Life Starts Now
Introduction '''''Life Starts Now''''' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. The album was released on September 22, 2009.It was produced by Howard Benson. It was the second time in a row that the band has worked with him, after the commercially successful ''One-X''. ''Life Starts Now'' expresses a lighter lyrical mood compared to the previous album. It is the first Three Days Grace album to be released by Sony Music Entertainment and the last to be released by Jive Records, as Sony disbanded the label in 2011.
Background and production After being on the road for five years with Three Days Grace, the bass guitarist, Brad Walst, said, "We all came home and got a hard dose of life," which the band then used to create a more "musically in-depth and personal album". He described ''Life Starts Now'' as a record about "confronting life and how fragile it can be". Speaking about the album, the guitarist, Barry Stock, said, "This time around we really wanted to go with something different than what we've done in the past. "The group began writing the album while on tour in 2007.Pre-production began in January 2009 while the band began recording the music at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver that March. The album was completed in August the same year. The group unveiled the cover art for ''Life Starts Now'' on August 19, 2009.After finalizing all aspects of the album, they officially announced that the album would be released on September 22, 2009.The album was made availble for streaming on September 21.The band performed at iHeartRadio in December 2009 to promote the album's release. The group embarked on the Life Starts Now Tour from November to December 2009, with support from Default and The Used. They continued to tour throughout 2010 with Breaking Benjamin joining them in support of the album. The band was later joined by Chevelle and Adelitas Way in March to April 2010.They also supported Nickelback on the Dark Horse Tour in September 2010 and Avenged Sevenfold on the Welcome to the Family Tour in May 2011.
Composition According to Walst, the group cut back on layering as many guitars this time around. The band decided to step it up and made the album a bit more musical to create a "heavy sounding album." Stock stated they wanted "more 'Zeppeliny' bigness in a different kind of way," focusing on tone and raw sound. They recorded the album in a live room together rather than laying down tracks and layering things separately. Adam Gontier described ''Life Starts Now'' as "very raw and real." Lyrically, the band wrote the album after looking at life differently from experiencing an "awful lot in our personal lives."
Commercial performance The album debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 79,000 copies in the US in its first week, thus becoming the band's highest-charting album in the US to date. The album also debuted on the ''Billboard'' Top Rock Albums chart at number two. The album's lead single "Break" peaked at number 26 on the Canadian Hot 100, as well as number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. "The Good Life" at number 52 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number one on ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. With the exception of "Lost in You", all of the band's singles from the album topped the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart. As of July 2010, the album had sold 398,826 units in the US.
Reception Upon its release, ''Life Starts Now'' received mixed reviews from music critics. The AllMusic reviewer, James Christopher Monger, who gave the album three out of five stars, wrote, "''Life Starts Now'' continues the theme of ''One-X'', Gontier's personal demons, but with a hint of sunlight." He complimented the album, writing that it "treats the well-worn metal themes of anger, isolation, heartache, and redemption with the kind of begrudging respect they deserve, pumping out a competent flurry of fist-bump anthems and world-weary, mid-tempo rockers". Sputnikmusic gave the album a mixed review calling the album "rehash number two." A negative review came from the About.com reviewer, Tim Grierson, who wrote, "The problem isn't that ''Life Starts Now'' doesn't have good songs — the problem is that there aren't enough of them and that even the strongest moments feel overly familiar. Frontman Adam Gontier continues to expose his tortured soul, but without consistently gripping tunes to back up his anguish, Three Days Grace seem stuck in their misery rather than transcending it." Ben Rayner of the ''Toronto Star'' also gave the album a negative review, stating it possesses "no sound of its own, just a shallow range between Linkin Park and Nickelback." Kaj Roth gave a more positive review on the album stating, "This is without doubt their strongest album so far." He praised Gontier's melodies and Howard Benson's production on the album.===Accolades===The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Juno Awards. It won the Favorite New Album award at the 2010 CASBY Awards. The album was officially certified Platinum in Canada and Gold in the US on March 1, 2011, and Platinum on February 12, 2018.
Track listing
Personnel Credits for ''Life Starts Now'' adpated from AllMusic. '''Three Days Grace'''* Adam Gontier – lead vocals, rhythm guitar* Neil Sanderson – drums, keyboards, backing vocals* Brad Walst – bass guitar, backing vocals * Barry Stock – lead guitar'''Artwork'''* Danny Clinch – photography* Chris Feldman – art direction, design* Jackie Murphy – art direction* Adrian Knopik – illustration '''Additional musicians'''* Howard Benson – keyboards, programming'''Production'''* Howard Benson – producer* Mike Cashin – assistant engineer* Chris Lord-Alge – mixing* Ted Jensen – mastering* Paul DeCarli – digital editing* Jon Nicholson – drum technician* Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – engineers* Mike Plotnikoff – engineers* Andrew Schubert – engineers* Brad Townsend – engineers* Marc VanGool – guitar technician'''Management'''*Michael Tedesco – A&R
Charts ===Weekly charts===Chart (2009–11)Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 77 ===Year-end charts===Chart (2009)Position US ''Billboard'' 200 163 US Top Alternative Albums (''Billboard'') 30 US Top Hard Rock Albums (''Billboard'') 24 US Top Rock Albums (''Billboard'') 38 Chart (2010) Position US ''Billboard'' 200 153 US Top Alternative Albums (''Billboard'') 32 US Top Hard Rock Albums (''Billboard'') 13 US Top Rock Albums (''Billboard'') 41 Chart (2011) Position US Top Hard Rock Albums (''Billboard'') 36
Certifications
References