Korn guitarist brands Chester Bennington a 'coward' after hearing of his suicide

Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch faces backlash after describing the reported suicide of Chester Bennington as "cowardly."

The rocker, who stated he was "pissed that [he] did this," expressed his views on Facebook following the tragic news that the Linkin Park frontman had died by hanging himself.

Welch wrote: “Honestly, Chester's an old friend who we've hung with many times, and I have friends who are extremely close to him, but this is truly pissing me off! How can these guys send this message to their kids and fans?! I'm sick of this suicide shit! I've battled depression/mental illness, and I'm trying to be sempethetic, but it's hard when you're pissed! Enough is enough! Giving up on your kids, fans, and life is the cowardly way out!!! [sic]”

He later backtracked by writing: “I didn't mean to sound insensitive about Chester. Just dealing with a range of emotions today. Love you Chester. I'm pissed that you did this, but I know this could have been me back in the day after getting wasted one night.”

However, the backlash against Welch had already begun with many expressing their anger over his words on Twitter.

At age 41, Bennington's passing has shocked the music community, in which he was known as one of the leading pioneers of the nu-metal genre.

It;s emerged that the singer died on on the birthday of his close friend, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died by suicide in May which - according to prevention experts - may bear some importance.