Review Summary: On this, the third full-length outing by Canadian hard rock vets Three Days Grace, they add a splash of sunlight and optimism to their familiar melancholic composition.
I always wanted to write a review about
Life Starts Now, the third full-length effort from Three Days Grace, a post-grunge/hard rock outfit from Norwood, Ontario. Following up the commercial success of their 2006 record
One-X, a record that still holds up as my favorite of theirs nonetheless, these radio rock vets add a splash of sunlight to their familiar composition, which normally is through and through with melancholy and despondency. Thankfully,
Life Starts Now ended that trend and ultimately took the band into a new direction; one that would later shake the radio rock community into melee when Adam Gontier would leave the group four years later.
Opening track 'Bitter Taste' establishes some familiarity that is reminiscent of the group's first two albums; undeviating from 'Burn' and 'It's All Over', 'Bitter Taste' follows the same blueprint as the group's previous two album openers; heavy riffs, a rung-out solo from Barry Stock, and Adam's vocal performance, which always succeeded in its ability to channel his personal demons and turn them into fuel for his arduous grit. It also manifests some familiarity lyrically, as it is really nothing more than a mid-tempo rocker that bludgeons an anonymous offender as Gontier screams his way through. Chart topper 'Break' is unlike any other track in this group's career. This extremely hard-hitting up tempo track can be described in one word; aggressive, and very much so. Onerous riffs, fast-paced drumming, audible bass, and an absolutely impeccable vocal performance. By my estimation, at least, this track is incredible; furthermore, 'Break' proves the group can make hard hitters ready for rock radio that can also conjure up the splash of sunlight you'll see more and more as the album progresses.
Before the optimistic intonation actually takes effect, Three Days Grace tries to convince the listener that maybe not much has changed over three years; 'World So Cold' is another downtrodden ballad where Adam expresses his disdain for someone's absence, and 'Lost in You' is a loverlorn mid-tempo track, something Three Days Grace has rarely done, done without subtlety that is. Where previous tracks like 'Over and Over' and 'Wake Up' could hint at both relationships and other vices that Gontier has dealt with, 'Lost in You' is a straightforward ballad that does, in fact, appertain to a relationship that is doomed to fail. Once the dust settles, however, we finally see Three Days Grace grow up a bit, and do so literally before the listener's ears.
'The Good Life' is a notable if somewhat passible attempt for the group to be positive, but the aggression of the track gives it that same marketability that other downtrodden songs of Three Days Grace past had. 'No More' is up there with 'Break' in terms of picking the most creative track from
Life Starts Now. 'No More' sees Adam sing of a faction (most likely family or friends) that stands for nothing but avarice or deception, and wants to break free of it. 'Last to Know', another straightforward love song plays at first like the most depressed Three Days Grace song you'll ever hear; and that's hard to do. But, when the track nears the final chorus, it immediately shifts its mood from one of regret to one of hope. What starts out with "She just walked away, why didn't she tell me?" turns into "Now, I'm okay. And for the first time, I've opened up my eyes." I personally love how the track matures as its going on; a rare feat that other radio rock outfits should look to as a standard.
Other exasperated tracks like 'Someone Who Cares' and 'Without You' mark a brief return of Three Days Grace's darker side, but the album couldn't have closed in a better way. 'Goin' Down' is another track that takes sadness and molds it into optimism, as Adam sings of breaking himself free of an abusive relationship.
Life Starts Now closes with its title track. Arguably the most optimistic song off this record, it is positive start to finish. Rather than molding into something different over time, the song knows the message it wants to convey from the first second on. Alternative-esque riffs lead into Gontier's verses, as he pleads the listener to carry on with the hope that life will improve.
In summation, Three Days Grace finally grew up with
Life Starts Now. Rather than dwelling on their hardships, Three Days Grace used past transgressions as fuel for the proverbial fire on this record. Successfully turning depression and melancholy inside out over the course of the record, it starts off downtrodden and broken, but leaves you hopeful and uplifted. By that estimation,
Life Starts Now warrants itself a few spins in your rotation.
