Alienation – Three Days Grace

What could be considered a major comeback if not this album? One of the most famous rock bands of the 2000s, which has been virtually silent for almost ten years, suddenly makes a bold move. They team up with their former singer in the studio to release an album that is truly one of a kind. Alienation is not only a milestone in the life of Three Days Grace, but also such a unique creative phenomenon that it is truly unique.

The 2020s are an era of great reconciliations, with Guns N' Roses returning, Oasis performing again, and the founding members of Three Days Grace burying the hatchet after some 12 years. Although not as big a name as the first two, the latter band probably needs no detailed introduction, as their 2003 debut album and their 2006 and 2009 albums contained numerous hits that have been viewed hundreds of millions of times—in some cases even billions—on YouTube and Spotify to date.

There are several answers to why their new, eighth album, Alienation, is such a big deal, but whether it really qualifies as a true comeback album is debatable. Let's start with the basics, though, and why this band is so important to me and to a whole generation.

A generation's revelation

Three Days Grace burst onto the scene in 2003, practically out of nowhere, and with their song I Hate Everything About You, they wrote themselves into the music history of the decade. With an anti-star attitude, every song was filled with rebellion, pain, and anger, and the post-grunge and hard rock music they brought set them apart from emo and punk bands that looked similar but sounded very different.

At that time, I was still a mini-me, I didn't even know the band, I had just started school. Not long after, in 2006 to be exact, the band released their album One X, which became one of the highlights of their career with mega hits such as Animal I Have Become, Pain and Never Too Late. On these songs, frontman Adam Gontier sang about his struggles with addiction and the months he spent in rehab, among other things. Musically, we got a professionally constructed album, with the songs flowing nicely from one to the next and creating a completely homogeneous sound. The band, which was still unknown to me at the time, rose even higher than before, and then something sudden happened.

Internet became available in our house.

Well, to be precise, it was finally the non-dial-up type of internet. I was about 11 or 12 at the time, and I started browsing wildly, drooling over... well, everything, because I no longer had to rely on the school computers or reserve a computer at the library to play Miniclip games and Counter Strike 1.6. YouTube was in its heyday, and I was a regular visitor, but one day my eye caught something among the recommendations on the right side, which turned out to be the first glimpse of a very long love.

I saw a very colorful cover image with a painted face on it – a video clip recommendation. The band's name was Three Days Grace, and the song was simply titled Break. This was my first TDG experience, and it made such an impression on me that I listened to almost everything I could find about them. This was just before the release of the album Life Starts Now, so I was eager to listen to the whole album, online only, I must admit, but at that time it wasn't so easy to get hold of such albums as a kid living in the countryside.

Change of a range

From then on, I became a hardcore fan. I was particularly taken with the second and third albums, where I felt that the band had matured in terms of sound and style, so I waited eagerly for the fourth album, Transit of Venus. The band kept up their good habit of releasing an album every three years, which was more than enough for me to learn everything about them, but soon came the bad news.

Although Chalk Outline was very impressive, and the new album also left a deep impression on me, as we saw real musical development, the news that accompanied the album left an even deeper impression.

Singer-songwriter Adam Gontier left the band.

I was about 15 or 16 at the time. The news wasn't as devastating as it would be for a Swiftie to learn that Taylor Swift had suddenly taken her husband's name and would now be known as Taylor Kelce, but it still affected me unpleasantly.

I'm not saying that my Three Days Grace fandom ended at that point, although to this day I still consider Adam Gontier's voice to be my favorite among singers on the planet, so I knew it would be difficult to replace him, especially since he played a significant role in songwriting — he basically came up with the basic ideas for the biggest hits.

When I heard the first song with the new singer, I had mixed feelings.

Matt Walst, the younger brother of TDG bassist Brad Walst, proved to be an obvious and good choice. In the song Painkiller, he showed that he had power in his voice and could also perform at a very professional level live, something Adam was less and less capable of at the time – his performances on live recordings after 2010 were uneven.

I even liked the fifth album, Human, but I got almost nothing out of the TDG experience that I had loved so much before. The tone, the feeling, the lyrics, the style have changed radically, and almost nothing is connected to the tattoo on the back of my neck.

