Chester Bennington’s son, Jaime, wants to ensure that his bandmates do not exploit his father’s legacy.
Dead by Sunrise recently announced on Instagram, “DEAD BY SUNRISE – ‘OUT OF ASHES’ // DELUXE EDITION OUT NOW,” along with a photo of Chester.
Jaime later shared on his Instagram stories, “1) Dead by Sunrise is Chester’s only solo act. I do not support or consent to the continuation of the band in its current state.”
He added, “Ignorance is NOT bliss. 2) I revoke Ryan AND Amir’s ‘ally card.’ It is my opinion that with power comes responsibility, and that these men have abused that power to the best of their ability.”
Continuing, Jaime stated, “It is MY RIGHT to say something. And in my opinion, it is a shame, the way these men have chosen to conduct themselves. To acquisition Dead by Sunrise, to use the power of the term ‘brother’ to dismiss Chester’s oldest son and mother, the way they have cuddled up to the music mafia because it’s too shiny to say no.”
“I’m Chester’s oldest son and I refuse to allow you to continue so casually to infer an allegiance between you and my dead father 7 years on from his death. Take it from the kid trained to call anyone and everyone family by THE MAN himself… Such sentiments can be misguided,” he concluded.
Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh from Dead by Sunrise recently joined Linkin Park Live Archive on YouTube to celebrate 15 years since the release of ‘Out of Ashes.’ During the discussion, they shared their thoughts on Linkin Park’s new singer, Emily Armstrong, after working with Chester until his passing in 2017.
Shuck remarked, “I think Emily is a great choice. I don’t know her personally, but I have personal close friends that have been in bands with her. I definitely knew vocally she could do this stuff. I think that, as she gets more and more shows under her belt as well, it’s just gonna become more and more like all of the old music is gonna mix with the new music and have her feeling, and it’s gonna be awesome.”
He also expressed, “I saw a lot of polarizing stuff about them trying to replace Chester, and yes, I heard Jamie Bennington and Chester’s mother say a lot of really, really misguided and super nasty and completely untrue sh*t. I can say that those people don’t have any inside track or knowledge about anything. I considered making a full-on video to deal with this stuff because the stuff they’re doing and saying and the people they’re appealing to, it’s not good.”
While Bennington’s widow, Talinda, and many others supported Armstrong joining the band, his mother and Jamie strongly criticized the choice. They accused Linkin Park of trying to erase the past and the memory of the late singer.
Photo Credit: Jaime Bennington – Instagram