Dead By Sunrise is the official solo side project of Linkin Park lead vocalist and frontman Chester Bennington. Originally formed under the moniker Snow White Tan while Chester was writing lyrics for Linkin Park's "Minutes To Midnight", the band (now called Dead By Sunrise) features Chester Bennington on lead vocals as well as Amir Derakh & Ryan Shuck (of the band Orgy), Brandon Belsky & Elias Andra (of Julien-K) and Anthony "Fu Valcic".
 
Developed during a two year period; production on Out of Ashes began in July 2008 after touring for Linkin Park had finished. With producer Howard Benson at the helm and bandmates from Julien-K, Bennington participated in all aspects of creating the record, including programming and production. Chester wrote most of the songs on an acoustic guitar before working with his band to reshape the songs into their final versions. Dead by Sunrise's debut album, Out of Ashes, was released worldwide on October 13, 2009.
 
"I came up with the band name because in the beginnings of making this album, I was partying ... we'll call it partying. It wasn't much fun, but we partied a lot. And there was a lot of times where I was kind of in a really self-destructive place, and sometimes it felt like you weren't sure if you were going to make it to the next day. The name kind of evolved from that lifestyle, and the title of the record, Out of Ashes, is kind of coming out of that self-destructive path I was on, and rising from the ashes, so to speak."