It’s with fortitude and grace that Phoenix, Arizona-based rock band, Grey Daze, pays homage to their fallen member, former frontman of Agoura Hills, California-based rock band Linkin Park, Chester Bennington. Grey Daze was the initial hometown band Bennington, who tragically took his own life back in July 2017, was once a part of before breaking into the music industry with the success that followed Linkin Park’s debut album, 2000’s Hybrid Theory. The remaining members of Grey Daze recently released their third single “Sometimes” along with its accompanied music video from their forthcoming album Amends, via Loma Vista Recordings, “…whose release date was pushed back to June 26 due to coronavirus concerns” according to Rolling Stone.
According to a press release, Grey Daze co-founder/drummer, Sean Dowdell, spoke at length of the message behind “Sometimes” and how it correlates with the current coronavirus pandemic saying:
“Chester was already a masterful lyricist at the age of 18, when he wrote this song (which was initially recorded when he was 21). I’ve said this in prior interviews but this is one of those songs that when I hear it now, I recognize the pain Chester was living with even more acutely now that I’m an adult. As so many of Chester’s lyrics do, this message in this song, that bad things happen and that things will get better, resonates in an entirely different way with the current crisis we are all living through, and brings a message of hope.”
According to a press release, “Amends is the origin story of one of modern rock’s most recognizable voices and also a full circle moment among friends. The album is the fulfillment of a planned Grey Daze reunion that Chester had announced prior to his untimely passing. The remaining band members – Dowdell, Mace Beyers (bass) and Cristin Davis (guitar) – along with Talinda Bennington (Chester’s widow) and his parents, made it their mission to see the project through with assistance from Tom Whalley, the founder of Loma Vista Recordings and former Warner Bros. Records Chairman during Linkin Park’s tenure at the label.”
Grey Daze’s “Sometimes” music video treatment opens with an uncanny preposed screenshot conversation between Bennington and a female friend who is reaching out to the singer under dire circumstances. Solace comes in the form of Bennington’s optimistic lyrics, which are transcribed in the screenshot text message conversation, serving as the responses to Bennington’s friend. The track itself lends to its emotionally driven lyrics penned by then then 18-year-old Bennington as it serves a testament to his masterful lyricism. The vocals recorded when Bennington was 21-years-old are re-mastered giving it a timeless performance in the voice inflection’s fervent conviction, as if it was a recording beyond the grave.
To listen to “Sometimes” stream below, via YouTube.
Photo Credit: Shareef Ellis
Leave a Comment