Three Days Grace was one of the defining acts of the early 2000’s.
One-X laid new possibilities for what radio rock could become as well as cementing Adam Gontier as one of the leading vocalists for the genre. 2013 turned the fanbase on their heads when Gontier announced his departure. Many were left curious as to why he left and where he would go, but Three Days Grace remained as the wildcard. What would happen to the band, and more importantly, where will they go? Out of nowhere, ‘Painkiller’ hits the radio and skyrockets to number one. This left a lot of expectations for the release of
Human.
Human is a rather pointless insight into what motivates, addicts, and plagues humanity. The opening track ‘Human Race’ lays out the theme in a straightforward format as well as sets the tone for the album. The observance of humanity is a rather complex theme to tackle, especially for a vocalist whose most famous single (prior to this album) was ‘Porn Star Dancing.’
Human is set to be a daring album for sure, but as most of you are aware by now, this is going to be a bumpy ride.
The music of
Human is a more polished version of what Three Days Grace usually offers. Deep, thick riffs decorate every track. Nothing too special music wise is put on display. Barry Stock plays both lead and rhythm, so that’s about as far as I can say. The sound of
Human is a lot lighter than previous Three Days Grace records. The best comparison for this would be ‘Chalk Outline’ from
Transit of Venus.
Human is more reminiscent of alternative rather than hard rock. The atmosphere isn’t as deep and the sound is way more produced. The raw and gritty tones of the past aren’t very present in this installment.
Lyrically, the album suffers exceedingly. For those familiar with Matt Walst’s previous work, he does his best to separate himself from My Darkest Days. In comparison to his work in My Darkest Days, he certainly writes in a more personal direction. What becomes problematic throughout
Human is lyrical repetition. ‘Car Crash,’ ‘Landmine,’ and ‘So What’ are a few examples. Walst doesn’t write as deep or as sentimental as one would expect for this album. Most songs come off as juvenile, generic, or average. The songs also tend to stray away from the theme of humanity quite a bit. ‘Nothing’s Fair in Love and War,’ ‘One Too Many,’ and several others don’t have anything to do with humanity.
The entirety of
Human doesn’t make any sense in the grand scheme. The album name suggests a completely different story than what we get. The only songs that actually discuss the theme of
Human are the singles released; otherwise, the album is practically filler. There isn’t much of a point to
Human. After listening to the album a few good times, one has to ask exactly *what* the album was trying to prove. Nothing complex or groundbreaking was produced because of
Human.
The songs felt forced, like ‘Fallen Angel’ for example. Arguably the fan favorite of the album, ‘Fallen Angel’ is a rather basic track about trying to save someone from themselves. The lyrics and music are dramatic and moody, but what else is there? The lyrics don’t cut deep enough to make an emotional impact. “A fallen angel in the dark, I never thought you’d fall so far. Fallen angel, close your eyes—I won’t let you fall tonight; fallen angel…” sounds basic and doesn’t cause me to invest anything into the song.
Most who review this record bicker about comparisons between Walst and Gontier. There really isn’t anything to compare between the two. Walst’s musical career generated a laughable background band that produced songs and albums no one remembers. Gontier led a radio rock group to their peak, took a break, and joined a super group comprised of figureheads of the post-grunge era. What is there to compare or contrast? There are no standards for the comparison to exist. What is important, however, is intent. The album
Human was intended to release a record analyzing the complexities of human nature. As one can already read,
Human blatantly lied about it.
What we instead get is an off-beat representation of addiction and relationship turmoil. Nearly every musician of all genres already wrote this, and few have delivered something unique. Not to mock their personal struggles, but there isn’t anything in
Human that hasn’t been heard before. I wasn’t expecting much from Matt Walst prior to
Human. Being aware of My Darkest Days, I knew he wasn’t capable of writing or producing a masterpiece. As I previously remarked about his number one single, any fan would know his work sets the bar quite low in terms of value.
That being said,
Human is a disorganized greeting from the newly packaged Three Days Grace. We have a scattered mess of a record trying to make sense, but instead seem like incoherent rambles about generic subjects. Nothing in here is special aside from the album art, which is quite fun to look at to be honest. There aren’t any redeeming qualities from
Human. Nothing is memorable in the slightest and serves no purpose. Not even Adam Gontier could have prevented this disaster from coming. Considering Gontier lost his passion for the band, what would he have to offer anyways? ‘Human Race’ does raise a good point, though. This album doesn’t belong here, not in this atmosphere.
Standout Songs
Nothing…
