A quarter-century into their career,
Three Days Grace
are dab hands at making tight, visceral alt-rock for the arena rock crowd. Returning after a four-year gap, the veteran Canadians offer up the aptly named
Explosions
, their seventh studio set. Co-produced with longtime collaborator
Howard Benson
, the album was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic with members tracking many of their parts in isolation at various different studios. While the enforced separation and global angst of the era may have fed into the album's bleak dynamic,
have their formula down pat to the extent that
feels as durable and reliable as any of their previous releases. Thematically there is an overall tone of struggling to right one's ship amid overwhelming chaos, which speaks plainly of the period during which the music was created. Minus any major left turns, the album feels like a continuation of the gritty, aggressive rock that has been the group's hallmark since the beginning. ~ Timothy Monger