Dolores O'Riordan Flies Away [Updated]

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan (6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician and singer-songwriter. She led the rock band the Cranberries for 13 years before the band took a break starting in 2003, reuniting in 2009. Her music has been labeled alternative rock, Celtic rock, and post-grunge.

Her Mysterious Death

On 15 January 2018, at the age of 46, while in London for a recording session, O'Riordan died unexpectedly at the London Hilton on Park Lane in Mayfair, an affluent area in the West End of London towards the east edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster. The cause of death has not yet been made public; police said it was not being treated as suspicious.

Lead Singer of the Cranberries Dolores O'Riordan died of Fentanyl poisoning on the 15th, said a source in the London Police Department. Authorities found counterfeit fentanyl near the rocker's bed.

In dying of Fentanyl overdose, O'Riordan joins other pop singers "including Lil Peep (November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) and quite probably, Tom Petty" (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017), noted the Santa Monica Observer on January 13, 2018.

Fair use: Paul Jeffers' image of Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries performs during F1 Rocks! Melbourne

Compare it to the "Jesus Christ Pose" of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington.

Of course, I had expected another young death on the fringes of the alternative rock/post-grunge arena, after recent months. The hanging suicides of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington merely continues a long legacy. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

Exactly 14 years ago on January 15, 2018, Hope Of The States guitarist James "Jimmi" Lawrence (born 25 Jan 1977), 26, died by suicide, by hanging, in Peter Gabriel's Real World studios near Bath, while working on his band's debut album.

The Name Game

O'Riordan was raised as a Roman Catholic. Her mother was a devout Catholic who chose her daughter's name in reference to the Lady of the Seven Dolours. 

Seven Swords Piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary in the Church of the Holy Cross, Salamanca, Spain.

Besides being busy, another one of the reasons I didn't rush into writing a blog posting on O'Riordan was that a couple friends quickly wrote good essays on her passing.

At Secret Sun, Christopher Loring Knowles dived deeply into Dolores O'Riordan's passing. I especially appreciated finding this passage in his "Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan Swims to the Siren" :

...do note that Dolores derives from "Our Lady of Sorrows" and Reardon means "poet king." So the name-game was strong with this one.

But we're not talking about depression or even the machinations of the music industry here. We're talking about an avalanche of syncs, symbols and connections all seeming to tell us that we need to pay special attention to a reclusive, middle-aged songstress from way back in the day.

How or why, I still have no earthly idea. I do have an unearthly one, however.

In that light, please note that O'Riordan died in a hotel a short distance from Royal Albert Hall, where Our Lady made her only public appearance in 2017, on the first day of Leo. The ostensible reason for the appearance was to discuss 1988's Blue Bell Knoll, which very much laid down the specific template bands like The Cranberries followed.

And remember that those tickets went on sale the day after Chris Cornell died in a hotel in Detroit. Also on the same day Twin Peaks: the Return premiered in Los Angeles.

Lourdes Water

There is little doubt that Dolores O'Riordan was touched religiously. In one of her last interviews before her death, she said she wanted to come back as an angel to help the unfortunate.

Dolores O'Riordan in January 2014

In November 2014, O'Riordan was arrested and charged in connection with air rage on an Aer Lingus flight from New York to Shannon. During the flight she grew verbally and physically abusive with crew. When police were arresting her after landing, she resisted, reminding them her taxes paid their wages and shouting "I'm the Queen of Limerick! I'm an icon!", headbutting one Garda officer and spitting at another. The judge hearing her case agreed to dismiss all charges if she apologised in writing to those she injured and contributed €6,000 to the court poor box.

After the arrest, Dolores O’Riordan's mother revealed that her daughter was separating from her husband after 20 years of marriage. The superstar singer was said to be in a "very vulnerable" state and was under the care of a psychiatric doctor, her mother Eileen O'Riordan said.

Eileen, speaking to the Limerick Leader newspaper at the time, recalled seeing her daughter when she arrived at Shannon Garda Station.

She said: “Dolores was inside in a room, she was lying on the floor, curled up. She had her head covered and her face covered up. She was trying to protect herself. I gave her a hug. I tried to talk to her. She didn’t realize I was there at all. I put Lourdes water on her."

More Cranberries, Back to the Future

Besides Knowles' Secret Sun thoughts, I would recommend reading, Andrew W. Griffin's "Dreams linger...," Red Dirt Report. 

Andrew W. Griffin, 1995.

Cranberries in the 1990s

While Zombie was one of O'Riordan's better known songs, the following is known by many.

It, 1990.

The Cranberries, Salvation, 1996

It, 2017.

She many know the answers now.

Grunge is Suicide

The essence of some things are one in the same.

