band have since paid their own tribute to Bennington, dedicating a performance in his memory.
