GREY DAZE has released “Sometimes”, the third single from the band’s upcoming album “Amends” (June 26, Loma Vista Recordings), with a corresponding video that showcases the Chester Bennington-written song’s message of hope amidst unexpected times.
“Sometimes things just seem to fall apart, when you least expect them to,” offers Bennington in the lyrically profound three-and-a-half minute song. The track, which was written in 1994 but only recently re-recorded for “Amends”, goes on to say, “maybe things will look better, maybe things will look brighter.”
“Chester was already a masterful lyricist at the age of 18, when he wrote this song (which was initially recorded when he was 21),” explains Sean Dowdell, GREY DAZE co-founder and drummer. “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.”
“Amends” was originally slated for an April 10 release but due to the rapidly shifting situation with COVID-19, the band and Loma Vista Recordings announced the 11-song album would move to a June 26 release date. As a thank you to the fans who have been so integral to this release, the band gave newsletter subscribers a free download of “Sometimes” and have offered supporters the ability to hear “Amends” in its entirety on its original release date of April 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. local time. The series of global listening parties hosted by fans for fans, will be streamed online from 10 different countries across 11 different time zones in nine languages (Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish) and across various platforms (including Facebook, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube). Additional information can be found here.
The 11-song album, which was created to honor both the legacy of Bennington and to see one of his final dreams, the reunion and re-recording of the band’s long out-of-print and largely undiscovered catalog, to completion. With an abundance of concern for those that need to spend time with their loved ones over the coming weeks due to COVID-19, the band and label came to the difficult decision to postpone the album’s release.
GREY DAZE previously released a pair of singles: “Sickness” and “What’s In The Eye”. “Sickness” is No. 8 on this week’s Active Rock chart.
“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. Dowdell, Beyers and Davis selected the tracks from the band’s mid-’90s, but largely unknown, catalog and re-recorded the music in 2019 to accompany Chester‘s re-mastered vocals. Produced by Jay Baumgardner, several musicians leant their time and talent to the album, including KORN‘s Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer, Page Hamilton (HELMET), Chris Traynor (BUSH, HELMET, ORANGE 9MM), LP (Laura Pergolizzi), Jaime Bennington, Jasen Rauch (BREAKING BENJAMIN), Marcos Curiel (P.O.D.) and Ryan Shuck (ORGY).
“Amends” is available in a variety of collectible formats with several iterations available exclusively via the band’s web site. The CD comes as a 16-page case-bound book; a first pressing, ruby red vinyl variant exclusive to the band’s web-store; and a numbered deluxe edition featuring both a CD and LP, which includes the first ever disc tray designed for vinyl, a 60-page book with never-before-seen photos, 180-gram red and white splattered vinyl, and a collectible set of band memorabilia dubbed the “Grey Daze Archive.”
