Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl has spoken for the first time about the deaths of fellow rock ‘n’ roll frontmen Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. In a new interview with The Rock FM in New Zealand, Grohl and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins were asked to give their insight on depression in light of Cornell’s and Bennington’s suicides.

Measuring his words carefully, Grohl stated, “depression is a disease,” adding that each person “goes through it their own way” before paying tribute to his friend. “Chris was such a beautiful guy, he was the sweetest person, he was so talented, he had so much to offer.”

Grohl added, “I think that mental health and depression is something people should take seriously. There’s a stigma attached to it, which is unfortunate. Just as you take care of yourselves in every other way, I think it’s important that people really try to take care of themselves in that way.”

Picking up where his bandmate left off, Hawkins commented, “It just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter what’s in your bank account, or how many hits are on your YouTube page, all that kind of crap, it all goes out the window if, like Dave said, you’re not feeling right.”

He also gave advice about taking care of each other: “Look after yourself, and if it looks like someone is down, way down, check up on them.”

Read the full interview transcript via Alternative Nation below and watch the full interview here.

(Read: Even Rock Stars and Iconic Singers Sometimes Need a Little Help)

Grohl said:

“When it comes to someone like Chris Cornell or Chester, depression is a disease. Everybody kind of goes through it their own way. I can’t speak for anybody else’s condition, but the hardest part is when you lose a friend. I just always immediately think of their families and bandmates, because going through something like suicide, it’s a long road. Chris was such a beautiful guy, he was the sweetest person, he was so talented, he had so much to offer.

It was a real shock to hear he had gone. I think that mental health and depression is something people should take seriously. There’s a stigma attached to it, which is unfortunate. Just as you take care of yourselves in every other way, I think it’s important that people really try to take care of themselves in that way. It ain’t easy, life is hard.”

Taylor Hawkins said:

“Like you said, people [seem to] got it so together. It just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter what’s in your bank account, or how many hits are on your YouTube page, all that kind of crap, it all goes out the window if, like Dave said, you’re not feeling right. Not to get to hear Chris Cornell make another record again is my selfish version of it, and there’s such a bigger hurt beyond my own selfish [reasons]. I barely knew him, a little bit, but from what I know, he was super cool, I didn’t know Chester very well at all, but I knew Chris a little bit, and Dave knew him a bit too.

I can remember as far back as when I joined the band, you and I playing Soundgarden riffs together. I remember making There’s Nothing Left To Lose with the guy who engineered and produced some of their records, and we would just listen to their records a lot. They were a big inspiration to us a lot as musicians, Chris Cornell was just a master. The loss is a bummer, but like Dave said, that’s a real thing. Look after yourself, and if it looks like someone is down, way down, check up on them.”

Foo Fighters’ new album, Concrete and Gold, arrives September 15th.