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| ==Writing and Recording== | | ==Writing and Recording== |
| Chester started working on his solo album in 2005 when Linkin Park took a seven-month break.<ref name="Insider">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090707015826/http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/09/chester-benning.html Exclusive: Linkin Park's Chester Bennington talks about his 'moody' solo album, 'disarray' at the VMAs | Showbiz News and Scoop | Studio and Network Dish | EW.com], September 09, 2008</ref> According to Ryan Shuck, they completed the album, but had to put the project on hold when Linkin Park started working on ''[[Minutes To Midnight]]'', delaying the release of Dead By Sunrise's debut album to sometime in 2008.<ref name="ArtisanNews"/> He said some of the material already dated back to five or six years.<ref name="MTVBrainwash"/> ''"When I started writing the music for Dead By Sunrise, I felt like they were stylistically outside (the band's) box,"'' Chester explained.<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/articles/photos/live/473616/linkin-park-feels-energized-to-write-new-music-on-the-road Linkin Park Feels 'Energized' to Write New Music on the Road | Billboard], January 14, 2011</ref> He described the record saying, ''"We took Nineties rock, mixed it with Eighties pop like Depeche Mode, the Cure and Bauhaus and smashed them together. It's fuckin' driving beats and walls of guitars."'' Those early songs included "[[Morning After]]", "[[Walking In Circles]]"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070205213410/http://rollingstone.com/news/story/7567254/linkin_frontman_goes_solo Rolling Stone : Linkin Frontman Goes Solo], August 18, 2005</ref> and "[[Let Down]]", which was performed live at the [http://lplive.net/shows/db/deadbysunrise/20050910 ReAct Now: Music & Relief] show. While "[[Give Me Your Name]]" was also written around that time, Chester said it wasn't actually intended for the album as he wrote it for his wedding which took place in December 2005.<ref>[http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/linkin-parks-chester-bennington-talks-dead-by-sunrise-227226 Linkin Park's Chester Bennington talks Dead By Sunrise | MusicRadar], November 20, 2009</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100316204629/http://www.inkedmag.com/article/out-ashes/ Inked Magazine :: Article :: Out Of Ashes], November 03, 2009</ref>
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| It was only after [[Projekt Revolution 2008]] that Chester went back to work on his solo record, while simultaneously working with Linkin Park on ''[[A Thousand Suns]]'',<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080809222740/https://www.ocregister.com/articles/linkin-park-chester-2117810-bennington-projekt Entertainment: Linkin Park's Chester Bennington talks Projekt Revolution - OCRegister.com], August 07, 2008</ref> for a 2009 release. Besides writing new songs, the band also enlisted the help of Howard Benson,<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/1598768/linkin-park-are-writing-delicious-concept-album-to-follow-minutes-to-midnight/ Linkin Park Are Writing 'Delicious' Concept Album To Follow Minutes To Midnight - MTV], November 06, 2008</ref> who drastically changed its overall sound as explained by Ryan, ''"On the album, the guitars were definitely heavier – there was a bit more grip to the record before and I think the label, when they heard the songs, were like “this could be all over the radio” and they wanted us to polish it up and make it shimmery."'' Pre-production was done at Ryan's house, tracking at Bay 7 Studios and vocals at Bay 7 as well as Sunset Sound. Afterwards, the band moved to Sparky Dark Studio (Howard Benson's home studio) to listen and put the finishing touches to the album.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP5x_SDY4fU Dead By Sunrise - Tracking "Too Late" with Howard Benson], September 24, 2009</ref> As for their writing process, Ryan said, ''"The songs start with Chester usually on an acoustic guitar as a little vocal melody, but it’s really sparse. Occasionally they’re more complete songs, but a lot of times he has an idea and a really good melody and we just sort of record that and he’ll literally go work with Linkin Park then. And we’ll build the song and write it, do the parts and everything, he’ll come back and he’ll get excited and then he’ll sing more on it and then he’ll go back and work with Linkin Park."''<ref>[http://www.devilbearrock.com/2010/05/02/ryanshuckinterview/ DevilBearRock Interview with…. Ryan Shuck (Dead By Sunrise/Julien-K/Orgy) | DevilBearRock Photography], May 02, 2010</ref> Despite doing double duty, Chester said he was involved with every aspect of making the album, from the songwriting to the programming to performing with various instruments.<ref name="ArtistDirect">[http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-dead-by-sunrise/6153307 Interview: Dead By Sunrise @ARTISTdirect], October 05, 2009</ref> According to him, the name "Dead By Sunrise" was partly inspired by the fact that they did most of their work from 3 o'clock until about 3 or 4 in the morning.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn1alku0wJc The MySpace Music Feed: Dead By Sunrise and Lights - YouTube], October 06, 2009</ref>
