Three Days Grace: The Best of Both Worlds (Part 2 of 3)

Continued from Part One…

Transit of Venus came out in 2012. Adam, the band was set to go on a major tour when you left the band with little if any explanation. The group’s public statement referenced “non-life-threatening health issues.” Thirteen years later, can you shed a bit more light on what led to that move?

Adam Gontier: I was going through a lot at the time. I had a lot happening in my life outside of the band. I needed to make a change in my life for my own well being, so that was the change that I made. Looking back on it, it was probably… well, I know for sure that the way that it was done wasn’t the best way to handle the situation. But, again, I wasn’t in a very good place emotionally, so I took a step that I felt like I needed to at the time.

Just a couple months after you left the group, you announced a solo tour. What did that solo work fulfill for you that perhaps Three Days Grace did not?

Adam Gontier: It’s really hard to go back and pinpoint things, because my state of mind at the time was not… I wasn’t necessarily present and wasn’t necessarily clear. So it’s tough to go back and say, “This is the reason why I did it” when there were so many different factors. I guess at the time it was probably more of a creative outlet for myself. In Three Days Grace, we wrote everything together. I think at the time, I just wanted to write some songs and play some shows with an acoustic guitar.

In your years away from Three Days Grace, you formed Saint Asonia with Mike Mushok of Staind, releasing three albums. You collaborated with Apocalyptica, Daughtry, Art of Dying, Breaking Benjamin and other acts. Was that variety of activities a search for an ideal musical situation to replace Three Days Grace, or something else?

Adam Gontier: Working with different people, doing some writing and appearing on certain songs was more just to stay doing something. Because music is all I ever wanted to do, all I ever really knew. I knew that I didn’t want to leave music entirely, so I guess [those activities] were a way to fulfill that.

Matt, you took over as lead singer very shortly after Adam left. At the time, you had a thriving career with My Darkest Days, and you left that band to join Three Days Grace. What convinced you to make that jump?

Matt Walst: Initially, I was just jumping in to do a tour. And then as we toured and rode together, it became more permanent; it felt more right.
We went through some changes in My Darkest Days. We were about to write an EP, and I didn’t know where that would go. And juggling two bands at the same time would be just too much.

When you joined the group, did you initially see your role as taking the place of Adam? Or did you seek to apply your own stamp on the band right from the start?

Matt Walst: We’re two different people, two different voices. I just did what I could do, and we toured all around the world. I was just trying to keep the band on the road, and at a point it became my role to be the front man of Three Days Grace.

Adam, what led to your rejoining the band?

Adam Gontier: I needed a bunch of years to get things together. And in that time, I had two kids, I got remarried and I grew up a lot. All [of] that needed to happen.

I had stayed in touch with Brad [Walst] on and off throughout the years. I think he and Matt had been knocking the idea around for a while. Around 2020, Brad reached out to me. We got together for coffee a few times, and we started talking about the idea of me coming back to the band. It was definitely a no-brainer, and I jumped on it, of course. When Brad and I started talking about it, it seemed like the right time. And, you know, everybody’s gone through a lot and grown up quite a bit, and so everybody’s in a great place now. We’re at a point where Matt’s done a bunch of Three Days Grace records, and I did a bunch of records. So it kind of made sense to do it for the fans.

You joined the band onstage as a guest twice in 2023: once in April and then again at a show in Nashville in October. Were those appearances “trial balloons”?

Adam Gontier: We really didn’t think it out all that much. We had been hanging out a little bit. I live in the Nashville area, and the guys were coming through Nashville. They just asked if I wanted to get up and sing a couple songs. We thought it’d be really cool. I don’t think we had any real plans to see how it went or anything like that. It was just something to do, and it was amazing. It was incredibly fun, and the fans loved it.

Matt, was there any hesitancy at all in bringing Adam back into the band?

Matt Walst: No, not at all. We got together and started writing, and it just flowed so easily. The songs just came together. And we knew then: “This is gonna be fun.” No band has ever done this before, so we’re covering new ground.

Adam, what’s different – if anything – being with the band now as compared to the old days?

Adam Gontier: I can only really speak for myself. Like I was alluding to earlier, I’ve grown up a lot, so the whole situation – the whole vibe – is completely different. Everybody’s grown up with families. Back then, it was a little bit more chaotic; there weren’t many days off. There was a lot of partying and this and that, and now it’s a little bit more relaxed. It’s really good.

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