THREE DAYS GRACE To Finish Recording New Album In January

Last week, Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE released "Mayday", their first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier. The 46-year-old musician, who left THREE DAYS GRACE in 2013, is sharing lead vocals in the band's new lineup with singer Matt Walst, who has fronted THREE DAYS GRACE for the past decade.

"Mayday" was produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster with vocal production by Howard Benson. In addition, the band released an epic CiRCUS HEaD-directed visual to accompany the track which can be found below.

Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, THREE DAYS GRACE drummer Neil Sanderson stated about Adam's return to the band (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had been talking and we've kept in touch. And the band was just talking about, like, how great would this be for us and for the fans and for the nostalgia of THREE DAYS GRACE. And then he got up on stage with us [for a guest appearance], and then we just thought, 'Let's make something new. Let's sit down and write a song.' And once we kind of got into that songwriting process, it just felt really natural and it felt right. And I think for the fans, we're giving them something that we haven't done before and hasn't really been done much in the past."

He continued: "At the end of the day, THREE DAYS GRACE, we're family. In fact, as you may know, Matt, one of our singers, is Brad's [Walst, THREE DAYS GRACE bassist] brother. And he kind of grew up around THREE DAYS GRACE and then slipped into the position. But we're really guitar heavy — we've got a lot of guitars going on and stuff — and those guys [Adam and Matt] both play guitar. So it's gonna be great to have another guitar on stage, too, as well as two singers. So it opens up the door for us to do a lot of things that we might not have been able to do before."

Regarding "Mayday", Neil said:  "First of all, it's been a crazy journey since the beginning for THREE DAYS GRACE, but bringing Adam back into the band has just been — it's all been really positive, super organic. And we decided, 'Let's get together and see what we can really do together,' and this song kind of came out quick.

"This song is just kind of about putting one foot in front of the other in a world of kind of disillusionment," he explained. "And, basically, when Adam and Matt started singing it, the natural trade-off of vocals just kind of came together. We kind of listened to a bunch of PINK FLOYD, 'cause both singers have their own characteristics and stuff, so we really played to those strengths. And at one point the guys were rock paper scissors to see who was gonna sing the next line."

On the topic of the "Mayday" video, Neil said: "It was a really fun video to make. It was kind of especially cool for me because very rarely as a drummer do you get to make a video where you don't have to fake playing drums all day. [Laughs] And so, yeah, complete melee goes on on the plane. And it's kind of an analogy to just feeling like we're hurling through life at warp speed, and sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a pilot that's in control of things. But it's also a bit of a celebration, like, 'Hey, if we're going down, we're all going down together.'"

Asked when we can expect a new THREE DAYS GRACE full-length album, Neil said: "We're working on it as we speak. I was just with the guys on Zoom, and we're finishing it up. We basically hope to have it done by the end of this year and finish recording in January. And then, of course, we go out on tour. We're starting with DISTURBED and then we're putting together a headline tour for later in the year and lots of festivals and stuff. So we need to wrap the record up by January, and I think it'll probably come out a couple of months after that."

THREE DAYS GRACE teased a reunion with Gontier less than two months ago by posting a voicemail message in which Adam told Matt that he would "be at the studio soon, if you can just let everybody know."

Gontier said about his return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "I feel like it's been seamless, better than we were expecting. It's like we got back in a room together and picked up where we left off. We have been friends for so long, it's kind of natural to get back in the room together."

Walst added: "It's been so much fun and inspiring making this record. Combining over 20 years of THREE DAYS GRACE and doing something that no band has ever done. I'm excited for the fans to hear it!"

In April 2023, Gontier reunited with THREE DAYS GRACE onstage during the band's concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Gontier rejoined his former bandmates when they opened for SHINEDOWN at the Probst Arena At The Von Braun Center to perform two classic songs from THREE DAYS GRACE's 2006 album "One-X": "Never Too Late" and "Riot".

THREE DAYS GRACE later shared a post-performance photo with Gontier on social media and wrote in an accompanying message: "Soooo we did a thing."

In July 2022, Gontier said that a reunion with his former bandmates was "likely" to happen "down the road at some point." The Canadian-born musician made his comments just a couple of weeks after he and two members of the band's most recent lineup, bassist Brad Walst and his younger brother, vocalist Matt Walst, were inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall Of Honor in Norwood, Ontario.

Asked in an interview with Rock Feed if he would be open to working with THREE DAYS GRACE again now that he appears to be on good terms with his former bandmates, Gontier said: "You know what? Yeah. I mean, for sure. We've all grown up. It's been a while. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. We're all in touch now and we talk and text and stuff. We haven't really talked about doing anything — not yet anyway — but I feel like something like that is most likely down the road at some point," he added.

When interviewer Brian Storm noted that Adam's reunion with THREE DAYS GRACE would be a "big" deal, Gontier said, "And it would be a lot of fun." Storm then reiterated that the reunion would be "very big," to which Adam said: "Probably would be. You never know, man. We haven't really talked about it. But, yeah, I guess we'll see."

Earlier in July 2022, Brad Walst spoke about reconnecting with Gontier at the Norwood District High School event in an interview with Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station. He said: "It's funny 'cause the high school's been calling us for years. And, obviously, we've all had kind of different schedules, and Adam's been doing his thing and we've been doing our thing. And until recently, to be honest, we hadn't really spoken that much — we'd text and stuff. But Adam's moved back to the area, and he's got a great family and a great wife. And we've all kind of been chatting and hanging out. Yeah, I called him and just said, 'They want the three of us' — they want Matt, Adam and myself. And everyone agreed, and it was, like, 'Okay, let's do this.' So it was pretty cool to see [our] high school, where you grew up… It's nice to be acknowledged."

He continued: "It's funny, 'cause I texted Adam, 'You made the Hall Of Fame.' He's, like, 'Yup. Straight-B student.' [Laughs] But I think just having us together in that room was way more powerful, for sure. So it was a pretty cool feeling."

In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.

In a 2007 interview with The Oklahoman, Gontier said that he met some of his first bandmates while they were freshmen at Norwood District High School.

"I ended up hooking up with Brad because we had the same love of music," Gontier said. "He didn't play anything at the time. I suggested him getting a bass, and he did."

Gontier said that Canadian bands, including THE TRAGICALLY HIP and OUR LADY PEACE were early influences, along with the Seattle rock scene, particularly the group SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE.

Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".

Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released in May 2022 via RCA Records.

Photo credit: Matt Barnes