What Happened To Three Days Grace's Original Lead Singer After He Left?
Breakups and bands do seem to go hand in hand. It's easy to lose track of all the musicians who have fled former bands, gotten fired, had disputes with band members and record labels, outgrown a particular musical venture, and so forth. In the case of Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier, his 2013 departure for health-related issues caused a stir among fandom. But by now everyone has moved on, including Gontier.
Back in 2003 the Canadian outfit released its self-titled debut album, "Three Days Grace," and in 2006 their follow-up "One-X," both of which went platinum in the U.S. and Canada. The band's music fits squarely in commercial rock territory, was accessible across a variety of tastes, and ultimately found a following of millions. Gontier's voice took center stage as the band took off, and was an integral part of the group and its sound.
Come January 2013, though — four albums into Three Days Grace's currently seven-album discography — and Gontier called it quits, saying via Loudwire, "After 20 years of being part of an ever evolving band, I have been inspired by life, to move on and to continue to evolve on my own terms." It's still a bit unclear why he left, but in the days since he joined supergroup Saint Asonia, which released its first album in 2015. By all accounts Gontier and his former bandmates have kept up a good relationship, and they chat and hang out regularly. Gontier even rejoined Three Days Grace in 2023 for a couple old songs onstage.
The desire for creative freedom
By the time Three Days Grace's first single "I Hate Everything About You" spearheaded their success in 2003 the band had already been together since 1992. The group reforged itself in 1997 and changed its original name, Groundswell, to Three Days Grace. When explaining the meaning of the new name, Adam Gontier once said (per Last.fm), "If you had three days to change something in your life, could you do it?" It's this attitude of questioning that not only defined Three Days Grace's lyrics and outlook, but Gontier's life path after leaving the band in 2013.
Within two years Gontier had joined his subsequent band, Saint Asonia — a supergroup composed of members such as Staind guitarist Mike Mushok that released its first, self-titled album in July 2015. The band spawned from demos that Gontier and Mushok initially recorded together in April 2014 for fun. In 2020 Gontier said plainly on Highwire Magazine, "There's a lot more creative freedom with Saint Asonia ... We're not pigeonholed to a certain genre or having to write about things that I don't necessarily feel. That's why I started playing music and wanted to be in a band and perform."
By all accounts, this is how Gontier has been spending the bulk of his professional time over the past decade or so. In 2019 Saint Asonia released its second album, "Flawed Design," and then a combo album," Introvert/Extrovert," in 2022. By 2024 Gontier was the only founding member still in the band's touring lineup — Mushok had taken a step back from the road to focus on Staind.
Old friends and new projects
As far as Adam Gontier's relationship with his former band is concerned, it seems like everything is just fine. Back in 2022 he said in an interview with Rock Feed (via Blabbermouth), "We've all grown up. It's been a while. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. We're all in touch now and we talk and text and stuff." He didn't discount the possibility of a reunion with Three Days Grace, although there were no details at that point.
Come April 2023, and this is exactly what happened in Huntsville, Alabama — at least for two songs. At Propst Arena, Gontier went out on stage to perform "Never Too Late" and "Riot" with his old band and friends. Even though he was nervous and everyone hadn't "really been in the same room together in about 10 years," Gontier told "Loudwire Nights" (on Loudwire), "It felt pretty amazing to sing a couple of songs onstage with those guys. It was a pretty awesome moment for sure." He also said that while neither he nor Three Days Grace would discount the possibility of collaborating more together in the future, both parties are pretty busy with their respective careers and schedules.
Besides his work with Saint Asonia, Gontier's also been working with other musicians, such as friend Jason Parsons, who he works with in the two-man project, DIVIIDEDBY. The project formed during the musicians' COVID-19 heyday in 2020 when he and Parsons were stuck at home and looking for something to do.