Grunge is suicide. Suicide is grunge. Grunge began with a suicide.

Rich Larson's thoughts in "It's Not What You Think" are worth quoting, and the full article should be read completely. Here is one passage that is instructive.

A truer historical insight has never been written.

Temple of the Dog

Rich Larson's essay was written after Chris Cornell hanged himself but before Chester Bennington had done the same thing on Cornell's birthday. It captures his generation's anguish. It looks for peace and understanding. Read it all. 

The gravestone of Kristen Pfaff of Hole

My previous writings here at Twilight Language sync with Larson's.

It's not too late. It's not about blaming. Grunge began with a suicide.

Kurt Cobain thought it would end with a suicide.

He was wrong.

Even Nirvana lives on. Just ask the Foo Fighters.

Will Grunge Suicide Copycats Continue?

The copycatting among Grunge musicians appears to have extended into the future as evidenced by Chester Bennington picking Chris Cornell's birthday to kill himself by hanging. Bennington reinforced the dark interaction with a repeat similar patterns found in Cornell's suicide.

Layne Staley, Eddie Veddor, Kurt Cobain, and Chris Cornell

The carnage continues.

Suicidology

The field of suicidology (the scientific study of suicidal behaviour and suicide prevention) encompasses overt methods that result in death by suicide, as well as parasuicidal deaths, such as drug overdoses.

In the examination of copycat suicides, the line between suicides and parasuicdes is often quite thin. Or blurred.

Prevention and prediction, based on the anniversary syndrome, are intermingled. And I have done both.*

Grunge Suicides

As we examine the linkages between the much discussed recent untimely death of Chris Bennington and others, we see a direct connecting of the dots. Even the mainstream music media is catching on to what's going on.

Scott Weiland, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington (Image Billboard)

Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, Dec. 3, 2015. Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog frontman and solo artist Chris Cornell, May 18, 2017. And now Chester Bennington, singer of Linkin Park, on July 20, 2017 – found dead at 41 on his late friend Cornell’s birthday. In just over 18 months, three singers who helped define a generation of the hard rock sound, who were tied together artistically and personally, have succumbed to the very emotional pain that fueled their music and sold millions of albums over a 30-year-long period. ~ William Goodman, Billboard, July 21, 2017.

The Copycat Effect

Chester Bennington, a member of the band Linkin Park, which has been called "post-grunge" by the media, was inspired and copycatted Chris Cornell. He copied the Jesus Christ Pose in his performances, and even his pug. Bennington sang at Cornell's memorial tribute. He copied the method of suicide (hanging), picked Cornell's birthday to die, and even used the same hanging location (a door between the bedroom and bathroom). The modeling ran deep.

 Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington

This is actually a dangerous time for "Grunge suicides."

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden picked the same date, May 18, in 2017, to die by hanging as had Ian Curtis of Joy Division, May 18, in 1980, to also die by hanging.

Jason Barrera wrote: "Ian Curtis hanged himself listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot. Chester Bennington died the day before Lana Del Rey released Lust for Life, named after the other Iggy Pop album released in 1977 and the biography of another artist who famously killed himself."

Lust for Life

On 27 July 1890, aged 37, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a 7mm Lefaucheux à broche revolver. There were no witnesses and he died 30 hours after the incident.

In 1934 the novelist Irving Stone published an account of Van Gogh's life titled Lust for Life, based on Van Gogh's letters to Theo. This book and the 1956 film of the same name further enhanced his fame. Now we know albums are given this name for a deeper reason.

As noted, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park chose Chris Cornell's birth date, July 20, in 2017, to die by hanging. The choice of dates is purposeful. These people are all interconnected.

August 22

Is there another important date waiting in the wings?

August 22 is the birth date of Layne Staley, a member of Alice in Chains, Mad Season, Class of '99, Alice N' Chains, and Sleze. April 5 in 1994 was the day that Kurt Cobain, died by suicide. Layne Staley made his exit via the parasuicidal method of a drug overdose on April 5, 2002, the anniversary date of Cobain's suicide; a day after former Alice in Chains bass player Mike Starr's birthday.

Layne's body was not found until April 19th. An informal memorial was held for Staley on the night of April 20, 2002, at the Seattle Center, which was attended by at least 1000 fans and friends, including Mike Starr and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

Do people remember Layne Staley's birthday? Yes they do. Eddie Vedder paid tribute to Staley during a Pearl Jam concert in Chicago on August 22, 2016, which would be Staley's 49th birthday; “It’s the birthday of a guy called Layne Staley tonight, and we’re thinking of him tonight too. 49 years old," Vedder told the crowd before dedicating the song Man of the Hour to his late friend.

On August 22, 2017, Layne Staley would have turned 50 years old.

