Dead By Sunrise: Out of Ashes Review!

Dead by Sunrise is the very highly anticipated side project from Linkin Park front man, Chester Bennington. The project was announced about five years ago but was put off because of the new Linkin Park album. We had already been given a taste of what was to come with the new project with “Morning After” which was featured on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack and an acoustic version of “Let Down” and those songs kept us all VERY interested. “Morning After” does not appear on the album but a full version of “Let Down” does and is expected to be the next single.
The album, Out of Ashes, starts with the song, “Fire.” This song is incredible. Its anthemy feel will have fans singing along to the chorus in their rooms or while driving. It’s just that kind of song that you can’t help but sing when you hear it.
Next is the band’s lead single, “Crawl Back In.” This song kicks off the harder side of the band with its heavy guitars and vocals. For the first part of the album, the songs go back and forth between soft and hard, which is interesting because it isn’t something that is usually done but it still flows great. “Inside of Me” is another hard rock track. There is a recurring theme on the album of Bennington feeling that something is wrong with him which is most likely influenced by his alcohol addiction that he was in rehab for before the recording of the album.
“Let Down” is a slower song that we can guess might be about Bennington’s divorce. But “Let Down” is followed up by “Give Me Your Name,” another slow track that serves as a glimmer of light on the album. It is a happy song about meeting his new wife, who he is happily married to today. “Condemned” is somewhat of a low point on the album. It’s an awesome song but it is pretty different from the rest of the songs here.
The album ends with “In the Darkness.” This song is an absolutely amazing way to end the album with its acoustic guitars. You get a feeling that, even through all the madness, there is hope for the future “(In the darkness)/All that you want from me is all I have to give/(In the darkness)/Coming so easily, learning how to live.”
Lyrically, this is some of Bennington’s most amazing work. Bennington’s voice is complimented beautifully by his band made up of members of Julient-k. Use of heavy guitar and synths give it a kind of 80’s sound. The album is incredible and was very well worth the wait. If you’re a fan of Linkin Park you will definitely want this album.

PS: A friend of mine went to the Epicenter show that Linkin Park did a few months ago. Dead By Sunrise played a 3 song set in the middle of the LP performance and he said people LEFT. If you’re there for Linkin Park why the hell would you leave for DBS especially when LP was going on again when they were done? Some people…

-Josh CV