Well, it's been over two weeks since I last did an album review, and since I randomly put some Three Days Grace albums on my Spotify queue today, I feel like today is a perfect time to review this album! So let's crank it right out!
INTRODUCTION
One-X is the second album from Canadian rockers Three Days Grace, first released on June 13, 2006. This was their first album to feature Barry Stock on lead guitar, as they were previously a trio. The album was very acclaimed by critics and sold pretty well, debuting at #2 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Many of the album's songs were written while lead singer Adam Gontier was in rehabilitation for a drug addiction, unlike what they had usually done. Because of this, lots of the lyrics in the album are pretty dark because Gontier was often writing about how he felt at the time. The critics didn't seem to mind this, though, as the reviews for this record were still pretty positive. So, what do I think about the themes throughout here and how dark it can be? Let's look in and see.
REVIEW
I like to call this album and Three Days Grace's music in general a harder and less poppy variation of a band like My Chemical Romance. They are always described as alternative metal, and I think that's accurate. But I think the lyrical themes in this album are similar to what you'd hear from My Chemical Romance or any other emo band, such as Dashboard Confessional or Simple Plan. Things did change for the band when Adam Gontier was battling his addiction, and I guess how deep the lyrics could go was one of them, because I think there are only about three or four songs on their self-titled album that would fit on here. But to be honest, I kind of enjoy the darker themes from this album. Sometimes, it's just fun to indulge yourself in a video game or something while listening to some kind of deep music, and I feel like this is a great album to listen to for occasions like that. It's satisfying to me sometimes. All of Three Days Grace's first three albums are ones I would use for that occasion, which is an honor because I'd usually just queue some random songs and roll with that. So yeah, I like how deep it goes, even if some people would get bothered by it.
As for the singles, I think the choices were pretty well-made. "Animal I Have Become" is a great choice as the lead single. It's basically about how Gontier was feeling while he was on drugs, and that's what motivated a lot of the darker themes from this album. I think the other three singles were good choices as well because the stories behind them are easily noticeable and stand out when compared to the rest of the album's songs. I do think "Riot" should have been a bigger hit, but I guess it's understandable that it wasn't because it's not as radio-friendly as the other three singles are.
The album tracks are also all unique in their own way. I'll get into specifics when I review each track, but I'll just say for now that they all are at least somewhat dark and sort of sound like they were written by someone like who Gontier was at the time. They also have the hard rock theme going in them, which for me is always very fun to hear. There's really not much stuff in this album that isn't fun to hear in my opinion. It's sort of unique in a good way. Gontier has a lot of great vocal performances throughout the album, too. They help the songs sound really good. Other than that, I don't really know what else to add. So let's review each track.
TRACK-BY-TRACK REVIEWS
1. "It's All Over"
Rating: 9/10
Comments: I like how an album full of big rock hits opens up with an album track that is lesser known. This is a cool song to open it. It could have more to it but it's still fun.
2. "Pain"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: I talked a lot about this song in my top 10 Three Days Grace songs post, but in short, the harder feel in this song is cool and I like the story behind the lyrics. This song really helps define the album in my opinion.
3. "Animal I Have Become"
Rating:
Comments: Yay, this masterpiece again! Revisiting it as a part of this album is fun because it fits with the album perfectly. This record would not be the same without it. As for why, I talked about it in my top 10 post for these guys, but it is really fun despite having a really dark theme. Three Days Grace are good at this and this song proves it.
4. "Never Too Late"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: This is just a song about not giving up and finding light in dark situations. It is performed very well and it shows what these guys can do. I enjoy it a lot.
5. "On My Own"
Rating: 9.5/10
Comments: I think this is one of the better album tracks from this album. It's very hard and I like it that way.
6. "Riot"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: LET'S START A RIOT!!! A RIOT!!! LET'S START A RIOT!!!!!!
Seriously, though, this is the perfect example of an amazing hard rock song that I could listen to for hours at a time and not get tired of. The tone in this song is just so angry and I love that for some reason. And it's not even my favorite song on the album, which says quite a bit.
7. "Get Out Alive"
Rating: 8.5/10
Comments: This is not an average Three Days Grace song, as it's kind of slow up until after the second chorus. But I still think it was made very well.
8. "Let It Die"
Rating: 10/10
Comments: This is by far my favorite album track from this record. It's not my overall favorite Three Days Grace album track (we'll be seeing that song when I review Life Starts Now), but it is a stand-out song for me. Adam Gontier sounds very good throughout the song and the guitars accompany that pretty well. A definite score for me here.
9. "Over and Over"
Rating: 9/10
Comments: This is a slightly less energetic version of "It's All Over" to me. I enjoy it, it's just not one of my go-to songs from this album.
10. "Time of Dying"
Rating: 9.5/10
Comments: This was a song I got into after a few listens to this album. The chorus here stands out and makes the song as good as it is.
11. "Gone Forever"
Rating: 9/10
Comments: Another good deep hard rock song. It's a good example of what to expect when hearing an album like this or a song by a band like this.
12. "One-X"
Rating: 8/10
Comments: While I enjoy this song, I was never really a huge fan of it. It feels a little too out of place for me for some reason. But what is in place works well and makes the song sound decent.
ALBUM RANKDOWN
1. "Animal I Have Become"
2. "Riot"
3. "Pain"
4. "Never Too Late"
5. "Let It Die"
6. "Time of Dying"
7. "On My Own"
8. "Gone Forever"
9. "It's All Over"
10. "Over and Over"
11. "Get Out Alive"
12. "One-X"
OVERALL SCORE
112.5/120 = 9.375/10 = 0.9375 = 93.75%
FINAL WORDS
This album is awesome! It's exactly what a great hard rock album should sound like musically, and lyrically it has some interesting themes that just captivate me even more. Hard rock is not for everyone, but if you think it's for you, you can listen to this album on Spotify here or on YouTube here. I highly recommend it to any rock fans looking for something to listen to. Also, I recommend this video from last fall of Adam Gontier as a surprise guest at a Breaking Benjamin concert and performing "Animal I Have Become" with them. It's really cool seeing him with another band and the crowd being really into it. Really fun stuff.
And that brings this post to an end. Thank you to anyone who read it, and be sure to leave any suggestions for me if there's a post you'd like to see me do! Have a great rest of your Christmas day and I'll see you guys soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment