Alienation
Adam Gontier is back with Three Days Grace, and Matt Walst has stayed. This gives Alienation a more interesting premise than a simple reunion. Each voice brings a different kind of weight, and the best tracks make good use of that contrast.
Dominate opens with a heavy riff and a clear division of roles. Gontier gives the verses a rawer edge, while Walst helps lift the chorus. The combination feels natural. The song draws its energy as much from the performance as from the production.
Mayday also demonstrates this well. The vocals reinforce the feeling of being under pressure, and the chorus provides an outlet for that frustration. This is familiar territory for Three Days Grace, but the added character in the singing makes the track more poignant.
Kill Me Fast is more vulnerable. The arrangement gives Gontier room to convey the uncertainty in the lyrics, while the bigger chorus acts as an emotional release. In Waves deals with grief and the lingering presence of someone who is gone. It is one of the more touching moments, precisely because the emotion is direct and easy to relate to.
The title track returns to the band's darker post-grunge side. The isolation in the lyrics matches the sound, and the guitars provide a strong foundation for the melody. Never Ordinary offers a more hopeful perspective on feeling like an outsider. Lindsey Stirling adds violin to the arrangement.
Having two singers doesn't completely change the songwriting. Several tracks still follow very familiar patterns. Due to the recurring themes of struggle, the songs sometimes blend into one another. The album works best when a specific emotion or a clear interplay between the voices gives a track its own identity.
Alienation makes a convincing case for the current lineup. It features strong melodies, a few truly poignant songs, and two voices that complement each other well. The band has found an excellent way to bridge their different eras and, in my opinion, has discovered a new formula for success.
