Before Linkin Park, there was Grey Daze, the grunge band from Phoenix, AZ, that marked the beginning of Chester Bennington’s musical career. Back in February 2017, the group reunited and started re-recording their music as well as plotting for a 20th-anniversary show. All plans came to an unfortunate end when Bennington took his own life in July 2017. Yesterday (10th), the group and Bennington’s widow, Talinda Bennington, announced the band would be releasing an album of re-recorded old material to keep Chester’s legacy.
Guest musicians will include Bennington’s son, Jamie, KoRn’s Brian “Head Welch” and James “Munky” Shaffer, P.O.D’s Marcos Curiel, Bush’s Chris Traynor, and Bennington’s former Dead By Sunrise bandmate, Ryan Shuck. The record will be released via Loma Vista Recordings. You can also check out 320 Changes Direction, a campaign launched by Talinda, which is geared to raise mental health awareness.
Talinda issued the following statement:
“One of Chester‘s greatest gifts was music. The only thing he took more pride in was being a father to his children. Given how much he cared, he wanted fans to hear everything he did, and his musical journey started with Grey Daze.
In February 2017, Chester and his bandmates began re-recording their music for a planned re-release of the band’s early music and by June, he announced that Grey Daze was reuniting and would be playing a 20th anniversary show that fall. He was so enthusiastic about doing this, he was eager to play rock music and there were messages in those songs he knew would be meaningful to fans.
It also meant a lot to him to be working with his Grey Daze bandmates, Sean Dowdell (with whom he had a very special friendship, and was a business partner in Club Tattoo) along with Mace Beyers, and Cristin Davis. He’d known them more than half of his life.
When Chester passed away, Grey Daze‘s reunion seemed like an afterthought to everyone involved, they were suffering, I was suffering, and there were way too many emotions to work through before we could even think about what would happen to that project.
Once the clouds lifted a bit, once we could focus on what Chester would want us to do, we looked for a way to continue what Chester was working on, the things he was proud of and wanted to share with his fans. The Grey Daze project is one of the ways we can continue to tell Chester‘s story and connect with his fans.
Through our foundation, 320, I endeavor every day making sure Chester‘s legacy shines a light for positive change. For us, releasing a new Grey Daze album will shine a light on where my husband started and hopefully give fans a better understanding of his art and a more full picture of his journey through this incredible music.
– Talinda Bennington
December 10, 2019″
— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) December 11, 2019