Wood, Cobain, Staley, and Cornell.

The Future

Could August 22 be an anniversary date of some note to those in the Grunge and post-Grunge communities?

Is there something in the air for August 22, 2017? 

People are not paying enough attention to this phenomenon and reaching out to the musicians about the prevention of their suicides.

Suicides of Notable Musicians by Hanging

Pete Ham, guitarist and singer of rock band Badfinger (April 23, 1975)
Phil Ochs, political folksinger (April 9, 1976)
David Munrow, musician and early music historian, (May 15, 1976)
Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division (May 18, 1980)
Tom Evans, a member of the rock band Badfinger (November 19, 1983)
Richard Manuel, musician best known for his membership in The Band (March 4, 1986)
Kim Kwang-Seok, South Korean folk rock singer (January 6, 1996)
Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS (November 22, 1997)
Rozz Williams, American musician of Christian Death (April 1, 1998)
hide, Japanese rock musician (May 2, 1998)
Stuart Adamson, British musician of Big Country and Skids (December 16, 2001)
Jon Lee, drummer with Feeder (January 7, 2002)
Paul Hester, former drummer of Crowded House (March 26, 2005)
Simone Battle, singer in the band G.R.L (September 5, 2014)
Chris Cornell, musician, frontman of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog (May 18, 2017)
Chester Bennington, musician, frontman of Linkin Park, singer of Stone Temple Pilots, and founder/frontman of Dead by Sunrise. (July 20, 2017)


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*Footnote: My assessment of a variety of factors are a key in predicting human behavior. There is nothing psychic nor magical about it. This was discussed greatly about the Aurora, Colorado/Dark Knight Rises shooting. See Dangerous Minds. And a list of 14 predictions.

I foresaw, after Chris Cornell died, that another would die by hanging.  Synchromystic documentary producer Will Morgan pointed out a deeper level of my forecast, the evening of Chester Bennington's suicide:

 July 20 at 6:23pm

Remove

Will Morgan You may have made this point.... And I just unconsciously absorbed it to regurgitate now... But, that makes twice that one of your predictions came true coincidentally on the same DATE! Correct me if I'm wrong but 7/20 was the anniversary of Aurora.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Call 1-800-273-8255

Linkin Park's Bennington Hangs Self on Cornell's Birthday

Friends Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington assume the Jesus Christ pose, in 2007.

Chester Bennington, the frontman for Linkin Park, has died of an apparent suicide by hanging at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California. His body was discovered around 9 a.m. PST on July 20, 2017. His style of music is often called "post-grunge."

The copycat carnage continues.

July 20th is the birthday of Chris Cornell, who was born on July 20, 1964, in Seattle, Washington. Around 12:15 a.m. on May 18, 2017, Cornell was found dead - by hanging - by his bodyguard in the bathroom of his room at the MGM Grand in Detroit after performing at a show with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre on May 17. Cornell was the founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog. Chris Cornell toured with Linkin Park in 2007 and 2008.

Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter best known as primarily the lead vocalist for the rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead singer for Dead by Sunrise and fronted Stone Temple Pilots from 2013 to 2015.

Scott Richard Weiland (born Scott Richard Kline on October 27, 1967), lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots, died of an apparent cocaine overdose on December 3, 2015. Weiland was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota, before he and his band The Wildabouts were scheduled to go on stage. He was 48.

Chester Bennington first gained prominence as a vocalist following the release of Linkin Park's debut album, Hybrid Theory, in 2000, which became a commercial success. The album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade, as well as one of the few albums to ever hit that many sales. Linkin Park's following studio albums, Meteora (2003), Minutes to Midnight (2007), A Thousand Suns (2010), Living Things (2012), and The Hunting Party (2014), continued the band's success. Bennington formed his own band, Dead by Sunrise, as a side project in 2005. The band's debut album, Out of Ashes, was released on October 13, 2009. He worked on new material with Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 to release the EP High Rise on October 8, 2013 via their own record label, Play Pen. Bennington has been ranked in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader (No. 46).

Regarding the tragic news of Bennington's hanging suicide on Cornell's birthday, William Morgan writes: "You totally called that...."

Bennington struck the Jesus Christ pose recently, in his appearances. For example, after a decade's absence from Prague (where their Numb video was recorded), Linkin Park performed June 11, 2017, at Prague's Aerodrome Festival.

Fans who missed the Czech concert are noting on social media they are "numb" because they will never be able to catch Chester Bennington singing in Prague again.

Just for completeness, here's the Illuminati material:

Some have linked Linkin Park to Illuminati Symbolism (see here).

See also, Joan Jett and the Jesus Christ Pose.

h/t to Steve L.