As a beginner drummer, I initially played TDG songs to improve my skills, because Neil Sanderson used slightly different drum themes in each one, plus there were some good accompaniments or fills that allowed me to practice a few new techniques, but this album was different in that respect too.

The following albums progressed, and the band slowly passed me by.

There were repeated rumors that Adam Gontier and Neil Sanderson had a nasty falling out, then began to reconcile years later, but this had no visible effect other than a few tabloid articles. Adam initially pursued a solo career, and those songs also differed from the TDG vibe, but they brought a truly emotional, pop music world, and then the Saint Asonia supergroup was formed, where the singer was joined on stage by musicians from Staind, Seether, and Finger Eleven. This band had power, but it also lacked something deep. I had to wait until 2025 to figure out exactly what that was.

New album, new tantrum

Last year, news broke that Adam and the members of TDG had reconciled and were working on a new album featuring two lead singers. There hadn't been this much hype around the band in ten years, so everyone had high expectations for the album, which was accompanied by an arena tour. Three Days Grace has always played at large venues in Budapest, but mostly at places like Budapest Park, so the Papp László Sports Arena is a step up, regardless of the unusual layout.

I was very curious to see what they would be capable of on the new album, as Alienation is unusual in two respects:

• On the one hand, it is unusual for a reunion to be accompanied by a new album, especially so soon. Neither GNR nor Oasis — to stick with the previous two examples — started out by saying, "Hi, we're back together, ten months and here's our new album."
  

• On the other hand, switching to two frontmen is not a common decision, especially when it comes to two strong characters like Matt and Adam.

The second question also concerns how well the two singers can separate themselves vocally and how well they can divide up the tasks. If there is too much overlap, neither of them can really take advantage of the potential of the songs, and their individual parts merge together. Although the two performers have different voices in terms of character, division and positioning are also important issues from a songwriting perspective, but the song Mayday, which was released as the first teaser from the album, immediately answered my questions.

In terms of momentum, the song was a hit, but upon first listen, it immediately struck me that it was essentially a trip down memory lane. It had the same rumbling bass intro as Animal I Have Become, verses reminiscent of the guitar in I Hate Everything About You, which we knew Adam would sing as a big comeback, and then a powerful chorus, typical of the band. The song has momentum, but the question arose: will the album bring anything new, or will it just evoke the favorite eras of TDG fans? Apologies provided the answer.

Stays the same

I have often wondered what direction the band would have taken if Adam hadn't left in 2012, and I think this song comes closest to answering that question. Transit of Venus already shows signs of a shift towards modern rock with pop elements and increasingly electronic influences, although this is mainly evident in the second half of the album.

Apologies became a kind of culmination of this, perfectly blending the Adam and Matt eras, with great harmony between the two performers. The song is based on Adam's tone of voice and its emotional charge, while Matt operates with precise, rhythmic phrasing and his strong, airy, high-pitched voice.

Both bring out the best in their respective talents, and even though it's not a classic TDG track, the song strikes a perfect balance in terms of both music and mood.

In contrast, however, the album opener Dominate took a much more metal-oriented direction, reminiscent of the opening track on the Life Starts Now album, which was more to Matt's liking, while Kill Me Fast – apart from the opening verse with its riffing guitar – also drew on the melodies and bittersweet mood of the Life Starts Now album, it presented a completely different side to it. The four singles were therefore completely different, so I was really curious to see what the end result would be.

Music for fusing

The result surprised me. It filled me with joy and disappointment at the same time. The fifth song, In Waves was strange because the opening riff gave me the impression that a fast song would explode at double tempo, but instead it turned out to be a mid-tempo, heavy track. Musically, at first I thought we would get the very classic 2003 TDG line, but over time it unfolded to create more of a Matt-era vibe, as if I was listening to an early Breaking Benjamin song – especially in the bridge section.

Following this, Alienation — the album's title track—brought in a completely different mood and sound. The intro is unlike anything else on the album, but it doesn't really bring to mind Three Days Grace's musicality either, instead evoking the world of modern metal bands. The verses reminds me somewhat Saint Asonia, while the chorus is grandiose, reminiscent of Matt's era and late TDG.

