"Over and Over","Gone Forever" and two more hit singles, "Pain" and "Never too Late". In a 2006 interview, Gontier said that the album's material was more personal to him than the band's previous work because the material had come out of his experiences with despondence, drug abuse, and rehab that had constituted the past two years of his life.[16][17] The album, titled One-X, was then released on June 13, 2006,[17] and was guitarist Barry Stock's recorded debut.[1]
One-X was met with generally mixed reviews. The Toronto Star complimented the album with a review title of "One CD worth buying..." and focused on its lyrics, saying, "The lyrics really speak out to you, especially if you're going through a tough time in your life."[18] Allmusic reviewer Corey Apar praised the music, saying it "remains catchy despite its lyrical darkness".[19] The album did receive some negative criticism. Apar pointed out that Three Days Grace is "hardly innovative" in their approach to writing music and that "further distinctive qualities" would help the band separate itself "from their alt-metal peers".[19]
One-X peaked at number two on the Canadian album chart[11] and at number five on the Billboard 200,[1] selling 78,000 copies in the US in its first week of release.[20] Its first single, "Animal I Have Become", was Three Days Grace's most successful, becoming 2006's most played rock song in Canada,[18] and the album helped propel Three Days Grace to become the number one rock artist in airplay in the US and Canada in 2007, with Billboard ranking them as the number one rock artist of the year in 2007.[21] One-X was certified platinum by the RIAA in the US on August 30, 2007,[13] and double platinum by the CRIA in Canada in July 2007.[21][22] Three Days Grace toured the US and Canada throughout the second half of 2006 and all of 2007 in support of One-X.[23] In early 2008, they toured alongside Seether and Breaking Benjamin across the US.[8][24]
Life Starts Now (2009)
From March to August to January to April 2009, Three Days Grace recorded their third album at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Los Angeles, with producer Howard Benson, who had worked with them on their previous releases.[21][25][26] The album, entitled Life Starts Now, was released on September 22, 2009. Critics as well as band members have noted the album's departure from the angry tone of the band's previous releases into a lyrical style that comes off as more optimistic.[27] According to guitarist Barry Stock, the album's theme centers around "a new sense of freshness" and the idea that "you don't have to be stuck in whatever it is you're dealing with. Whether it's good or bad, it's your choice to make a change."[25]
Life Starts Now debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, Three Days Grace's highest chart position, and sold 79,000 copies in its first week.[28] The album was met with mixed reviews. Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star gave the album a negative review, saying it possesses "no sound of its own, just a shallow range between Nickelback and Linkin Park".[29] According to Allmusic reviewer James Christopher Monger, who gave the album three out of five stars, Life Starts Now continues the theme of One-X, Gontier's personal demons, but with a "hint of sunlight".[27] He compliments the album, saying it "treats the well-worn metal themes of anger, isolation, heartache, and redemption with the kind of begrudging respect they deserve, pumping out a competent flurry of fist-bump anthems and world-weary, midtempo rockers".[27] Harsher negative reviews came from Ben Czajkowski from 411mania.com as he described the album as "Boring, bland, trite, tired, tried, and true are all words that I would use to describe Life Starts Now, the latest from Three Days Grace".[30]
The first single from the album, "Break", was released on September 1, 2009.[21] Three Days Grace embarked on a 20-date Canadian tour lasting through November and December 2009.[31] They will be co-headlining a January–February 2010 tour of the US with Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf.[32]
They will be embarking on a US headlining tour with support from Chevelle, and Adelitas Way starting on March 26, 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and ending on April 16, 2010 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Juno awards.[33] but lost to Billy Talent III.
On May 9 is was announced that Three Days Grace will be at Rocklahoma 2010.
In April 2010 it was announced that the band would be the headlining tour for Pointfest 2010 in St.Louis, MO. They are along side bands like Hollywood Undead and Seether.
In July 2010, it was announced that Three Days Grace will be going on tour with Nickelback and Buckcherry on the Dark Horse Fall 2010 Tour.
[edit] Musical style and influences
Three Days Grace's musical style has generally been described by critics as alternative metal[6][16] and hard rock[2][34] throughout the band's career. Heather Phares of Allmusic, in a review of the band's debut album, compared them to rock bands Chevelle and Helmet.[6] Dave Doray of IGN described Three Days Grace as "heavy and catchy, with chewy chunks of assurance and fury thrown in for added measure."[5] Allmusic's Corey Apar said One-X brings an "accessible alt-metal attack of blunt lyrics and crunching rhythms" that retains the melodic sound of its predecessor "despite its lyrical darkness".[19]
The band has listed numerous influences in their music. Gontier has mentioned such bands as Sunny Day Real Estate, Kyuss, Nine Inch Nails, and Alice in Chains as influences for the band's music.[35] Julie Garisto of the St. Petersburg Times has claimed that Three Days Grace's influences also include the grunge band Nirvana and the heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath.[10] According to Gontier, the lyrics for Three Days Grace songs have mostly been influenced by the Seattle music scene. He summarized about the band's influences in an interview, "Musically there's a lot of different influences, but lyrically it's hard to have different influences because you just write."[36]
[edit] Awards
Three Days Grace have been recognized for their musical efforts through several awards and nominations. In 2007, the band was ranked by Mediabase as the number one artist in airplay across all rock formats in the US and Canada,[21] and Billboard named them Number One Rock Artist of the Year.[21] Three Days Grace has been nominated for four Juno Awards. In 2004, the band was nominated for New Group of the Year.[37] "I Hate Everything About You" was nominated for Best Rock Video and People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Group at Much Music Awards.[38] In 2007, they were nominated for Group of the Year, and their album One-X was nominated for Album of the Year.[39] The band's first single from One-X, "Animal I Have Become", was Canada's most played rock song in 2006[18] and won that year's Mediabase award for the most played active rock song on radio.[40] "Never Too Late" was nominated for Best Video and Best Rock Video and "Pain" was nominated for Best International Video by a Canadian and People's Choice: Favorite Canadian Group at Much Music Awards.[41] In 2010 Life Starts Now was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Juno awards but lost to Billy Talent III.In 2010, "Break" was nominated for Best Post Production Video and Best Rock Video of the year at Much Music Awards.On Fuse.tv, The Good Life is in a poll for "Best Summer Hit". In 2010 "Break" and "Life Starts Now" were Nominated for "Favorite Single" and "Favorite Album" at the Casby Awards and "Life Starts Now" won Favorite Album.
Members
- Matt Walst (Lead vocals)
- Barry Stock (guitar)
- Brad Waist (Bass guitar)
- Neil Sanderson (Drummer, Backing vocals)
Discography
Albums
- Three Days Grace (2003)
- One-X (2006)
- Life Starts Now (2009)
- Transit of Venus (2012)
- Human (2015)
EPs
- EP-name
Singles
- "Single-name"
Further Reading
(Add links to websites, label biographies, fansites, books, periodicals or any additional information on the artist)