Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington dead at 41

​Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, 41, has apparently committed suicide, according to several media reports.

Entertainment website TMZ first broke the news on Thursday reporting that law-enforcement sources told them "the singer hanged himself at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates in LA County".

TMZ said his body was reportedly discovered in the morning just before 9am local time.

Coroner's office spokesman Brian Elias said his office had been notified by law enforcement of the death of Bennington, on Thursday morning, reported Reuters. Elias said the death was being handled as an apparent suicide.

The BBC and the Hollywood Reporter both later reported that Los Angeles County coroner's office have confirmed them of Bennington’s death.

FILE PHOTO: Lead vocalist of Linkin Park Chester Bennington performs with guitarist Slash at 9th annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit concert in Los Angeles, California May 30, 2013.

Several local and international media outlets also reported the singer’s demise quoting the coroner’s office, through either Twitter or reports on their websites.

The TMZ, quoting its sources, reported that Bennington was at home alone when he committed suicide. His family is currently out of town and an employee had found him upstairs of his southern California home.

A representative of the band also confirmed the death to Rolling Stone magazine, only a week before the California alt-rock band was due to embark on a US tour.

As the news of his death went viral on social media and tributes started to pour in from across the world, Bennington's fellow Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda said on Twitter, "Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true.

"An official statement will come out as soon as we have one."

Born Mar 20, 1976 in Phoenix, Bennington, who had six children with two wives, had struggled with drugs and alcohol for years.

The son of a police officer, he had said in the past he had considered committing suicide because he had been abused as a child by an older male, said the TMZ report.

He had spoken openly too about his struggles to overcome his demons when Linkin Park first found fame in 2000 with their best-selling debut album "Hybrid Theory" and went on to become one of the most popular alt-rock bands of their generation.

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. Reuters

Bennington was very close with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who himself committed suicide by hanging in May. Thursday would have marked Cornell's 53rd birthday.

The Linkin Park lead singer had also written an open letter to Cornell on the day of Cornell's suicide.

"Just when I thought my heart couldn't break any more," Cornell's wife Vicky tweeted on Thursday on hearing of Bennignton's death.

"This BREAKS OUR HEART. Suicide is the devil on earth walking amongst us," tweeted US band One Republic.

Punk rock singer Tyson Ritter, frontman of All-American Rejects, said on Twitter that Bennington was "another gifted voice silenced to the spirit in the sky-forever alive in song".

Formed in 1996 as Xero at first, Linkin Park has won two Grammy Awards and has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide.

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington performs at a concert in Shanghai August 15, 2009. Reuters

The band's latest album, “One More Light”, that came out in May had topped the US Billboard 200 album chart, and Linkin Park had been touring South America and Europe until two weeks ago, reported Reuters.

Bennington's death came a week before the band was due to kick off the US leg of the tour on July 27 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. It also came the same day as the release of Linkin Park's music video "Talking to Myself".

The official video from the new album was released on their Twitter page and YouTube channel, only minutes after the vocalist was discovered dead, reported TMZ.

Bennington with his powerful and belting vocals had provided a gritty counterpoint to band co-frontman Shinoda's raps on their nu-metal hits like "In the End" and "One Step Closer". He also sang the poppy melodies on the band's recent hit "Heavy", which featured singer Kiiara.

The song had reached Number Two on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart and Number 11 on the Top 40, Rolling Stone said in its report.

In addition to Linkin Park, Bennington also fronted Stone Temple Pilots between 2013 and 2015 and the side project Dead by Sunrise and Kings of Chaos.

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. (Reuters)

The band, one of the seminal ones of the Noughties rap-metal movement, have had a string of big hits over the years, including "Faint", "In the End" and "Crawling", which won a Grammy award in 2002 for best hard rock performance.

Linkin Park’s album, "Meteroa", released in 2003, was one of the biggest alternative albums in music history.

Their debut album, “Hybrid Theory”, is considered to be a metal masterpiece. Its blend of rap, metal and electronic music propelled it to Number Two on Billboard, and the RIAA has subsequently certified it diamond, signifying sales of more than 10 million copies.

The band experimented with rock, metal and rap, most notably collaborating with Jay-Z in 2004 on the "Collision Course" album. The album, a mash-up of the rapper's hits with Linkin Park songs, included "Numb/Encore", which won a Grammy award in 2006 for best rap/sung collaboration.

With the exception of 2014's The Hunting Party, which debuted at Number Three, each subsequent Linkin Park release would claim the Number One spot.​​