The brand new issue of Metal Hammer features an in-depth interview with the members of Grey Daze, the band Chester Bennington started out in before he joined Linkin Park.
The singer’s former bandmate, Grey Daze drummer Sean Dowdell looks back on Chester’s years with the band in the late 90s, including the first time he heard Chester sing. “He didn’t look like a lead singer or rock star to me,” says Dowdell. “He was young, nerdy kid. He had glasses, he had really short hair. Then he went up and sang… and I shut my mouth. We were all floored.”
We asked Sean to pick the three songs that best sum Chester as a singer and as a person.
Linkin Park – Lying From You (Meteora, 2003)
“It really developed my appreciation for what those guys were doing at the time. I’m not a big rap or hip hop guy, but I love the lyrics to it, I love the groove. I like the way the band kicks it up and crushes the chorus. I think it’s their best song.”
Dead By Sunrise – Let Down (Out Of Ashes, 2009)
“That one is really emotionally touching for me. It speaks to who Chester is as a human, the way I remember him, where he’s just saying in the song, ‘I don’t want to be let down’, and to me, those lyrics are really poignant and meaningful.”
3. Grey Daze - In Time (Amends, 2020)
“It’s a really powerful song. There’s a moment where he screams the word, ‘Pain’, and oh man, it gives me goosebumps when I hear him sing that part. And then sometimes he’s saying, ‘Sometimes things may fall apart, but when you least expect them to, maybe things will get better.’”
Read the full Grey Daze feature in the brand new issue of Metal Hammer, out now. Order your copy now.
