Chester Bennington, Grey Daze - Amends - Album Review - Alternative Post-Metal from Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Today I am writing about a special Chester Bennington project; Grey Daze, from Phoenix, Arizona, USA, with their studio album, Amends.

Grey Daze - Soul Song (Official Music Video)

"This music video is about my spiritual connection to the other side and my literal experiences with the elusive and, at times, incomprehensible presence of my father after death. ’Soul Song’ is about the many ways in which we come to enlightenment, into knowledge, and the many ways we fall away from it. This is my personal experience with that.” - Jaime Bennington

Directed by Jaime Bennington

I have never been a Linkin Park fan, but remember listening to their albums over and over again, appreciating the beautiful music they made. They were definitely the pioneer of something that consisted of "modern", "commercial", and "metal" at that time, influencing millions of music lovers from different genres, including metal and me. Chester Bennington has always been a special figure for me, who will be remembered forever cause he touched so many of us with his music. First, I heard of him with Linkin Park, followed his vocals to Dead By Sunrise, and only a few months ago Grey Daze was submitted to me, another Chester Bennington project I have never heard before. Musically, any music enthusiast with Linkin Park experience will easily recognize Grey Daze, that the music belongs (partly) to Chester Bennington. His voice is again under all the highlights as it should be, once again capturing all of his incredible performances for us in a studio. We are lucky to have another timeless Chester Bennington record.

Woke up at 6 am today and reviewing a Grey Daze song; Soul Song, was one of my priorities. Started listening to the Amends album about a few hours ago and still playing in my headphones at maximum volume. I am enjoying it as I enjoyed other Chester Bennington songs, including Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise. He has everything that we love about his singing and energy in Grey Daze, with a wide range of influences in the production. Some of these songs get as electronic as Depeche Mode in terms of music style, whereas other times remind you of Linkin Park. The album concept continues through with every single step, leaving an incredible experience behind.

Gray Daze, band photo"A fun fact for your Saturday 😜 Sean & Chester started their first band in 1992 at his high school lunch hour at Greenway high." Credit: Gray Daze Facebook Page

After listening to the entire record a few times, the variety in the main approach and the difference between some of these tracks made me think of a situation where they had to collect all the music from different periods of their lives. Also, the genius in making all these decisions was shaping the future of these songs was the most crucial part, and the end product is simply fantastic. Grey Daze - Amends is one of the most impressive commercial and alternative post-metal music I listened to for a long time.

Lastly, Grey Daze was also right about being true to the origins of each song, in terms of production. The approach they have sometimes has influences from the 90s grunge rock such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc... whereas other songs have a proper metal approach and sound. The beautiful polished sound is a part of the album concept, perfectly fits the musicality regardless of different genres, and added "timeless" value to this album.

Chester Bennington - Artist Press PhotoCredit: No Bad Movie

In the end, the success makes total sense when you think about all those crucial decisions Grey Daze made. My world is now definitely a better place with another timeless Chester Bennington record. Thanks for reading.

"Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington's original band was Grey Daze... in 2017 they began re-recording their original songs until later that year it was put on hold. With the help of Chesters family this album has finally been released. An iconic singer being heard for the fist time with his original project where he is the sole lead singer. "

GREY DAZE on the WEB

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