Almost a year on from the initial announcement that Chester Bennington’s formative band, Grey Daze, would be recording fresh music featuring vocals of the late frontman, Chester’s bandmate in the group has spoken at length about this ‘lost’ album that will soon see the light of day.

In a world-exclusive interview with Kerrang!, drummer Sean Dowdell reveals how the group set about completing this Grey Daze record with vocals and lyrics by a young Chester, as well as how the band formed in the first place – before Linkin Park even existed – and his first impressions of the soon-to-be-legendary frontman.

“He and I had a connection in writing music together,” Sean tells Kerrang! of their bond. “We loved to write lyrics because we both have a talent to express emotional intent. I just got him on that level. I could tell what he was trying to convey and I could help shape it. He was a genius in the ability to express his emotions into metaphor.



READ THIS: The 20 most powerful Chester Bennington lyrics, as chosen by you



Giving eager fans a hint of what to expect from Grey Daze’s forthcoming album, Sean reveals: “There is a depth in the lyrics on this record. Chester sings every word like he believes every single emotion attached. It’s bittersweet for me. There’s that big, obvious looming thing that he’s not here to share this with me. But I’m very proud in how we curated this music. We took almost three years to make this record after he passed. I think he’d be quite proud of what we did.”