Three Days Grace, originally named “Groundswell,” started in 1992. They later regrouped and went under their current name Three Days Grace in 1997. The band started in Norwood, Ontario with the original band consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. In 2003, they became a quartet when Barry Stock entered the picture. Later on, in 2013, Gontier left and Matt Walst, brother of Brad Walst, would replace him.
Three Days Grace would be able to secure a record deal thanks to the song “I Hate Everything About You” which is featured in this album. The album was met with positive reviews from most critics, such as Heather Phares of AllMusic saying, “Three Days Grace’s self-titled debut showcases the simplicity of their music, which is both the band’s biggest strength and biggest weakness….Although this debut is a little uneven, it’s also promising. Three Days Grace are definitely one of the most accessible alt-metal bands of the 2000s; they just need to add some more distinctiveness to their sound.”
The album is based off of things that the different band members had seen and dealt with growing up. “I don’t find it easy to write about happy [things]. You don’t need a release when you’re happy,” said Singer Adam Gontier.
Three Days Grace falls under the genre of alt rock and nu-metal and is about 44 minutes in length. It was released in July 22, 2003, and started off small, with only 34,000 copies selling, but grew and took off in 2004. Three Days Grace would eventually sell over 1.2 million copies in 2006.
I find this album to be pretty appealing, with most of its songs being between really good and amazing. The songs have a pretty good amount of time in them and don’t ever get boring.
The album starts off loud with “Burn.” The song isn’t super clear, but my personal interpretation is that it is a downward spiral of whomever the song is about and how the person is comparing themselves to others that prayed on his downfall.
The second song into the album is “Just Like You.” The melody is simple, yet great, with it repeating most of the song, until we hit the high point of the song. Then the melody becomes a more complicated version of the main melody. “It’s about being told how to live your life. When we were growing up, we saw it sort of first hand. A lot of our friends were pushed into doing jobs their parents were telling them to do. It’s about being pushed around and told how to live your life and standing up for yourself,” said Adam Grontier, when asked about the song.
The third significant song in this album is “I Hate Everything About You.” It begins with an out of tune sounding guitar (which sticks around the entire song) and talks about the constant battle of a love-hate relationship with someone or something. Some say it’s connected to romantic relationships, and others say it is about drug addiction.
Fourth on this list is “Wake Up.” “Wake Up” takes a turn from the constant loudness and goes for a more slow approach. It’s a controlled loud which makes this song work really well. It breaks up the song into louder and calmer parts, with the louder parts more or less just featuring more sound, whereas the calmer sections just feature the guitar as the main attraction.
My personal pick to feature on here is “Take Me Under,” which still goes along the guidelines of the previous song on the album and this list, “Wake Up.” Except this time, it brings out more parts instead of focusing on one or two for its calmer, quieter parts. The meaning behind this song is about someone waiting for help from another person in order to deal with their problems.
The fifth and final most important song on here is “Overrated.” The approach that was taken to end the album was done pretty well, with the song’s instrumentals reminding me of a slowed version of “Burn” and its instrumentals. Three Days Grace also took a slow approach to it just like the last few songs on the album. The meaning behind this song isn’t too clear, but I believe it is about harsh criticism brought on from society down on to people who are already going through a tough time and trying to change.
On my personal Sweet Sounds Scale, I rate it with a solid 8, due to a majority of its songs being amazing, but just a few of the other songs being a little less exciting compared to the rest of the album. I recommend that everyone gives this a listen whenever they can.
