Three Days Grace’s Neil Sanderson: ‘This Album Is Turning Out to be Such a Personal Reflection’
Guest blogger Neil Sanderson of Three Days Grace checks in as a regular contributor with an exclusive column for Loudwire. In this piece, the drummer gives us a recording update on the band’s highly anticipated new album, shares some tales from the road and thanks the fans for their support of the new song 'I Am Machine.' Check out Neil Sanderson’s latest blog, along with the accompanying video, below:
3DG got back from a tour of Europe and Russia a few weeks ago. It was a crazy time to say the least. The crowds were huge and intense. Flash mobs showing up all over the place, people giving us gifts (a hell of a lot of vodka), and I don’t know if it was just the power of the Internet, but fans seemed to know our whereabouts at all times when we were in Russia …. airports, train stations, hotels, days off, etc. … I’m still perplexed as to how fans found us everywhere we went in the largest country on the planet. We got a lot of love over there and it was really cool.
Back on this side of the pond, we’ve been super busy putting some finishing touches on the new record. This album is turning out to be such a personal reflection for Brad, Barry, Matt and I. One of my favorite things about making this kind of record is when as a team, we decide to just lay it all on the line emotionally, and write about all the demons, the feelings; good and bad, all the pain and the rushes, and all the highs and lows that have going on in all of our lives. Writing songs has always been a form of therapy for us. Being true to ourselves and writing about real s--t that we’re dealing with becomes a powerful thing.
I also think it’s cool as an artist that when years go by, and sometime in the future I decide to revisit an album that we made and poured our hearts into, it’s like getting into a time machine. You end up reliving all those emotions, but sometimes you realize that a lot of the things you were struggling with during that period of your life, ended up working themselves out over time.
So with a scheduled release date of late March, things are moving quickly, but we still have a lot of work to do. In fact, I just got home from a long day in the studio. It’s kinda crazy when we look back on how some of the songs came together. It’s like it either happens in an hour or two, or it feels like it takes forever to get the right vibe. Some songs we write, and rewrite, then record, and rerecord and so on. Today was one of those days where we finally cracked the code on a song that we’ve revamped about 300 times, haha … but man it’s sounding pretty killer now.
We’ve been actively putting together some cool tour plans for 2015. Lot’s of stuff for North America, as well as overseas. Looks like we’ll be racking up some serious air miles next year. I’m always stoked to tour right after a new record drops. In fact, we haven’t even performed our new single 'I Am Machine' yet live, but when we jam it, it feels like one of the heaviest things we’ve played in a while … can’t wait to bust that one out in concert soon.
Speaking of 'I Am Machine,' we’ve been floored with the how fans have been voting it up in the Loudwire Cage Match. You rule! We have so much more material that’s burning a hole in our pockets and we can’t wait to drop this new album.
[Editor's Note: Three Days Grace's 'I Am Machine' ended up winning five battles in a row, earning a spot in the Loudwire Cage Match Hall of Fame.]
Our thanks to Neil Sanderson for contributing his latest column to Loudwire. If you haven’t already picked up the band’s new single, ‘I Am Machine,’ visit iTunes to purchase the song. Follow Three Days Grace on Facebook and Twitter. Check out a recap of the band's recent European tour below:
Three Days Grace European Tour Video Recap:
Three Days Grace, 'I Am Machine'