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Biografi: Three Days Grace
When it came time to choose an album title for the follow-up to Three Days Graces 2006s platinum-certified One-X, the four band members thought the phrase life starts now summed things up pretty well. The new album is basically a commentary on the last couple years of our lives, says drummer Neil Sanderson. Things have been fairly traumatic for more than one of us. We've all had to confront death on a few different levels, and we've had family go through some health-related things, so, for us, Life Starts Now reflects that feeling of redefining what life is and what it means to be alive after you hit rock bottom.
The events of the past few years have made us more aware of what life really can be, says lead vocalist/guitarist Adam Gontier. So the album is about taking the situation that youre in, no matter how bad it feels, and making the best of it. Lyrically, most of the songs are based around that idea.
Several tracks address powerful feelings of loss whether through betrayal, on Bitter Taste and Last To Know, or death, on World So Cold and Without You songs that bassist Brad Walst says really hit close to home. Bully tackles the impact of bullying, something Sanderson describes as a massive problem that can actually change someones life and affect who they are as a person. The band switches things up on the more upbeat The Good Life, which asks: If you were to live a different life, what would you want to get out of it? Gontier explains. Then theres the fiery first single Break, which Gontier says explores not being controlled by your surroundings or environment. Its about breaking away from being told what to do and living the life that you want to live.
A sense of adventure permeates Life Starts Now, which the Toronto-based band began writing after coming off the road for One-X in April 2008. Though the album doesnt skimp on Gontiers trademark anguished vocals, Barry Stocks urgent riffs, or Sanderson and Walsts thunderous rhythm section, the band knew that they had evolved as musicians, thanks to hundreds of live shows, and wanted to capture it in their sound. While touring behind One-X, wed try new things at soundchecks and experiment a bit, recalls Walst, but we had a bigger vision for this record. We wanted to do something a little different.
We had talked about how so many contemporary rock records have that formulaic, heavily layered, mechanical, shiny sound to them, Sanderson says. They start sounding generic and fake. So we wanted to go the opposite route and freshen things up by making a record that was really open and raw and live. Thats how we approached itwe went for that big, boomy sound. To get it, Three Days Grace recorded Life Starts Now at The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, where everyone from AC/DC to Bon Jovi to Nine Inch Nails have recorded, and which Sanderson describes as having one the best open drum rooms in the world.
They also prepped themselves in advance. Before we went into the studio, wed listen to classic rock records by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, just to remember the sounds that we loved while we were growing up, Gontier says. We wanted to make our album sound very real, raw, and larger-than-life, like those old records do. Adds lead guitarist Barry Stock, Everybody seemed to feel a little freer to expand and do something beyond the regular cookie-cutter thing, so we all just stepped it up. There are some great solos, some great drum parts, and great vocal moments. Were inspired by classic rock bands more than anything because they have this really great organic feel, but they sound huge, and we wanted to achieve that.
To help them reach their goals, Three Days Grace reunited with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Motorhead, Papa Roach, P.O.D), who produced One-X. He really saw our vision and let us experiment to get the sounds and parts we needed to make the best record we could, Walst says. One of the great things about Howard is that he recognizes what kind of band we are, Sanderson adds. He really complements what we do and is definitely a great guy to bounce ideas off of.
The result is an album that brims with confidence, musicality, and accessibility, while retaining what has made Three Days Grace so beloved by their fans: their authenticity. I think people relate to our music on such a deep level because were real, says Gontier. We write about real things and I think people know that. Our fans know that were not trying to be something that were not. Adds Sanderson: People can connect what we write about to their own lives because its real. Weve been dealt hands that have been difficult, but I think these days, people want something real more than ever, and theyre especially sensitive to what is contrived and what isnt.
