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. The album was produced by Howard Benson. This is the second time in a row the band has worked with him, after the commercially successful One-X. Life Starts Now expresses a lighter lyrical mood compared to the band's previous album. It is the first Three Days Grace album to be released under Sony Music Entertainment and the last to be released through Jive Records, as Sony disbanded the label in 2011.

Life Starts Now
Studio album by Three Days Grace
Released	September 22, 2009[1]
Recorded	March – August 2009
Studio	The Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia
Genre	Post-grunge, alternative metal, hard rock
Length	43:34
Label	Jive/Zomba
Producer	Howard Benson
Three Days Grace chronology
One-X (2006) Life Starts Now (2009) Transit of Venus (2012)
Singles from Life Starts Now
"Break" Released: September 1, 2009 "The Good Life" Released: February 9, 2010 "World So Cold" Released: August 3, 2010 "Lost in You" Released: February 1, 2011

Background and production

After being on the road for five years with Three Days Grace, bassist Brad Walst stated, "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 describes Life Starts Now as a record about "confronting life and how fragile it can be".[2]

Pre-production for Life Starts Now 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 of the same year.[1] After finalizing all aspects of the album, they officially announced that the album would be released on September 22, 2009.[1]

Sales

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 to date.[3] 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.[4] With the exception of "Lost in You", all of the band's singles from the album topped the Billboard rock song charts.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[5]
AllMusic	[6][7]
Sputnikmusic	[8]

Upon its release Life Starts Now received mixed reviews from most music critics. Allmusic reviewer James Christopher Monger, who gave the album three out of five stars, said "Life Starts Now continues the theme of One-X, Gontier's personal demons, but with a hint of sunlight." He compliments the album, saying 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." Sputnikmusic gave the album a mixed review calling the album "rehash number two".

The album's release was also met with some negative reviews. A negative review came from About.com reviewer Tim Grierson, who said, "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."

Accolades

The album has been nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Juno awards. The album has been officially certified Platinum in Canada.[9] It was also certified Gold in the US on March 1, 2011,[10] and Platinum on February 12, 2018.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Three Days Grace.

CD release[12]

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
13.	"World So Cold" (piano version, also available on the Lost in You EP)	4:20
Total length:		47:54

Limited edition bonus CD[13]

No.	Title	Length
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

Three Days Grace Adam Gontier – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Neil Sanderson – drums, keyboards, backing vocals Brad Walst – bass guitar, backing vocals Barry Stock – lead guitar Artwork Danny Clinch – photography Chris Feldman – art direction, design Jackie Murphy – art direction Adrian Knopik – illustration Additional musicians Howard Benson – keyboards, programming

Production Howard Benson – producer Mike Cashin – assistant engineer Chris Lord-Alge – mixing Ted Jensen – mastering Paul DeCarli – digital editing Jon Nicholson – drum technician Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – engineers Mike Plotnikoff – engineers Andrew Schubert – engineers Brad Townsend – engineers Marc VanGool – guitar technician Management Michael Tedesco – A&R

Chart positions

Weekly charts Chart (2009) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) 77 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 2 US Billboard 200[15] 3 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[16] 2 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[18] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[19] 163 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] 38 Chart (2010) Position US Billboard 200[21] 153 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] 41

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23]	2× Platinum	160,000
United States (RIAA)[24]	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. "Three Days Grace, Papa Roach Unveil Tour Dates". Emmis Communications. October 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
4. "Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace". 2009 Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
5. Grierson, Tim. "Three Days Grace - 'Life Starts Now' Review". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014.
6. "Transit of Venus - Three Days Grace - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
7. "Life Starts Now - Three Days Grace - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
8. "Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now (album review 11)". Sputnik Music. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
9. "Gold & Platinum Certification, October 2010". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
10. "RIAA Searchable Database". Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
11. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Retrieved March 19, 2018.
12. "Three Days Grace Reveal Tracklist for 'Life Starts Now'". TuneLab Music, LLC. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009.
13. "Three Days Grace - Life Starts Now (Limited Edition) CD 2 Mp3 Download". www.soundike.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
14. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
15. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
16. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
17. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
18. "Three Days Grace Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
20. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
21. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
22. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
23. "Canadian album certifications – Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now". Music Canada. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
24. "American album certifications – Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 12, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.