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]

Background

Tentatively titled New Sun Tomorrow,[2] the project was started in February 2017[3] when Chester and Sean picked about four songs to recut and sent new guitarist Cristin Davis into the studio to work on them.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7]

The news came with the announcement of a Grey Daze reunion show at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ.[5] Jason Barnes, who played guitar on Wake Me, was announced as part of the band's line-up for the show and was seen recording in the studio.[8][9] They planned on sending the producer on tour with Linkin Park so Chester could record new vocals,[4] however, the project was put on hold following his death on July 20th.[10]

Writing and Recording

Official Grey Daze line-up on the album.[11]

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.[4] 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.[12] Besides Chester's original vocals from Wake Me and ...No Sun Today, previously unreleased alternate takes were also used on the songs.[13] 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.[4] The band then reached out to former Warner Bros. Records executive Tom Whalley to release the album through his Loma Vista Recordings.[14] 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),[15] 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[16] and by August they had mixed the album.[17] 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.[18]

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.[4]

Composition

The tracklist is composed of new versions of songs from Grey Daze's two studio albums. "She Shines", "Soul Song", "Morei Sky", "Sometimes", "What's In The Eye" and "Shouting Out" were originally from Wake Me; and "In Time", "The Syndrome", "Sickness", "Just Like Heroin" and "B12" were originally from ...No Sun Today. Two of the songs had their titles changed for the album, "The Syndrome" was originally called "The Down Syndrome" and "Just Like Heroin" was originally called "Just Like Heroin (A Little Down)".

"Hole" was rumored to be in the tracklist as well since it was previewed (along with "In Time") by Sean Dowdell in 2018 while filming a mini documentary about the band but it didn't make the album.[19]

It is currently unknown which guests are featured in each song, but it has been confirmed that "She Shines" features Brian "Head" Welch, "Soul Song" features Jaime Bennington, "Sickness" features Page Hamilton,[4] and "In Time" features Ryan Shuck.[20]

Release

Complete Amends Bundle

Pre-orders for Amends started on February 06, 2020. The album was released in digital, CD and vinyl formats. The first pressing of CDs were packaged in 16-page case-bound books including lyrics and band photos.[21]

Two different limited edition color vinyls were available: a red vinyl and a deluxe edition bone-white + apple red splattered color vinyl limited to 3.5K numbered copies worldwide which was exclusive to the Grey Daze store. This deluxe vinyl includes a 60-page book with never before seen band photos and ephemera. 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.[22][23] A regular black vinyl with inner sleeve as lyric sheet was available exclusively in the European store.[24]

Various bundles with varying items were 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.[25] 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.

Tracklist

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1 Sickness Chester Bennington, Sean Dowdell 2:51
2 Sometimes Chester Bennington 3:26
3 What's In The Eye Chester Bennington, Sean Dowdell 3:26
4 The Syndrome Chester Bennington 3:49
5 In Time Chester Bennington 3:54
6 Just Like Heroin Chester Bennington, Sean Dowdell 3:25
7 B12 Chester Bennington 3:33
8 Soul Song Chester Bennington 4:06
9 Morei Sky Chester Bennington, Sean Dowdell 3:52
10 She Shines Chester Bennington 3:35
11 Shouting Out Chester Bennington 3:19

Promotion

In December 2019, Grey Daze started releasing statements from Chester's family and bandmates about the album.[3][26][27][14] Universal Records held private listening parties in various countries in early January 2020. The band was featured on the cover of the January edition of Kerrang! with a special article about the album.[28] On January 17, the band released the first track from the album, "What's In The Eye".[29] On January 23, Loudwire released an exclusive 8-minute documentary on the making of the album featuring interviews with band members, producers, special guests and Chester's family.[30] An lengthy article about the album was posted by Rolling Stone on February 3rd featuring interviews with Sean Dowdell and Talinda Bennington.[4] The first single, "Sickness", was released a few days later on February 6th with an accompanying music video.[31]

Reception

While the majority of fans were thankful and excited for being able to hear new material featuring Chester Bennington,[32] members of Grey Daze were also heavily criticized for the way the album was advertised by Loudwire and Kerrang! as Chester's "lost album" which fans considered dishonest and deceitful. The band was also criticized for partnering with Chester's maternal family and his ex-wife, Samantha Bennington, all of whom had previously directed attacks towards Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and Chester's widow Talinda Bennington-Friedman.[33][34][35] While working on the album, Sean Dowdell had denied Samantha's claims and attacked her online.[36] Sean was also criticized for the way he portrayed Chester's feelings towards Linkin Park's music and the way he spoke about the band's label, Warner Bros. Records.[37][38][39] All negative comments have been removed from the band's social media accounts.[40]

Reception of the first single, "What's In The Eye" was mixed, with many fans praising the new sounds and layers added to the song while others felt the overall production of the track wasn't good.[41][42][43][44][45] However, fans praised the production on the second single, "Sickness".[46][47]

