Amends＜限定盤/Red Vinyl＞

Before shooting to international fame with Linkin Park, a young Chester Bennington sated his straightforward rock needs with the Phoenix-based 90s post-grunge outfit Grey Daze. Two decades after they disbanded, plans were made to reunite for the 20th anniversary of their final album. However, those wishes never came to fruition, cut short by Benningtons passing on July 20, 2017. After a period of grieving, founding member Sean Dowdell, bassist Mace Beyers, and guitarist Cristin Davis entered the studio with producer Jay Baumgardner and a team of Benningtons famous friends to re-record songs from 1994s Wake Me and 1997s ...No Sun Today. The resulting collection, Amends, reveals a teenaged Bennington on the cusp of superstardom, with his inimitable vocals presented in raw form. Heavily influenced by the style (and vocalists) of forebears Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Soundgarden, Amends also recalls the pain and power of early Tool and mid-period Depeche Mode, an emotive journey through Benningtons psyche (and a precursor to anthems like Crawling, In the End, and Numb). While the original 90s tracks were no-frills rock blasts, the updated versions benefit from modernized production quality and the freshness of contributions by the guest musicians. As Bennington howls and broods -- his nascent scream taking shape on tracks such as Just Like Heroin and The Syndrome -- Dowdells drums crash, Davis riffs churn, and Beyers bass provides the grounding, weaving seamlessly together as if Bennington was actually in the studio with them. Helmets Page Hamilton provides crunch on opener Sickness, revamped with atmospheric production and haunting synth stabs reminiscent of Linkin Parks gloomier material. Meanwhile, Korns Brian Welch and James Shaffer transfer their distinctive guitar attack to the swirling protest anthem B12, Benningtons takedown of corrupt American society that rings as true in 2020 as it did in the late 90s. While contributions by members of Breaking Benjamin, Bush, P.O.D., and Dead By Sunrise buffer the project without distraction, one special guest makes a huge emotional impact. Providing backing vocals on the moving Soul Song, Benningtons son Jamie bridges generations, honoring his fathers past and fulfilling a collaborative dream that unfortunately never transpired in person. Such moments make Amends a cathartic experience, reaching a peak on the piano- and string-backed Morei Sky. Eerily prescient and utterly heartbreaking, Bennington screams, If I had a second chance/Id make amends/Only to find myself/losing in the end. As with similar posthumous examinations of his lyrical cries for help with Linkin Park, listeners can only wonder about Benningtons intent. Rather than project meaning onto these decades-old lyrics, Grey Daze ends the album with a voice recording. As the triumphant Shouting Out soars to a close, Bennington tells a friend, Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood...I love you and talk to you soon. Its a tearjerker of a conclusion, comforting listeners from the other side with a little bit of closure. A gift for those who loved Chester, Amends is a lovingly crafted tribute, adding a bittersweet chapter to his musical legacy that brings his past and present full-circle. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

故チェスター・ベニントンがリンキン・パーク以前に参加していたオルタナ・メタル・バンドの〈新しい〉アルバム。再結成の計画が頓挫後、チェスターが10代の頃に残したヴォーカル・トラックに、メンバーたちがコーンのブライアン・ウェルチらと共に演奏を加えて完成されている。バラードで聴かせる悲痛な歌声は、まさにチェスターならでは。10代ながらもすでに成熟していた歌声の存在感に圧倒される。
bounce (C)山口智男