Its that genuineness, along with emotional themes underscored by their explosive sound and that has led Three Days Grace to rock stardom. Their 2003 self-titled debut spawned three hit singles, I Hate Everything About You, which reached #2 on the Mediabase Modern Rock chart and went Top 5 on the Mediabase Mainstream Rock chart. Just Like You climbed to #1 on both the Mediabase Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, while Home peaked at #2 on the Mediabase Mainstream Rock chart. One-X debuted on the Billboard album chart at #5 and produced three #1 Mediabase Mainstream Rock singles: Animal Ive Become, Pain and Never Too Late. In 2007, Mediabase ranked the band as the #1 artist in airplay across all rock formats (Modern Rock, Active Rock, Mainstream Rock). Also that year, R&R/Billboard ranked Three Days Grace as the #1 Active Rock Artist of the Year, #1 Rock Artist of the Year, and #2 Modern Rock/Alternative Artist of the Year. Both Three Days Grace and One-X have been certified platinum by the RIAA and the band has sold more than six million albums worldwide. In 2008, they wrapped up more than two years of touring in the U.S., where they shared stages with fellow rockers Nickelback, Staind, Seether, and Breaking Benjamin.
Now Three Days Grace are looking forward to following up those successes with Life Starts Now, which was released by Jive Records on September 22, 2009. Im curious to see how people respond to it and what songs they relate to, Gontier says. Music is emotion for us, adds Walst. Were just trying to trust our own gut. If the four of us feel something while were playing it, then we hope our fans relate and feel the same.
Even though we wanted this album to be different, theres a lot that hasnt changed, says Sanderson. We still use music as a way to release emotion. The other thing that hasnt changed is the best part of it all: getting up on stage and killing it in front of 20,000 people!
Biografi: Sevendust
You don’t have to change everything. However, realigning can be the healthiest remedy after nearly two decades in the music business. Going into their eleventh full- length album, Kill The Flaw [7 Bros. Records/ADA Label Services], Sevendust changed a lot around them regarding the infrastructure of their organization, but they didn’t alter what matters the most—the music. Following their first significant break (two months) since forming, the Atlanta group—Lajon Witherspoon [lead vocals], Clint lowery [lead guitar, backing vocals], John Connolly [rhythm guitar, backing vocals], Vince Hornsby [bass], and Morgan Rose [drums]—entered their new creative hub, Architekt Studios in Butler, New Jersey, completely inspired and invigorated.
“For the first time in our careers, the avenues were swept off with all of the trash we had on them before,” admits Lajon. “We didn’t have certain people’s hands in our pockets or helicoptering the situation to what they thought it should be. We took a lot of things in our own control. As a result, it’s a new chapter for us.”
“That’s why the record is called Kill The Flaw,” explains Clint. “It’s basically about cutting off the baggage from your life and career and trimming down the excess that holds you back. We’ve had a lot of struggles with the industry. We changed everything about our business. It’s a rebirth in a sense, as far as what we want to do, how we’re going to do it, and who we’re going to it with. We’ve learned from our mistakes.”
There were a few other significant changes as well. Instead of holding up in a hotel, Lajon, Clint, and John rented a house together. The sessions became “24-hour” as the guys cooked breakfast together, hit the gym, and then locked themselves in the studio until midnight every day for five weeks. They also penned the music alongside one another in the studio, jamming everything out in the same room.
“It made everything feel like it did when we first started,” smiles Lajon. “We went in, sat down, looked at each other, picked up the instruments, and began rocking out. Recording like an actual group gave everything more substance.”
“I wanted to embrace what Sevendust is,” declares Clint. “It’s the contrast of the melodic vocal over a very percussive, heavy musical landscape. That’s what we’ve always done. That’s one of those things our fan base really connected to. They’re our life’s blood. There’s no question. We allow our fans to have more of a voice than other bands. We love putting out records that people can say, ‘This what they do. This is the type of band I want to support.’”
