Inspired by the emergence of the Seattle grunge scene in the early 90s, a group of teenage musicians going by the name Grey Daze, achieved their own success in their own home state, Arizona. Undoubtedly so, that success couldn't have been achieved without the signature vocals of Chester Bennington, belting out emotionally violent lyrics revealing capturing a young soul's pain and frustration. Fast forward 2020, Amends, a collection of the band's greatest hits, is delivered to the world with a metal twist while preserving the classic grunge core that makes the nostalgia resonating.
April 10th was the official listening party for the upcoming Grey Daze release, "Amends" and was hosted by over 20 official ambassadors from all over the world. Although the date for the album release has been pushed back to the 26th June, we were able to come together collectively to celebrate this new work in its entirety, bringing together not just existing Linkin Park fans who previously knew about this music, but older fans who were around as part of the scene when Grey Daze existed and completely new devotees. We at LPFCW were fortunate enough to have one of our members host one such stream on behalf of Linkin Park Bulgaria, and cannot thank the band enough for their support, encouragement and assistance throughout this whole project.
The sense of community and outpouring of love from not just the fans, but the band and others directly involved in the creation of this album really embodies the idea behind the project and is an outstanding way of continuing Chester's legacy. The album boasts hosting several well-known musicians that contributed to the project, including Bush guitarist, Chris Traynor, Korn's Brian Welch and James Munky Shaffer, as well as former artists who have collaborated on various projects with Chester, such as Helmet's Page Hamilton and Dead By Sunrise's Ryan Shuck. It's clear that with such a huge, dedicated team of talented musicians, a lot of love, effort and care was put into this album.
Opening the album, Sickness was the second single released by the band and truly gives a taster of what the album has to offer. Immediately, the track is immersive and atmospheric and sets a darker, brooding tone that lasts for the duration of the record, and is only reinforced by the blunt opening lyrics. Disembodied vocals that sit lower in the mix of the bridge capture the hazy, disarrayed state of mind and gives the song more depth before kicking back in for the final chorus.
Clean, intricate guitars begin Sometimes, the most recent single, which works fantastically as a transition to the rest of the album. Thematically, it almost mirrors the effect of coming down from a high, yet gives a sense of optimism with its lyrics, despite its overall melancholic feel. Gritty guitar tones ramp up for the chorus of the track, adding an extra dynamic to the emotion of the song while giving a stark contrast to the clean guitars. This type of duality combined with the undeniable vocal prowess makes the track so memorable, while not overshadowing the ones that follow.
What's In The Eye is, at the time of writing, the last single we hear before unveiling the rest of the album. The placement of the three singles already out being first on the album hook the listener in, allowing the rest of the time to indulge in new territory completely. The drawn-out style of singing in this song in particular really allows the audience to appreciate Chester's vocals while the instrumental moves at a normal pace, pushing the song towards the chorus which conflicts this message in the line, "Don't go too fast, my friend". This juxtaposition adds an element of awareness and is further emphasized in the bridge, when the song is cut to a filtered guitar and vocals before jumping back to the full band.
The first song we hear that hasn't yet been released on the album is The Syndrome, featuring crisp percussion and atmospheric synths. It's a departure to the twangy guitar of the (1997) ...No Sun Today version and while Chester's voice performs phenomenally atop the instrumentals of the newer version, slight reverb making the song feel bigger, the chorus overpowers this at times, in favor of the instrumental. However, the bridge manages to do this well and gives the song a more contemporary feel.
In Time opens with the ticking of a clock, adding a nice homage to the title of the track, leading into minimalist piano and Chester's sonorous vocals. The pacing of this new version feels natural and gives the chorus more impact, especially with the isolated vocal decay leading into the second verse. The strings that pick up following give contrast between the lyrics and gives the song a wider sound, accented with clean guitar.
The track Just Like Heroin follows this, and has a much lighter tone than the original. Immediately, entrancing vocals begin the track and follow throughout the brief instrumental before the first verse kicks in, somewhat reminiscent of Nirvana. The bass cuts through the mix bright and full and the buzzing guitar in the chorus makes a nice addition to the sound of the song overall.
Amends' B12 places more emphasis on the fast-paced vocals and syllabic pattern of the track than the original, trading the bouncy bass lines and 90's grunge energy for dark guitars and occasional imposing percussion, almost indicative of a coming storm. The synths and drums in the pre-chorus make a good build up while Chester's "Hooray, hoorah"s gradually get more aggressive, culminating in the visceral chorus.
Soul Song is arguably the most hard-hitting of the tracks on the album, and this version absolutely does the song justice. Not only is this one of the finest vocal performances, but the soft, simplistic piano accentuates the mood of the track and is bolstered as the song progresses, reaching a climax in the chorus as Chester's signature stylized singing belts out the lyrics. It's an absolutely glorious, cathartic, bittersweet moment and, perhaps, my favourite on the album.
Following this is Morei Sky, a perfect continuation from the previous song. Mellow piano plays under sweet vocal harmonies that pan and sweep and add to the grandiose feel of the track. The full band kicks in after the first chorus, and highlight the significance of the lyrics, "If I had a second chance, I'd make amends". This song in particular is redolent of Queen, and serves to remind us what a fantastic talent Chester was and always has been.
She Shines is a departure in style from a lot of the other songs on the record as it begins, and kicks in to be one of the heaviest songs on the album. The post-grunge vocal style fits neatly with the newer instrumentals, as the terse guitar and drums give a more industrial feel to the track. Wailing guitar that sits low in the mix is combined with a somber piano melody as Chester belts out, before picking back up for the final chorus and ending with anguished vocals as the instruments drop out, chilling and demonstrating how powerful his vocals were.
Shouting Out is the final track on the album, and while it has yet another mesmerizing vocal performance, particularly in the introduction and end of the song, the band could have chosen a stronger song to close on.
The Grey Daze epoch of Chester's life is undoubtedly an important part of his history as a singer and frontman, and while we are grateful we are able to listen back to their old albums, Amends provides a fuller, modern take on what once was the musical peak of a local music scene.
We would once again like to thank Grey Daze for creating this album and ensuring Chester's legacy lives on through his music. We know it will bring limitless joy and comfort to those who need it for many years to come. For further updates, follow the band on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as supporting their music through YouTube, Spotify and at their official website, where you can pre-order the album now.
While this piece has been published on the LPFCW blog, the views expressed within do not necessarily represent the entirety of LPFCW. The opinions stated only belong to the original author of the piece with permission to post, and should not reflect badly upon LPFCW as a whole.
If you have been affected by any of the topics discussed in this article, help and resources can be found at Buddy Project.