'Chester is the phoenix': Arizona bandmates honor late Linkin Park frontman

Reuniting with the Phoenix band he fronted in his teens was Chester Bennington's idea.

The Linkin Park singer and his former bandmates were supposed to start rehearsals for their first recording sessions since their 1998 breakup in July 2017.

Three days before they planned to reconvene in Phoenix, Grey Daze drummer Sean Dowdell was in Las Vegas doing interviews for Club Tattoo, the chain of tattoo parlors he launched in 1995 to bring in money while Grey Daze was focused on regional touring and pouring all their earnings back into the band.

At a certain point, he noticed that his phone was blowing up with calls from his wife, so Dowdell finally excused himself and took the call.

'Raw talent from day one': How Chester Bennington found his voice as a Phoenix teen

The pain of losing Chester Bennington

That's how he learned that Bennington had died by suicide.

The sing body was discovered by Bennington's housekeeper at his California home on the morning of Thursday, July 20.

Bennington was supposed to meet his family and bandmates in Phoenix two days later for dinner and start rehearsals Sunday.

"The band had been rehearsing for a month before that," Dowdell says. "That's literally how close it was to getting everything together."

Bennington had even shared some songs he thought might work for Grey Daze.

"Chester had actually written five new songs he wanted to record with the band," Dowdell recalls.

"I heard them. They were really good. We just hadn't had a chance to write as a band with those new songs, collectively."

Chester Bennington interview: We spoke to him on the 15th anniversary of 'Hybrid Theory'

Why Chester Bennington 'is the phoenix'

As the fifth anniversary of Bennington's passing approaches, Grey Daze will release a second album of material built on vocals Bennington recorded between the ages of 18 and 21.

The first posthumous album, "Amends," came out in June 2020 with the blessing of the singer's wife, Talinda Bennington.

In addition to Dowdell and the musicians he originally lined up for the project — Grey Daze bassist Mace Beyers and guitarist Cristin Davis, a member they'd recruited in 2017 — the album featured guest appearances by members of Helmet, Korn, Breaking Benjamin, P.O.D. and Orgy.

Bennington's son Jaime, then 23, also appears on the album, harmonizing with his dad on “Soul Song.”

The second album, "The Phoenix," arrives June 17.

This one features guests appearances by Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Richard Patrick of Filter and Bennington's daughters, Lily and Lila.

The title is a reference to the mythic bird that rises from the ashes, not the city. That's why there's a "the" before "Phoenix."

"It just embodies everything about this project and the rebirth of this music through his passing," Dowdell says.

"And Chester is the phoenix. He was continually recreating and reinventing himself all through his musical career."

He took 10,000 photos of Chester Bennington. Now, his images are a traveling memorial

The making of 'Amends'

There were no plans to make a second album, any more than there were plans to make "Amends."

"The original intention, while Chester was alive, was we were just going to work on an album and see how it was received and go from there," Dowdell says.

"Once he passed away and we picked up what was left to finish the record, we knew we had the songs, but we didn't know if we were gonna get a second record."

The decision to move forward with "The Phoenix" was largely based on the reaction to "Amends."

"It really seemed to connect emotionally with a lot of listeners," Dowdell says. "At that point, we knew we had something special and could try again. So about six months after we released 'Amends,' we started working on the new album."

Linkin Park interview: The making of 'The Hunting Party'

Why 'The Phoenix' is a celebration

There's a different energy at play on this one.

"You had a real theme with 'Amends' that's very melancholy and reflective," Dowdell says. "It gives you chills and makes you cry."

"The Phoenix" feels more like a celebration of Bennington's life.

"Instead of crying, I think you're gonna raise your fist in the air and scream," Dowdell says. "In a good way, you know what I mean? And I think that's really the differentiation between the two records."

It also reflected the mood of the sessions.

'Dirty, nasty and hot': How a Tempe dive bar became Cheers for Valley metalheads

Making 'Amends' involved a lot of crying

Recording "Amends" involved "a lot of crying," Dowdell says. The pain of losing Bennington was still so fresh at that point.

