Three Days Grace - Transit of Venus (2012)

Transit of Venus is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on October 2, 2012 through RCA Records. The album is the band's first to be released under the record label, following the folding of their former label, Jive Records, in 2011. The album was produced by Don Gilmore and recorded at Revolution Studios in Toronto. On June 5, 2012, the same day as Venus' visible transit across the sun, the band released the album title and release date. The album spawned three singles ("Chalk Outline", "The High Road" and "Misery Loves My Company"). It is the last of the band's albums to feature former lead singer Adam Gontier. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Transit of Venus is one of the group's most acclaimed albums and it was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Juno Awards of 2014.

Upon its release, the album was met with generally favorable reviews by mainstream music critics, citing the band's different musical direction. Loudwire gave the album a 4 out of 5, saying that "Three Days Grace has stepped out of their comfort zone, ditched the formula, and went all in, holding nothing back in the true spirit of rock." Another positive review came from Artistdirect, which said that "Three Days Grace have undeniably progressed here, and the results are nothing short of incredible." Johan Wippsson of Melodic wrote that in Transit of Venus "there's an aggressive undertone, which sets a perfect alternative touch on the album."

Gregory Heaney at AllMusic describes the album as "more refined than anything they've done before". Heaner adds that the "level of atmosphere" on the album allows Three Days Grace to stand out among other post-grunge bands. An article by music journalist Clayton Petras in Inspirer Magazine gave the album a positive review, mentioning that although the album "opens with some eerie notes and a crooning Adam Gontier that we're not quite used to", it goes on to mention that the album settles into "the gruff, rugged sound we've come to expect from the band".

The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 48,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week, two positions behind the band's previous album Life Starts Now, but the same position as One-X. Transit of Venus also featured at No. 1 on U.S. Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums, No. 3 on both the U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums and U.S. Billboard Top Alternative Albums, and at No. 4 on both U.S. Billboard Top Digital Albums and on the Canadian Albums Chart. On Loudwire, the song "Chalk Outline" won the website's Rock Song of the Year award for 2012. The song topped the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts debuting at No. 1 and remaining in this position for 13 consecutive weeks, before dropping to No. 3 on its seventeenth week on the chart. The song also reached No. 1 on the Active Rock Radio chart, and remained in this position for eleven weeks. This makes "Chalk Outline" the ninth Three Days Grace song to top Active Rock Radio. "Chalk Outline" also peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Rock Songs, No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs Chart, and No. 65 on the Canadian Hot 100. The album has sold 258,000 copies in the U.S. as of March 2015.

Adam Gontier – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Barry Stock – lead guitar
Brad Walst – bass guitar
Neil Sanderson – drums, percussion, keyboards, programming, backing vocals

Track List:
01. Sign Of The Times (03:11)
02. Chalk Outline (03:02)
03. The High Road (03:13)
04. Operate (03:22)
05. Anonymous (03:13)
06. Misery Loves My Company (02:42)
07. Give In To Me (Michael Jackson Cover) (03:19)
08. Happiness (02:53)
09. Give Me A Reason (04:03)
10. Time That Remains (03:12)
11. Expectations (02:43)
12. Broken Glass (03:21)
13. Unbreakable Heart (03:26)