Amends

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Template:Infobox album

Amends is an upcoming remix album by Grey Daze composed of Chester Bennington's vocals from the 90's over newly recorded instrumentals. "What's In The Eye" was released as the first “fan track” from the project on January 17, 2020 and was co-produced by Chris Traynor, Kyle Hoffman and Jay Baumgardner. The first single, "Sickness" featuring Page Hamilton, was released on February 6th.[1] Other confirmed songs are "She Shines" (with Brian "Head" Welch), "Soul Song" (with Jaime Bennington), "Morei Sky", "Just Like Heroin (A Little Down)" and "B12".[2] "In Time" and "Hole" are rumored to be on the album as well since they were previewed by Sean Dowdell in 2018 while filming a mini documentary about the band.[3]

Tentatively titled New Sun Tomorrow,[4] the project was started in February 2017[5] when Chester and Sean picked about four songs to recut and sent new guitarist Cristin Davis into the studio to work on them.[2] The album was announced in June by bassist Mace Bayers as a remaster of ...No Sun Today they would be working on with Sylvia Massy.[6] The band had previously tried to release a remastered version of the album through Artemis Records in 2003 but conflicts with lawyers within Linkin Park's label Warner Bros. Records prohibited the release.[7][8]

The news came with the announcement of a Grey Daze reunion show at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ.[6] They planned on sending the producer on tour with Linkin Park so Chester could record new vocals,[2] however, the project was put on hold following his death on July 20th.[9]

Grey Daze was given permission by Chester's widow, Talinda, to continue working on the project granted that they didn't change Chester's voice.[2] In late December, Sylvia confirmed the sessions had been resumed. According to her, the music would be modernized for the current market using master tapes recorded in the late nineties.[10] Besides Chester's original vocals from Wake Me and ...No Sun Today, previously unreleased alternate takes were also used on the songs.[11] Sean was encouraged by Rene Mata to make it something special for Chester's fans with a wide release and helped connect him with producer Jay Baumgardner who helmed the final product.[2] The band then reached out to former Warner Bros. Records executive Tom Whalley to release the album through his Loma Vista Recordings.[12] They worked at Salt Mine Studios and NRG Recording Studios with a number of guests which included Ryan Shuck (Julien-K), Marcos Curiel (P.O.D.), Jaime Bennington (Chester’s son), Chris Traynor (Bush), Lucas D'Angelo (Betraying The Martyrs), Esjay Jones, Brian “Head” Welch and James "Munky" Shaffer (Korn),[13] LP (Laura Pergolizzi), Carston Dowdell (Sean's son) and Jasen Rauch (Breaking Benjamin). On June 9, 2019, Grey Daze confirmed they had wrapped up the project[14] and by August they had mixed the album.[15] Draven Bennington was also asked to sing on the album but declined because it was difficult for him to listen to his father's voice at the time.[16]

The album title was taken from the lyrics of "Morei Sky". Sean said, "After Chester passed, being a close friend, you carry this amount of guilt, like, ‘What did I miss? What did I not see? How could I have let this happen to my friend? How could I have prevented this?’ You go through these emotional roller coasters. And then you read those lyrics and go, ‘How the fuck did I not see he was in such a dark place?’ It’s one of those things where it sheds a little bit more light onto who he was deep down and the thoughts that went through his mind." According to him, they have enough material for one or two additional Grey Daze albums which might be released if Amends gets a good response. Some proceeds from the sales will benefit Talinda's 320 Changes Direction and other portions of the proceeds have been allocated for Chester's kids.[2]

Release

Pre-orders for Amends started on February 06, 2020. The album was released in digital, CD and vinyl formats. Three different picture discs were also available in the official Grey Daze store, one of them being "Spotify Fans First". This last edition features an unreleased photo of Chester Bennington from the Ve'cel photo session from 2007 by Robert Kuen.[17][18] There were various bundles with varying items available. The "Complete Amends Bundle" included: Limited Edition LP + CD Photobook, Amends T-Shirt, Amends Tote, Limited Edition Chester Mosaic Poster, Amends Patch, Grey Daze Logo Baseball Hat and Digital Album.[19] The main photo of Chester in the mosaic poster was taken at a Linkin Park show during Projekt Revolution Tour 2007 and was previously used by Linkin Park in the LP Underground 6.0 newsletter.

References

  1. New Music From Grey Daze (Chester Bennington's First Band), January 15, 2020
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Inside Linkin Park Singer Chester Bennington's Grey Daze Reissue - Rolling Stone, February 03, 2020
  3. Grey Daze Remasters/Video Project - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, July 10, 2018
  4. Grey Daze on Twitter: "Working on possible album titles and artwork... and it's really good so far! #GreyDaze #ChesterBennington #SeanDowdell #MaceBeyers #NRGstudios https://t.co/2zZ78Y4W4l" / Twitter, October 19, 2018
  5. Grey Daze on Instagram: “Talinda Bennington @talinda320 December 10th, 2019”, December 11, 2019
  6. 6.0 6.1 Grey Daze Reunion Show Announcement - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 26, 2017
  7. LINKIN PARK ASSOCIATION CHAT WITH FORMER GREY DAZE DRUMMER SEAN DOWDELL APRIL 15, 2003 @ 8:00 PM, April 15, 2003
  8. There's No Sun Today For The Grey Daze Re-Release | LP Association, August 12, 2003
  9. Sylvia Massy - RIP Chester Bennington - with Sean Sean..., July 20, 2017
  10. Sylvia Massy » Chester Bennington/Grey Daze Project Underway, December 29, 2017
  11. Grey Daze - "What's In The Eye" Release - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, January 15, 2020
  12. Grey Daze on Instagram: “Grey Daze December 13th, 2019 This letter is missing an important piece. We could not have done this without our Chester and ours close…”, December 14, 2019
  13. News Roundup: Grey Daze Update - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, February 19, 2019
  14. Grey Daze Wraps Up Album Project - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 9, 2019
  15. Grey Daze Album Coming In April 2020 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, November 18, 2019
  16. Grey Daze on Instagram: “We received these letters of support from Chester’s son @dravenbstudios and his mom @samanthabennington just a few short weeks ago. We are…”, February 05, 2020
  17. Chester Bennington - Ve'cel | Robert Kuen | Flickr, July 24, 2004
  18. Picturedisc 3: Chester (Spotify Fans First Exclusive) + Digital Album – Grey Daze Official Store
  19. Deluxe LP/CD + Litho – Grey Daze Official Store