Review: Three Days Grace- Outsider

Three Days Grace may be one of the most underrated and underappreciated bands in all of rock. In 2013, they were forced into a frontman change and didn’t miss a step- they continued to collect no. 1 singles and sell out concerts and stayed at the same level.
Five years later, they’ve released their sixth studio record- Outsider– which already has another chart-topper (their 13th) and have now tied Van Halen for most no. 1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts and have already hit the record on Active Rock Radio. Needless to say, Three Days Grace have cemented themselves as one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Outsider sees the sophomore release with Matt Walst at the helm and shows the band traveling outside of their comfort zone, treading new ground musically while still keeping their roots intact.
The record opens with “Right Left Wrong,” which is a slow rock track but one that sucks you in from the start and does exactly what an album opener is supposed to do. From here we get lead single “The Mountain,” which is no surprise it’s hit the top of the charts, it stands its ground with TDG classics like “Animal I Have Become” and “I Hate Everything About You.”
Songs like “Strange Days,” “Villain I’m Not” and “Chasing The First Time” are exactly what you’d expect from Three Days Grace while “Nothing to Lose But You” is a throwback ballad along the lines of “Never Too Late” and is just beautiful while “Love Me or Leave Me” is an electronic haunting soft track.
Then we see the band experimenting with a funk and poppy rock style that could get you dancing as well as it can make you rock out. “Me Against You,” “Villain I’m Not” and “The New Real” follow this trend but with a Three Days Grace seasoning and spice that makes sure it doesn’t alienate longtime fans in any way.
In the end, every band needs to evolve and grow and that’s exactly what Three Days Grace are doing with Outsider. Will every fan love the album? Probably not but enough fans will dig it to make sure it’s one of the band’s most successful records. There are tracks that stand up with where the band has been and what they’ve done in the past but also shows the band progressing and ready to travel new roads as well.
Rating: 8/10
-Reggie Edwards