Gallery

External Links

References

  1. New Music From Grey Daze (Chester Bennington's First Band), January 15, 2020
  2. 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
  3. 3.0 3.1 Grey Daze on Instagram: “Talinda Bennington @talinda320 December 10th, 2019”, December 11, 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Inside Linkin Park Singer Chester Bennington's Grey Daze Reissue - Rolling Stone, February 03, 2020
  5. 5.0 5.1 Grey Daze Reunion Show Announcement - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 26, 2017
  6. LINKIN PARK ASSOCIATION CHAT WITH FORMER GREY DAZE DRUMMER SEAN DOWDELL APRIL 15, 2003 @ 8:00 PM, April 15, 2003
  7. There's No Sun Today For The Grey Daze Re-Release | LP Association, August 12, 2003
  8. Grey Daze on Twitter: "Guitarist Jason Barnes w/ producer Sylvia Massy - @xsylvianq in the studio, recording guitar tracks. 🎸🎸🎸 #GreyDaze #SylviaMassy #JasonBarnes https://t.co/ZzDzB7k9ew" / Twitter, July 02, 2017
  9. Grey Daze no Twitter: "Recording session with Jason Barnes & Sylvia Massy. 🎸🎸🎸 #GreyDaze #NoSunToday #Sickness https://t.co/xEICg1dJju" / Twitter, July 07, 2017
  10. Sylvia Massy - RIP Chester Bennington - with Sean Sean..., July 20, 2017
  11. Grey Daze on Instagram: “Let us know what you think of today's article in @rollingstone about Grey Daze. Link in stories.”, February 03, 2020
  12. Sylvia Massy » Chester Bennington/Grey Daze Project Underway, December 29, 2017
  13. Grey Daze - "What's In The Eye" Release - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, January 15, 2020
  14. 14.0 14.1 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
  15. News Roundup: Grey Daze Update - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, February 19, 2019
  16. Grey Daze Wraps Up Album Project - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 9, 2019
  17. Grey Daze Album Coming In April 2020 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, November 18, 2019
  18. 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
  19. Grey Daze Remasters/Video Project - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, July 10, 2018
  20. LinkinPark:br - Ryan Shuck gravando com Grey Daze | Facebook, August 23, 2018
  21. Standard CD + Digital Album – Grey Daze Official Store
  22. Chester Bennington - Ve'cel | Robert Kuen | Flickr, July 24, 2004
  23. Picturedisc 3: Chester (Spotify Fans First Exclusive) + Digital Album – Grey Daze Official Store
  24. Grey Daze Official Shop - Amends - Grey Daze - LP
  25. Deluxe LP/CD + Litho – Grey Daze Official Store
  26. Grey Daze no Instagram: “Susan Eubanks December 11th, 2019”, December 12, 2019
  27. Grey Daze no Instagram: “Jaime Bennington December 12th, 2019”, December 13, 2019
  28. World Exclusive: Grey Daze And The Lost Music Of Chester Bennington — Kerrang!, January 14, 2020
  29. Chester Bennington's Pre-Linkin Park Band, Grey Daze, Release New Single — Kerrang!, January 16, 2020
  30. Chester Bennington Remembered by Early Band Grey Daze in Mini-Doc, January 23, 2020
  31. Grey Daze Announce Upcoming Album, Amends; Release New Single And Video — Kerrang!, February 06, 2020
  32. Talinda Releases Grey Daze Statement - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, December 11, 2019
  33. Chester Bennington's Ex Wife Blasts Family Members 'Capitalizing On His Death' - Blabbermouth.net, August 24, 2017
  34. Chester Bennington’s Mother Breaks Silence About Claims Against Mike Shinoda – Metalhead Zone, December 8, 2018
  35. Chester Bennington's Ex-Wife 'Supports' Criticism Of Mike Shinoda - AlternativeNation.net, December 04, 2018
  36. Astat on Twitter: "And yet ~2 years later, that "lying, deceitful human who Chester hated" is now partnered with Sean in promoting an album that's supposedly about honoring Chester's legacy, conveniently right after she won a 50% stake in Chester's estate. Hmm. https://t.co/clFMg6wgjk" / Twitter, February 06, 2020
  37. New rolling stone article on Grey Daze : LinkinPark, February 03, 2020
  38. Grey Daze: Rolling Stone Interview - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, Februar 03, 2020
  39. Grey Daze - Sickness. Music video out tomorrow! : LinkinPark, February 05, 2020
  40. 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
  41. Grey Daze - "What's In The Eye" Release - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, January 15, 2020
  42. Anyone else got What's in the Eye on replay all day?? Plus full album Question. : LinkinPark, January 17, 2020
  43. Grey Daze - What’s In The Eye (Official Audio) : LinkinPark, January 16, 2020
  44. Grey Daze - What's In The Eye [Discussion, Megathread : LinkinPark], January 16, 2020
  45. Grey Daze "What's in The Eye" NEW SINGLE, Thurs - 01/17. : LinkinPark, January 15, 2020
  46. Grey Daze - Sickness (Official Music Video) : LinkinPark, February 06, 2020
  47. Grey Daze - "Amends" out April 10 - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, February 06, 2020