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| The lyrics were described by Chester as being very poetic and visual. ''"When I was writing the lyrics for [[Out Of Ashes|Out of Ashes]], I tried to use sentences that were really visual and words that inspired people to see a moving picture in their heads. That way, listeners can really catch the vibe of what the music is about. In doing so, there's a more colorful flare to the lyrics. That also allows people to feel how dark a lot of the record is. I think the darker thing are, the more they make an impact on you. In terms of writing, I definitely went a little more poetic on this album than normal."''<ref name="ArtistDirect"/>
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| Songs that were originally written to deal with Chester's personal feelings about God (such as "[[Fire]]" and "[[Too Late]]") were changed lyrically because he felt some people get uncomfortable with this subject matter.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20091101002143/http://www.shockhound.com/features/825-dead-by-sunrise--chester-bennington-s-new-lease-on-life-linkin-park ShockHound - Features - DEAD BY SUNRISE: Chester Bennington’s New Lease On Life], October 26, 2009</ref> "[[Condemned]]", "[[Inside Of Me]]" and the final version of "Fire" were conceived towards the end of those later sessions with Howard Benson, when Chester decided he would write "3 really great rock songs" and did so within 8 hours.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr5Kk_XL3S4 KROQ interview Dead By Sunrise (part2) - YouTube], July 05, 2010</ref>
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| ==Composition== | | ==Composition== |
| The exact date of the CD is hard to be determined because the band had worked on the songs for many years and the quality of the tracks vary a lot. With the exception of the "Morning After" remix (released on the ''Underworld Evolution'' soundtrack), none of the tracks are fully mastered or mixed, and some of them are very loud and brickwalled.
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| The tracks noticeably lack the changes imposed by the label, with the music being more guitar driven, especially on "[[Walking In Circles]]" and "[[Fadeaway]]", and a lot of the background vocals from the final versions being absent. "Walking In Circles", with different ending, and "[[My Suffering]]", with different lyrics and screamed verses, are the same versions performed live at [http://lplive.net/shows/db/deadbysunrise/20080510 Club Tattoo's 13th Anniversary] in 2008. [[Twenty Eyes]] is also the same version performed live, being different from the original Misfits song, with new lyrics and a different structure towards the end. "[[Fire]]" was also still in its early form, before Chester decided to start over the song with different melodies and lyrical theme.<ref>[http://www.theaquarian.com/2009/10/13/interview-chester-bennington-dead-by-sunrise-thrive-in-the-moonlight/2/ Interview with Chester Bennington: Dead By Sunrise Thrive In The Moonlight | The Aquarian Weekly - Page 2], October 13, 2009</ref> The bridge from the final version was originally the chorus. Other notable difference in the CD is that the bridge in "Fadeaway" is repeated in place of the fourth verse. "Morning After" is the only demo not to have any lyrical differences.
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| Around June 2007, a picture posted on Julien-K's official website revealed a songboard with the titles of all the songs contained in this demo, with "[[In The Darkness]]" being the only song that made the album not featured in the CD.<ref>[http://www.lpassociation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25150 Possible Dead By Sunrise Tracklisting], June 03, 2007</ref> This, and the absence of songs from the later sessions, could mean the recordings date from 2005 up to sometime before mid-2007 while the CD itself dates to sometime after the Level 7 incident (as it features the Warner Bros. logo). It's also important to note that "[[Into You]]" already had its final title on the board, while it is listed as "Fadeaway" on the demo.
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| In early 2009, Mike Shinoda posted on his blog about Chester playing him 9 songs from Dead By Sunrise,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090207005058/http://www.mikeshinoda.com:80/blog/Recommended_Music/chester_dead_by_sunrise Chester: Dead By Sunrise | BLOG | mikeshinoda.com], February 04, 2009</ref> but it's unknown if that was the same CD.
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| The fact that the CD is credited to Chester Bennington (despite the band already being named at the time) could be explained by the following quote: ''"We were called Snow White Tan for a while, and then I changed the name to Dead By Sunrise, but I really just like Chester Bennington."''<ref name="Insider"/>
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| ==Track Listing== | | ==Track Listing== |