The first single and album opener “Thank You” upholds the pillars of their signature style with a buoyant guitar groove, bombastic drums, and soulfully striking refrain. “There’s always someone trying to keep you down,” sighs Lajon. “At the end of the day, that negativity makes you stronger. You’re still going. It says, ‘Thank you for putting me down. Thank you for making me work harder. Thank you for hating!’”
Meanwhile, “Death Dance” builds from an eerie clean guitar into a towering distorted verse that’s as robust as it is raw. Everything converges on an undeniable vocal chant during the chorus. “That’s the summer dance jam right there,” chuckles Lajon.
“It’s based around the social media era we’re in with all of its vanity and ego,” reveals Clint. “We all get caught up in it. People try to enhance their looks without putting any energy towards giving back. The dead are society staring at their iPhones. You’ve got to see the world. You can’t look at a screen for that.”
Then, there’s “Not Today,” which is equally stirring and soaring with its six-string beatdown and vulnerably vibrant vocals. “That’s another one about change,” continues Clint. “It’s us as a band basically making a choice to change who we work with and how we do what we do. It’s us addressing things that have stopped that from happening. You’re lashing out at someone and explaining how you’re going to be a different version of yourself.”
Thankfully, they’re still Sevendust through and through, and that’s what forged one of hard rock’s most diehard audiences. 2014’s acoustic offering Time Traveler’s & Bonfires saw an overwhelming response from that community, being quickly funded through a highly successful PledgeMusic campaign. Just a year prior, Black Out The Sun entered Billboard’s Top Hard Music Albums chart at #1 and landed at #18 on the Top 200. They kicked off their illustrious career with an untouchable string of three gold albums, beginning with their self-titled 1997 debut and continuing with Home in 1999 and Animosity in 2001. Along the way, they’ve sold out shows everywhere and given unforgettable performances at the likes of Rock On The Range, Woodstock, OZZfest, and Shiprocked! to name a few. However, the new chapter starts now.
“I hope people know we’re the real deal,” concludes Lajon. “That’s the most important thing. There’s substance here. That’s why everybody keeps coming back, and we’re beyond thankful for that.”
“I want everybody to walk away surprised,” Clint leaves off. “I hope it’s better than they imagined, and they get this reassurance that we’re all connected. We want to give people fresh, quality music. I hope they feel prideful they’ve stuck with us through all of these years.”
Biografi: Disturbed
Nearly a decade after the release of their groundbreaking debut, The Sickness, Disturbed have become one of the most passionate and well-respected bands in the hard-rock universe, a dependable source not only of pummeling riffs and jackhammer beats, but of personal and political insights into our troubled times. Yet success (in the form of three platinum-plus albums, with both Believe and Ten Thousand Fists topping Billboard's album chart and over nine million albums sold) hasn't dulled this Chicago-based foursome's taste for adventure. If anything, Disturbed's loyal fanbase has pushed the band to newer heights of self-expression. So it makes sense that on the occasion of their fourth album, Indestructible, that frontman David Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren decided to take the reins and produce themselves in the studio.
"Doing three records with Johnny K taught us a tremendous amount," Draiman says of the industry veteran who helmed The Sickness, Believe and Ten Thousand Fists. "We're always trying to evolve and try new things and experiment," adds Donegan. "So this time we wanted to do things a little bit differently." Wengren says that Indestructible-which the band tracked over three months in Fall 2007 at Chicago's Groovemaster Recording-afforded the band the "opportunity to prove to ourselves and to everybody else that we could do it." The result of Disturbed's experimentation in the studio is the group's darkest, angriest outing yet. Inspired by two and a half years' worth of challenging experiences, Draiman told the rest of the band that he was in the mood to purge. Fortunately, they were right there with him.
"We wanted to get back to some of the elements that were maybe lacking on the last two records," says Donegan. "David's got a great ability to sing really melodically, but we wanted him to get back to the rhythmic, animalistic, rapid-fire delivery he's known for. He's very hard to touch when he does that, and we wanted to give him music to provoke that."