Then comes Never Ordinary on the album, which is again a completely new color.

It is much more pop-oriented than anything else on the album. This song features two very interesting guest artists. One is the famous violinist Lindsey Stirling, whose numerous violin themes can be heard hidden and layered throughout the song. It also features singer Sophie Simmons, whose surname may be familiar to many, as she is the daughter of legendary KISS bassist Gene Simmons.

And another change: Deathwish comes as the eighth song, which is really classic TDG, although I get a slight Breaking Benjamin feeling here because of the guitar theme at the end of the chorus. But it could also be Matt himself who evokes this feeling in me, who knows? Here, Barry Stock finally gets a more serious guitar solo moment, although it's not very substantial either – there's nothing to be done, Three Days Grace is not a band known for solos.

In contrast, Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight is a much more distinctive musical world.

It reminds me a little of the more unusual musical ideas of Transit of Venus. But just as we are about to immerse ourselves in this positive emotional world, In Cold Blood arrives, which reminds me a little of the transitional period around Painkiller, with a much more violent intro, which is somewhat offset by the mood of the chorus.

The Power carries on this tough, raw feeling, once again evoking the OG Three Days Grace era, into which Matt's world is also integrated.

Another Relapse continues this line.

The closing song on the album is a strange experience, because it brings back some of the characteristics of the 90s, with melodic singing and spoken word sections alternating. It's also strange that they chose this as the closing song, because apart from the endless ending, it's not really an album closer in terms of mood or grandeur. TDG was relatively professional in choosing closing songs, but somehow this is more like the last song on the album than a definite album closer.

Chances for glances

When discussing the album in detail, there are a few things worth mentioning. One is that most of the songs are based on the same structure: intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus — the classic hit song structure. This makes the album somewhat predictable.

The other is that the band works well with the songs, creating catchy melodies, plus there are some exciting ideas, but the album is more of a collection of songs in this form than a unified album concept. There is such a gap between some of the songs that the mood built up by one song is completely destroyed by the next. One of the reasons why the invention of the modern album format was such a big deal was that it gave artists the opportunity to arrange their songs into groups, allowing the songs to reinforce each other.

If we get twelve different songs on an album, most of which don't work together, it's almost like arranging the songs in random order at a concert, completely ignoring the effect this might have on the listener. Many people say that albums are irrelevant today, since everyone listens to music in single format. This is true, but at the same time, it may be more expedient to consider releasing singles and EPs that are coherent and better able to draw attention to new songs, rather than having many songs get lost because they don't get the attention they deserve in this format. If an album is well structured and able to captivate the listener enough to listen to it several times in a row, it can give less prominent songs a chance to succeed, and then the album format becomes justified.

The team of authors and producers behind the album is also worth mentioning.

As with most albums, a number of professionals worked alongside the band members in the creative team. Gavin Brown, who produced the first Three Days Grace album, was also involved, allowing them to stay true to their original concepts. Simon Wilcox, a Canadian poet and songwriter, also appears on this album, credited as a co-writer on the song Home. Wilcox, who has worked with artists such as Demi Lovato, Blink-182, Britney Spears, and Poppy over the years, has now contributed to a significant portion of the writing on the Alienation album.

In addition to those mentioned above, Zakk Cervini (Parkway Drive, Limp Bizkit, Yungblud, Bad Omens) and Dan Lancaster (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse, 5 Seconds of Summer), as well as Drew Fulk (A Day To Remember, Twenty One Pilots) and Andrew Goldstein (Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Linkin Park) also participated in the production of the album. With this, the members of TDG have sufficiently covered every corner of the album stylistically, and with the help of some of the biggest names in the business.

Everything was in place for a masterpiece to be created, and although several good songs were written, the album as a whole did not come together as a cohesive piece of art.

Regardless, Three Days Grace's 2025 album is an interesting, unusual release, marking their official return to the three-year release cycle, which was interrupted by Covid. What the future holds for the band is still unknown, but one thing is certain: the band is facing an exciting period, and we are eagerly awaiting their performance in Budapest.

7/10