Alienated for a reason?

Three Days Grace have one of those histories where the story around the band is almost as interesting as the music. Originally forming in Norwood, Ontario, in the early '90s as Groundswell before becoming Three Days Grace in 1997, they became one of the defining Canadian hard-rock bands of the 2000s. Huge choruses, dark melodies, heavy guitars, and Adam Gontier's instantly recognizable voice produced songs like “I Hate Everything About You” and “Animal I Have Become.” Alienation brings Gontier back alongside Matt Walst, giving the band two vocalists who have played major roles in their history. It's an interesting setup, but the album doesn't always take advantage of it.

“Dominate” opens with slow guitar chugs, deep bass, and a big chorus that immediately sounds like Three Days Grace. The production is polished, the drums hit hard, and Gontier's voice still has plenty of character, but the song stretches a fairly simple idea without doing much with it. “Apologies” goes softer, leaning into polished pop-rock songwriting. It's clean and competently performed, but the structure feels so familiar that there isn't much left to grab onto after the first listen.

“Mayday” brings more weight with low bass, deep drums, and heavier guitars, but again, the song doesn't push those ideas very far. The chorus is serviceable rather than memorable, and the bigger the production gets, the less personality seems to come through.

Things get more interesting with “Kill Me Fast.” The acoustic guitar and washed-out production create a more intimate atmosphere, and Gontier's return finally feels musically important rather than simply nostalgic. When Walst enters, the contrast between their voices gives the song something genuinely distinctive. Gontier has that wounded quality associated with the band's earlier material, while Walst brings a different texture. “In Waves” continues that idea, with both vocalists sharing the spotlight. The instrumentation isn't particularly adventurous, but hearing those voices work together is one of the strongest ideas on the record.

“Alienation” tries to push into heavier, more modern territory with stop-start rhythms, larger guitars, and more aggressive vocal phrasing. There are some good ideas here, but the chorus feels bigger than it is memorable. “Never Ordinary” adds strings from Lindsey Stirling, giving the arrangement some extra texture, although the underlying song remains fairly conventional.

“Deathwish” is another case where the heavier side of Three Days Grace sounds more promising. The distorted guitars and chugging sections have some bite, and the rougher vocals suit the material. I just wish the band stayed in that space longer instead of repeatedly returning to the same polished chorus formula.

The later stretch has similar highs and lows. “Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight” gives Gontier another opportunity to bring some emotional weight to the record, while “In Cold Blood” has some of the better guitar work and heavier dynamics. “The Power” briefly pushes further into metal territory, and “Another Relapse” closes the original album with darker subject matter and a more substantial guitar sound. These tracks show that the band can still get heavier when they want to, but the arrangements often pull back just when they start becoming interesting.

That is the biggest problem with Alienation: the songs often feel safer than the subject matter. The album deals with isolation, anxiety, addiction, heartbreak, and personal struggle, but the music rarely sounds as emotionally dangerous as those themes suggest it should. There are moments where the band establish genuine tension, only to resolve it with the most familiar possible chorus.

The two-vocalist setup should have been the perfect way to avoid that. Gontier and Walst don't sound identical, and that's exactly what makes their combination interesting. “Kill Me Fast” and “In Waves” prove there is something worth exploring there. I wanted more songs built around that contrast rather than having it appear only when the arrangement calls for it.

The guitars are solid but rarely distinctive. There are some good low-tuned riffs on “Dominate,” “Deathwish,” “In Cold Blood,” and “The Power,” but much of the record lives in familiar post-2000 hard-rock territory. The bass provides a dependable foundation, particularly when the guitars pull back, while the drums are clean and controlled but rarely given much room to become a defining part of the songs.

Production is probably the album's strongest technical quality. Everything sounds polished and balanced, with plenty of weight behind the guitars and drums. The downside is that the clean presentation occasionally removes some of the danger from the heavier material. Some of these riffs should hit harder than they actually do.

And that's frustrating because Three Days Grace don't need to prove they can write a big rock chorus. They've been doing that for decades. What I wanted was a reason to care about these particular songs. “Kill Me Fast” gives me one. “In Waves” gives me one. “In Cold Blood” comes close. “Another Relapse” has the subject matter to do it. Too much of the rest feels like the band reaching for a familiar Three Days Grace shape and stopping there.

I don't need them to become experimental. I don't need every song to be heavy, and I don't need them to recreate the sound of their early records. I just wanted them to take more chances with the ingredients they already have. The return of Gontier, the contrast with Walst, the darker themes, and the band's experience all create opportunities that the songwriting doesn't consistently use.

Alienation isn't a disaster. The performances are solid, the production is strong, and there are enough good songs to show that the band still have something to say. But it often feels like Three Days Grace are standing next to something more interesting without quite stepping into it.

The title ends up feeling pretty appropriate.

The band have the voices. They have the riffs. They have the history. They have the opportunity.

I just wish the songs felt as bold as the circumstances surrounding them.

Alienation isn't the return to form I wanted, but it isn't a complete misfire either. It's a polished, occasionally heavy modern Three Days Grace record with flashes of personality that never quite become the identity of the whole album.

The ingredients are there.

The songs just needed a little more fucking risk.