Dark days for Three Days Grace

Mon 26th Jun, 2006 in Features

Canadian rockers Three Days Grace have crossed over to the dark side on their new album One-X and their resurgence will not be missed.

It has been three years since their debut self-titled album took the world by storm with singles such as ’(I Hate) Everything About You’ and ‘Just Like You’, and the four-piece from Norwood, Ontario have finally made time to go for round two.

TDG toured for 23 months straight after the release of their first album, which gave frontman Adam Gontier plenty of fuel to fill his journal with all of the unhappy thoughts of being away from family and living a fly-by-night lifestyle for such an extended period.

The current single ‘Animal I Have Become’ gives a sneak preview into Gontier’s state of mind at the time.

“It definitely reflects a point in my life in the last couple of years. I think everybody’s got a dark side. An evil side to them that most people don’t see or most people don’t allow to get out of a hand,” he admits. “That song is about having that dark side and asking for help to control the dark side of yourself. I had a lot of things going on in my life – in my home life and with the band. It all kind of came from when we were on the road.

“This record is about the last three years of my life and the things that I went through and how I felt. There were certain things that I had to deal with and it is really personal. Most of the songs are very personal to me. A lot of them were taken straight from my journal.”

Bass player Brad Walst knows exactly what Gontier went through and supported the direction the new album was taking when the band began writing it in a secluded cottage in northern Canada. “Touring for that long took a little bit from us. We all have families at home, so it can be hard. You definitely get homesick. But we love doing this and we hope to be doing this for a long time,” Walst said.

“I think for this album, a lot of the difference in the writing is that the lyrics came from Adam and for the first time we collaborated equally on that. This time Adam came to us, and he had pages and pages of stuff from journals and everything, and he really felt that he wanted to put down what he experienced. Adam was really personal with his lyrics. I think it kind of shows on the album.”

TDG’s platinum selling self-titled was about growing up in a small town and the things they witnessed with their friends and family. The lyrics were written by all members of the band and they each had an equal input. But the shift to being more personal and isolated was a natural occurrence in Gontier’s songwriting.

According to the man himself, he felt no pressure when he penned the 12 tracks for the highly anticipated follow up. “A lot of bands tend to take the pressure too seriously and tend to get psyched out. For us we wanted to make the best record possible. Whether it took a month, a year or 10 years, it didn’t matter. We just wanted to make the best songs we could. We tried to eliminate all of the outside factors.”

“There were a lot of distractions in the city. We needed to focus on just the record and just the songs and that’s what we did. We got away from everything going on around us and sat with acoustic guitars and wrote the record. That is how we wrote it.”

Belonging to major label, Jive Records, could have created havoc for TDG, but as Walst explains the band ignored them and gave them no choice other than to wait it out for the next release..

“You get the odd person that gets in your space. Being in Toronto we have a lot of business partners, our label and publishing. To get rid of that we actually took off and put the blinders on and went for it. I think taking our time with it and not rushing is really going to help us in the end. Any band that has a sophomore jinx, I just think that is a bunch of shit. It is what you make it.”

The only people TDG had in mind when writing this record were their loyal fans, who have waited patiently to hear some fresh tracks. TDG lists their fans as their main influence on their MySpace page and it is no wonder with comments like these being posted everyday.

“When I first heard your song ‘Just Like You’, I could relate it to the relationship between my mother and I” and “The songs on the album are amazing and I can totally relate them in this point in my life. Thanks guys, they honestly help me get through the day.”

Gontier said he is overwhelmed when he hears people talking about how TDG’s music has helped them through certain things.

“We try not to write music for anyone else but ourselves. That is really important first and foremost, that it is the music that we want to write. But sometimes we have to think about who is going to hear it and who is going to listen to it. We try to write songs for ourselves, but at the same time it is important for people to relate to it on their own level. You always want to keep that aspect.

“The odd time I hear people say, “Wow, I was in your situation and I listened to your song”. Its cool to realise that other people are in the same boat and feel the same way, and that is really why I wanted to make a record like this, so that people would relate to it on their own level and realise that if they did feel alone or isolated at some point, that other people feel like that too.”

Walst said it is the ultimate compliment a musician can be given.

“We have kids come up and say you know that song ‘Home’ or that song ’(I Hate) Everything About You’ really helped me get through this time. It is really surreal to hear that. I relate to that because besides being musicians, we are all huge fans of music and when we were kids we listened to grunge. Kurt Cobain helped me through so much shit. It really hits you personally when somebody says that.”

Another difference with One-X was TDG’s decision to part ways with their producer Gavin Brown and work with the acclaimed Howard Benson in his studio in Los Angeles. Brown gave the band a leg up when they moved to Toronto and he produced their self-titled. TDG began producing One-X with Brown, but changed their minds early into the recording process.

“We felt like things weren’t moving along as fast as we wanted to with Gavin. There was a lack of focus and for that we needed someone who was going to be very focused and was going to put in everything they had. We ended up meeting Howard and we went to his studio and hung out with him a bit, and he seemed to be a great guy and he has a really good ear for music. He has done some really good records and it seemed like the right move and when we went to the studio it was the right move. He is a world class producer,” Gontier said.

Benson is best known for his stellar work on P.O.D’s album Satellite and he has also worked with the likes of My Chemical Romance and Hoobastank.

TDG returned to the road with Staind earlier this month, and Walst admits to finding it difficult to get used to his road legs again.

“It takes a while to get use to it. Your body in the first month forgets what touring is all about. We’ve known Staind for quite a while from past tours and we’ve became good friends. The tour was sponsored by Jagermeister, so we had a few nasty hangovers and some crazy nights. I can only do two or three Jager bombs. The Red Bull in them gets me more than the Jager does.

“But the crowds were great. It was a really good time for us because our album wasn’t out here until after (June 17). It was a really good chance to try new material out and there was a great reception. You could really see how eager the fans were to hear new music.”

TDG are gearing up to do the United States and Canadian circuit once more, kicking off on June 30 with Nickelback and Hoobastank. Both Walst and Gontier have promised that they will visit Australia for One-X, but it would probably not be before the end of the year.

“We do plan on going to Australia. There is nothing 100 per cent set up, but Australia is amazing. We love it there,” Gontier said.

Walst has his eyes set on playing at the Big Day Out for the first time next January, so that he can be home for the birth of his first baby and still tour Australia. “She is due in five months (November), so we’ve got a few more months to go,” the soon to be father said. “I’m trying to plan the tour so I’m off the road for the birth and then probably go back out and keep rocking. It is exciting times. I am going to start the baby train here I think.”

It is good to see the guys from TDG have got their priorities and life value’s in the right place, but can still rock.

One-X is out now through Jive Records on Sony Bmg.