Grey Daze
The Phoenix

That the music market is struggling in the era of streaming and digital is well known. As are the new strategies that the majors have resorted to in order to keep their clients afloat and continue to monetize on their backs. The return of vinyl, the publication of graphic novels paired with concept albums, or the recording of a handful of singles, then collected in EPs, which actually anticipate half of the tracklist of the upcoming full-length album. Not to mention the release of rich celebratory box sets, preceded by an even more celebrated single released from who knows where, belonging to bands orphaned of their legendary frontman. Fans flock like mosquitoes drawn to blood and the project founders fill their pockets.

In this specific case, the music changes, even if it might not seem so. Much to the chagrin of the detractors of any commemorative operation or similar.

The Grey Daze is Chester Bennington’s first band, born in Phoenix in 1993 when Chester was only seventeen, in collaboration with drummer Sean Dowdell, joined by guitarist Jason Barnes (later replaced by the late Bobby Benish) and bassist Jonathan Krause (later replaced by Mace Beyers). With this lineup, made up of departures and new acquisitions, Grey Daze released two albums: “Wake Me” in 1994 and “…No Sun Today” in 1997. After new misunderstandings and quarrels, the band broke up, then changed its name to Waterface, Chester Bennington followed Jeff Blue and joined Xero (later Linkin Park) and the rest is history.

After a first failed reunion attempt in 2002 (to honor Bobby Benish, whose days were unfortunately numbered), a second attempt was made fifteen years later by the original lineup, but Chester Bennington’s death put a full stop to it. It all resulted in a concert in Bennington's honor, held in Las Vegas with Dead by Sunrise, the side project of the Linkin Park leader.

After almost two years of silence, in January 2019, the band returned to the studio to re-record some tracks from the first two albums, with the collaboration of Brian Welch and James Shaffer of Korn, along with Chris Traynor of Bush and Jamie Bennington, Chester’s firstborn. The work gave life to the first album after Bennington, “Amends”, released (serendipitously) on June 26, 2020, exactly three years after the reunion.

The long wave of this project brought to life, last June, the fourth studio album, “The Phoenix”, which sees the resurrection of the last ten pieces from the past. While the third album was more melancholic and reflective, this one is more aggressive and biting and is, in all respects, a sort of final farewell. It was Bennington’s family, primarily his wife Talinda, who wanted this final chapter, and in the album, besides the return of Jamie, also appear daughters Lila and Lily, who take part in the celebration with choruses in the fifth track, “Hole”. Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Richard Patrick of Filter also contributed to the studio work.

The ten tracks take the listener through a dimension made of strong emotions. The complex emotivity of the singer can be perceived, manifested through melancholic and at times rebellious lyrics. Smacks and caresses, through a primordial scream and a timbre as raw as it is mature, invoking oxymorons. There are episodes typical of nu-metal, which in those years was beginning to outline its sound, as well as traits typical of alternative rock. In general, and throughout the listening of this album and its predecessor, it becomes natural to reconnect to the grunge wave, which was emitting sparks at that time, about two thousand miles away from the Arizona desert.

The restoration work ensures that the past is catapulted without falls or bruises into our present, through the modern artistic trait of its performers and thanks to the contributions of the new additions.

The strings of Dave Navarro’s guitar in “Holding You” or Richard Patrick’s vocals in the duet of “Believe Me” shed light on the torments of Chester’s soul, refreshing that 90s outfit and making it still pleasantly wearable. The aforementioned choruses, led by the dreamy timbre of Bennington’s daughters in “Hole”, move and elevate everything, dulling any discussion about the merits of a revisitation like this.

“Anything Anything”, “Drag,” and “Starting To Fly” with the opening “Saturation (Strange Love)”, the latter enriched by a powerful scream, are the most intense tracks and are where the electricity of a work that is ultimately the revival of something classic that doesn’t want to die, flows through. “Be Your Man”, “Spin”, and the closing “Wake Me” are the three tracks with the most reflective and melancholic traits and in fact represent the tail end of the previous work.

There’s nothing that makes you scream miracle, no new unexplored horizons, rather there's the discovery of something that for too long has remained under a dusty blanket. For lovers of Chester Bennington, it’s the privilege of being able to board a train that already passed when there was so much silence and a tremendous desire to be heard. A unique experience, that leaves an intensely bitter taste in the mouth. Joy and pain. Gratitude and anger. With the awareness that there truly can exist an infinite time.