Review Summary: One-X shows potential for originality and good execution, but falls flat on it's face due to an overuse of predictable song structures, repetitive lyrics, and cliche topics.
The first time I heard
(I Hate) Everything About You on the radio off of Three Days Grace's debut album, I turned the radio off after the chorus. It was that bad. Their mindless repetition in their choruses is completely moronic, frustrating, and irritating all at the same time. The lead singer, Adam Gontier, is a gifted man; his voice is completely unique, off-the-wall, and blends well with hard rock. His guitar work is heavy, metallic, and is excellent as well, so why does he subject himself to this mediocre songwriting? I mean, Three Days Grace sounds good upon first listen-their guitar work is unique, and Gontier's voice sticks out in a crowd. So, this should make Three Days Grace a good band...right?
Apparently not, as
One-X is not even close to as good as this band should be. The songs blend together, seems really winding, irritating, and suffers from the repetition of unbelievably catchy and irritating chorus lines repeated over and over again. Even with these problems, the production on
One-X is very good, and it manages to be a shining spot on
One-X, as the production gleams of modern hard rock, filled with overbearing vocals that at times blend in with the guitar riffs-which is an excellent reason why Gontier's voice is perfect for rock music.
This album is a heavy-metal influenced hard-rock trip from the get-go; as it is fairly heavy, raw, and has a mysterious 'metallic' feel and sound to it-which is another fairly good point to
One-X, but by the second track,
Pain, Three Days Grace integrates their traditional down-beat verses, heavy, hard-edged choruses, and irritating repetitiveness. The song gets really irritating and predictable as well, as it features a pretty basic song structure burdened by the same idea being thrown around for the same song.
Animal I Have Become is easily one of my favorite tracks on
One-X, as it's guitar riffs pick me up from the start, and the hard-edged riffs keep me along for the ride. The song is still repetitive, but I absolutely love the chorus, the way it works, and the lyrics. The breakdown is wonderful, and the song seems pretty varied and unpredictable, even if the song structure is still rather basic.
Riot is another really good track, as it features a pretty nice guitar riff, and the chorus just makes you want to start head-banging, fists in the air. Gontier's voice is impeccable in this song, and he uses his screaming a lot, which is where his voice shines.
There's really not much more to like about
One-X though, as the album's most popular single at the moment,
Never Too Late sounds like prototypical radio ballad fodder; even if it does have a deeper meaning-suicide. It's still pretty catchy, but the song structure is very stale, and the acoustic guitar riffs in the verses and the electric explosion of the chorus is a bit over-done and cliche now. And, for the most part, there's not much else to enjoy about the album after
Riot, as it seems like it really drags, at times winding, completely mindless and repetitive. Up until the title track, you begin to wonder if this thing will ever end. The title track,
One-X, is good, but not
that good. The song's atmospheric backdrop in the verses is awesome and inspiring, and the chorus is pretty fun and fast, but the song sounds like every other song on the album, and manages to come off as Three Days Grace trying to be 'epic', but failing miserably with the same problems every song on
One-X suffers from.
Sure seems like I'm beating a dead horse with the repetitiveness and predictability of
One-X, right? Well, you won't think I'm beating a dead horse once you listen to the album itself, as it's all so predictable, and with many songs on this album, there's a feel of, "I've heard this song before, yet it's impossible that I have heard this song before. Weird.". Kind of like deja vu, but it's not deja vu, it's the predictability of this band. I mean, the album is pretty basic and elementary, and sounds as if a 7th grader wrote the songs. The lyrics aren't much above a 7th grade level either, as the album features plenty over-used, pretty elementary concepts, like suicide, love lost, etc., you get the point. So, I mean, there's plenty potential here with Three Days Grace, but they really don't use it at all and continue to make some pretty irritatingly repetitive, mindless, and predictable tracks; and this drags down a potentially good album into the territory of one of 2006's worst.
DOWNLOAD:
Animal I Have Become
Riot