"There was a lot more laughter on the second record, a lot more uplifting stories, a lot more making fun of each other, as friends do," he says. "It felt a lot more heartwarming and fun."

On the first one, they were working through their grief while learning how to build new songs around the vocals Bennington recorded back when they were all much younger.

"So we had a template and a formula going into the recording of 'The Phoenix,'" Dowdell says. "And we spent a year writing it. So it wasn't as daunting a task."

They did a lot of writing for "Amends" in the recording studio.

"And there's a different kind of pressure that comes with that," Dowdell says.

"It's very expensive and you tend to end up settling for things that might be really good but not great. On this one, we didn't have to settle for things like that."

It's not that he's unhappy with the way "Amends" turned out.

"I think we made a phenomenal record," he says. "But I can only imagine what it would have been like had we had an extra four or five months to write before we got to the recording studio."

Interview: Robin Wilson on 30 years of Gin Blossoms' iconic 'New Miserable Experience'

Why they wrote new songs around those vocals

As to why they felt the need to write new songs around Bennington's vocals instead of remixing and remastering what they'd already done or re-recording their parts, Dowdell says the music didn't do the vocals justice.

"We didn't really have producers on those records," he says.

"We just kind of wrote the songs as a band, went in and recorded. Didn't do a ton of overdubs or work with a producer on arrangements. Even though the band was really good and had a couple record deals and things were going great, we really could have profited from having a solid producer point things out."

He understands the value of a good producer now.

"As you get older," Dowdell says, "you lose your ego. Now, it's not a bunch of 20-year-olds fighting to get their part on a song for ego's sake versus what's important for the song."

Living up to the Linkin Park singer's legacy

There's also the matter of wanting their material to live up to the legacy of what Bennington had gone on to accomplish since the breakup, from his work with Linkin Park, whose breakthrough album, "Hybrid Theory," is the biggest-selling debut and rock album of the century, to Dead By Sunrise and Stone Temple Pilots.

"His millions of fans around the world have come to hold him to this standard," Dowdell says.

"For us to go back and just literally re-record the same thing we had done would've been a disservice because his performances were so good and some of the music really wasn't up to par."

They also took the opportunity to update their approach.

"We wanted to make it more relevant to today's music scene, more modern," Dowdell says, "so that his fans who had come to know him in a certain way could digest it a little bit easier."

Bringing in Dave Navarro, Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick of Filter joins them on "Believe Me," a track that had no chorus.

"As we rearranged these songs, a couple of songs had voids in them," Dowdell says.

"'Believe Me' was one of those tracks. So Esjay (Jones, the producer) and I wrote a chorus, Richard came in, listened to what we did and knocked it out of the park. It's one of my favorite songs on the album. And he was a pleasure to work with."

Navarro was slated to work on the previous record but they couldn't make the timing work.

"He told me at that time, 'Hey, Sean, I really like this project. If you guys are gonna do another record, I'd love to play on it,'" Dowdell says.

So he reached out to Navarro a month or two before they started tracking.

"And he hit me right back," Dowdell says. "He was like, 'Absolutely, I'd love that.'"

Having Navarro on the record was a huge deal for Dowdell. Jane's Addiction was one of Bennington's core influences in the '90s.

"We chose a song specifically for Dave that felt like you could hear Perry Farrell's influence on Chester's vocal part," Dowdell says.

"When you listen to that track, you can clearly see that Perry has an influence on Chester as a developing vocalist. And every time I hear it, I can't wait for the guitar solo."

'There's not much you can give someone who's passed away'

Having Bennington's daughters appear on the record was another highlight.

"There's not much you can give someone who's passed away," Dowdell says.

"For us to have his children be able to record a song and connect with their father in that way, it feels like it's something we're able to give back to Chester."

And that's ultimately what keeps Grey Daze going.

"This is really a celebration of who our friend was," Dowdell says.

"And yes, he was my band member. But he was my friend first. He was special in so many ways. And this album is just a celebration of that friendship and what he meant to us."

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hear Chester Bennington's pre-Linkin Park voice in new songs