The North Country’s Entertainment Magazine
The North Country’s Entertainment Magazine
We go north to Canada for this month's review with a musical group that dominated the charts for pretty much a decade. Three Days Grace entered the rock scene in 2003 with their self-titled debut and followed with the release of eight more albums. The top of the charts was the norm with several albums reaching platinum level status. Their latest endeavor Alienation, distributed by RCA Records, is the first as a quintet, creating a unique situation for a rock n roll band. Former frontman Adam Gontier has rejoined the band after a hiatus of more than a decade. He is sharing the lead vocals with Matt Walst, who replaced him after his departure. Both musicians are also responsible for the rhythm guitar duties. The rest of the lineup are Barry Stock on lead guitar, bassist and backing vocalist Brad Walst and Neil Sanderson who combines his talents on drums, keyboards and backing vocals.
Alienation may be the best album these hard rock icons have delivered. The band is firing on all cylinders blending their classic hard rock sound with a modern edge. The lead vocals provide intense deliveries with amazing harmonies and range. Gontier and Walst don't take turns on lead vocals, they layer their voices as one. Three Days Grace embodies an aggressive energy that jumps off the turntable. Barry Stock's epic lead guitar lines play over the magnetic rhythm guitar riffs of Walst and Gontier. The thundering bass lines of Brad Walst and high-powered drumming skills of Neil Sanderson along with previous mentioned musicians elevated this project to another level.
The songs are emotionally charged rooted in themes of social discord, personal transformation and resilience. Alienation is a nice mix of rockers and up-tempo melodic ballads. "Domination", "In Waves"," Death Wish", and "Another Relapse" are an onslaught of hard driving rockers. "May Day "opens with an all-encompassing bass line, followed by a mixture of acoustic flavored guitar work and hard rocking rhythms. The ballads "Kill Me First", "Never Ordinary and "Don't Want To Go Home" are first rate with some nice tempo changes. "The Power" has pop sensibilities that are made for radio. Several of the tracks on Alienation could fit nicely on any rock format.
Three Days Grace have regenerated with a triumph return to position themselves front and center with the fans of alternative grunge and hard rock. The new album showcases the band's signature blend of emotional intensity and raw energy. It successfully fuses the hard rocking feel of Three Days Grace's early work with a more polished arena-sized passion of their later career.
As always, if you like what I like, you should take a test drive with the latest from Three Days Grace – Alienation, available on CD, Album, Download or your favorite Streaming Device. Check out several videos available on You Tube.
Check out our concert images and more at http://www.stagedoorimages.com as well as the Stage Door Image Facebook Page
Bill Baker, owner and mastermind behind Stage Door Images, has had a camera in his hands since he discovered the joys of photography at the early age of 9. His business savvy and appreciation for customer service has developed through more than 40 years in the photography and the music business. After earning a degree in business administration, he entered the music field via retailing. Bill emerged as a leader in his field as manager and buyer for Leonard Smith Inc., out of Latham, NY. This led to stepping up as a sole proprietor, opening three of his own retail locations in Upstate NY. The Stage Door quickly reached a high plateau for their excellent customer service and the ability to find hard to locate albums, CDs and videos. While involved in the music business, Bill began making contacts in the concert arenas throughout New York State and Southern Canada. He has photographed over 400 performances including Shinedown, Godsmack, Black Top Mojo, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Lady A, Tommy Castro, Coco Montoya and Joe Satriani just to name a few. The opportunity provided Bill a unique perspective, developing into appreciation of photographing images under extreme conditions. This led to capturing amazing images of extreme sports including World Cup Snowboarding, Downhill Competition, PBR Bull Riding, Mixed Martial Arts and Motocross events including the international superstars of the Nitro Circus. Bill is a photographer, a photojournalist as well as an author. He has images and published works in the Black River Review, Watertown Daily Times, The Jefferson County Journal, Fourth Coast Entertainment and The Up-North Entertainment Magazines, where he writes a monthly music column.
