Life Starts Now

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.

For the 1948 film, see Life Starts Now (film).

Life Starts Now
Studio album by
Three Days Grace
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2009 (2009-09-22)[1]
RecordedMarch – August 2009
StudioThe Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia
Genre
Length43:34
LabelJive/Zomba
ProducerHoward Benson
Three Days Grace chronology
One-X
(2006)		 Life Starts Now
(2009)		 Transit of Venus
(2012)
Singles from Life Starts Now
  1. "Break"
    Released: September 1, 2009
  2. "The Good Life"
    Released: February 9, 2010
  3. "World So Cold"
    Released: August 3, 2010
  4. "Lost in You"
    Released: February 1, 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".[2] 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."[3]

The group began writing the album while on tour in 2007.[4] 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.[1] The group unveiled the cover art for Life Starts Now on August 19, 2009.[5] After finalizing all aspects of the album, they officially announced that the album would be released on September 22, 2009.[1]

The group embarked on the "Life Starts Now Tour" in 2010 to support the album.[6] They also supported Nickelback on the "Dark Horse Tour" in 2010 and Avenged Sevenfold on the "Welcome to the Family Tour" in 2011.[7]

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.[8] The album also debuted on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart at number two, along with "Break" which peaked at number one on the Billboard Rock Songs chart and "The Good Life" at number 52 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number one on Billboard Rock Songs chart.[9] With the exception of "Lost in You", all of the band's singles from the album topped the Billboard rock song charts. As of July 2010, the album had sold 398,826 units in the US.[10]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[11]
AllMusic[12]
Melodic[13]
Sputnikmusic[14]

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".[12] Sputnikmusic gave the album a mixed review calling the album "rehash number two."[14] 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."[11] 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."[15] 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.[13]

Accolades

The album was nominated for "Best Rock Album" at the 2010 Juno awards.[16] It won the "Favorite New Album" award at the 2010 Casby Awards.[17] The album was officially certified Platinum in Canada[18] and Gold in the US on March 1, 2011,[19] and Platinum on February 12, 2018.[20]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Three Days Grace

CD release[21]
No.TitleLength
1."Bitter Taste"4:01
2."Break"3:13
3."World So Cold"4:03
4."Lost in You"3:53
5."The Good Life"2:53
6."No More"3:45
7."Last to Know"3:27
8."Someone Who Cares"4:52
9."Bully"3:39
10."Without You"3:34
11."Goin' Down"3:06
12."Life Starts Now"3:08
Total length:43:34
Japanese release
No.TitleLength
13."World So Cold" (piano version, also available on the Lost in You EP)4:20
Total length:47:54
Limited edition bonus CD[22]
No.TitleLength
1."I Hate Everything About You"3:51
2."Just Like You"3:08
3."Home"4:21
4."Animal I Have Become"3:51
5."Pain"3:23
6."Never Too Late"3:29
7."Riot"3:28
Total length:25:35

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[38] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
United States (RIAA)[39] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Life Starts Now - or in this case it starts on September 22nd". Sony Music Entertainment. August 7, 2009. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  2. Bower, Elizabeth (September 18, 2009). "Three Days Grace Gets Reality Check". The Peterborough Examiner. Peterborough, Canada. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  3. Troy Rogers. "Starting Life Now with Three Days Grace Lead Guitarist Barry Stock". Deadbolt. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  4. Tom Spinelli (October 3, 2007). "Three Days Grace Starts New Album On The Road". Melodic. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  5. "Three Days Grace: Cover Art For 'Life Starts Now'". Ultimate Guitar. August 19, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  6. "Three Days Grace To Tour With Breaking Benjamin In 2010". December 12, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. "Three Days Grace Announced as Special Guests on Nickelback's Dark Horse Tour". Three Days Grace. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
    - "Avenged Sevenfold Announce "Welcome to the Family" Spring Tour". Avenged Sevenfold. February 17, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. Keith Caufield (September 30, 2009). "Pearl Jam Scores First No. 1 On Billboard 200 In 13 Years". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  9. "Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  10. "The Official Soundscan". Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  11. Grierson, Tim. "Three Days Grace - 'Life Starts Now' Review". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014.
  12. "Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  13. Kaj Roth (September 19, 2009). "Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now". Melodic. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  14. "Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now (album review 11)". Sputnik Music. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  15. Rayner, Ben (September 22, 2009). "Three Days Grace: Life Starts Now". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  16. "Nominees Announced". CTV News. April 1, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  17. "Three Days Grace Wins Casby Award for Favorite New Album!". Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  18. "Gold & Platinum Certification, October 2010". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  19. "RIAA Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  20. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  21. "Three Days Grace Reveal Tracklist for 'Life Starts Now'". TuneLab Music, LLC. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009.
  22. "Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now (Limited Edition) CD 2 Mp3 Download". Soundike. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  23. "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 28th September 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  24. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  25. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  26. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  27. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  28. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  29. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  30. "Top Alternative Albums of 2009". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  31. "Top Hard Rock Albums of 2009". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  32. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  33. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  34. "Top Alternative Albums of 2010". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  35. "Top Hard Rock Albums of 2010". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  36. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  37. "Top Hard Rock Albums of 2011". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  38. "Canadian album certifications – Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now". Music Canada. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  39. "American album certifications – Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
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