Life Starts Now | Three Days Grace

Ever since 2007, Three Days Grace has been one of my favorite bands. Their first two albums stayed true to their sound, though their sophomore album, One-X seemed a bit heavier than their first self-titled debut. I suppose I had a general idea about what was in store when I got their newest release from 2009, Life Starts Now.

"Bitter Taste" is the opening track. Three Days Grace typically opens with something hardcore, and this tradition still lives. The guitar riffs are nearly epic, and the lyrics are about forgetting someone from your life. It's a typical Three Days Grace song. There's an extremely intriquing guitar solo towards the middle of the end of the song. (Which I loved!) Adam Gontier's vocals are still amazing, harsh, and scratchy, yet so powerful.

The first single is the second track, entitled "Break". It's an okay song that seems to be about getting high, but it's really not that great. Nothing particularly special, like a spark, glows from it. "World So Cold" is next, and the sound still isn't the most impressive, but overall, I like the song with it's especially clear vocals and ten second organ break before the final chorus. I have many mixed feelings about the lyrics. The only thing that irks me the most is that the lyrics are so brooding, yet I do love the line "I'm too young to feel this old" from the bridge, and I also love the lyrics in the second verse.

"Lost in You" comes next. It's different than most songs by Three Days Grace. The guitars are sweeter, and it seems to be happier than most of their songs. It gives a bit of an alternative vibe, a vibe I don't think I've ever gotten from Three Days Grace. I really like this song. It relaxes me.

Song number five is like a mash up of Three Days Grace and Nickelback. It's called "The Good Life". It's easy to sing along with, and gives the 'Look, I'm a rockstar! Party and live "the good life"' feel and has a few synthesized vocals. But I'm not really into this track for whatever reason.

"No More" is sort of alternativey like "Lost in You", but heavier. It has layers of vocals, and is clearly about living in fear. The lyrics are simple, but quite good. The guitar riffs are really cool in this one, in a bit more of a mellow way, escpecially in the intro and in the outro. I really like this one, and I think a lot of people will.

PIANO? Yes! Three Days Grace and a gorgeous piano piece whisked me away in "Last to Know". Adams voice is so soft... and surprisingly perfect for the piano. If you read the lyrics on your own, they seem really corny, but it sounds nice with the music despite that. Later on, it picks up guitar like a magnet,drums come back, and Adam's voice is harsh again, creating an awesome Three Days Grace anthem. In the end, the lyrics are stronger, and Adam's voice softens when the piano comes back for the outro.

"Someone Who Cares" finally gives us better lyrics! It sometimes reminded me of something Genesis would do, with its eerie guitar effects. It's a song we can all relate to, and Adam definately made it come alive. For whatever reason, it felt like his voice was more emotional than usual. Towards the end, it gets pretty heavy, and has a very cool outro that slowly fades.

"Bully" opens with a bunch of random kids screaming before being blown away by guitars. Despite this bad impression, and having "Bully" for a title, it's not a bad song. The vocals are slightly sythesized, and it's pretty hardcore.

The opening sounds of "Without You" are awesome. It's a really good song, but the chorus doesn't entice me. It doesn't sound right... Adam's harsh and powerful voice saying he's "nothing at all" - I can't quite take that seriously. I really liked this track, overall.

Track eleven is "Goin' Down". If you mixed Korn with Three Days Grace, this would be the product. I loved the strange lyrics, but yet again, I didn't favor the chorus. I did enjoy the verses, though, and of course, Adam's voice. (In case you haven't noticed, I am a huge fan of Adam Gontier's voice.)

For the second time in a row, Three Days Grace titled their album after the final track. "Life Starts Now" is one of my favorites from the album (possibly my favorite). The lyrics are so different than the rest of the album. For once, we hear about empowerment that doesn't sound violent. In fact, it's even optimistic! I love this song! I find it inspiring. It opens with cool sounding guitars and it ends the album on a good note.

Even though there are some songs that I'm on the fence about, I think Life Starts Now is a good album. I don't think Three Days Grace fans will be disappointed, nor will anyone else that buys it. It's fun, it's serious, it has songs that people will relate to, and plays with a few different sounds. Go check this out.

3.5/5 stars