New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Grey Daze, the mid-90s band that bore one of rock music's most iconic front men, Chester Bennington, have released a documentary (link) that highlights both the band's Phoenix-based origins and Bennington's vision to bring Grey Daze's music into the modern era.
The clip, which debuted via Loudwire, opens with footage of Bennington announcing the
Grey Daze reunion, which is followed by the surviving
Grey Daze band members (Sean Dowdell, Mace Beyers and Cristin Davis) recounting their collective plans for 2017. Bennington's parents lovingly recall the moment when the 15-year-old Chester asked permission to join the group and their amazement in what the
Grey Daze band members were able to do with the release. The documentary also takes fans behind-the-scenes into the recording of the forthcoming album, with guests such as Korn's Brian "Head" Welch and
James "Munky" Shaffer, Chris Traynor (Bush, Helmet,
Orange 9MM) and LP detailing the passion and emotion that has been poured into the project.
"What's In The Eye", the first single from the as-of-yet untitled album via Loma Vista Recordings/Universal Music, arrived last Thursday. Rolling Stone said the single "finds the 17-year-old Bennington crooning and screaming over a moody mix of murky clean guitar and pile driving riffs" while
Revolver said the track "showcases Bennington's iconic voice in a fresh context." Originally recorded in 1993 and 1996, "What's In the Eye" was re-written and modernized by
Grey Daze under the guidance of producers Traynor, Kyle Hoffman, and Jay Baumgardner. Using Chester's original vocals, the song showcases that, even at the age of 17, Chester was already "delivering intense, almost physically palpable emotion" (New York Times). "What's In The Eye" was written lyrically in different phases by both Sean and Chester collaboratively.
Before he sang, screamed, and serenaded audiences of millions throughout his storied career in
Linkin Park and a host of other projects, Chester cut his teeth in Grey Daze. The mid-'90s band released a pair of albums (Wake Me and No Sun Today) but unsurprisingly the young Phoenix-based band was lacking the expertise and financial resources to fulfill their vision. In 2017, Chester announced a
Grey Daze reunion which would see the band members, now with those previously lacking resources, re-working and re-recording a collection of songs from those early releases. The resulting music represents an important, yet unheard chapter—the origin story of one of modern rock's most recognizable voices—and also a full circle moment among friends.
Additional details about the album will be revealed in the coming weeks.
