Loaded with lyrics about nightmares, pain, isolation and broken relationships, One X, the sophomore effort from Three Days Grace should be a downright bummer of a ride. Instead, the listener manages to find uplift lurking beneath the weighty lyrics as the quartet churns out a series of anthemic, crunch-chord songs. The band moves from arena-ready light metal with "It's All Over" to the sex groove of "Animal I Have Become," before plunging the listener into full-on chaotic heaviness during the anti-alienation anthem "Riot" and easing us into the atmospheric future hit "Get Out Alive." Throughout, TDG remains true to its core alt-metal sound. While that sound has been called unimaginative and unoriginal and at times does feel a little too familiar, the material on One X is never less than convincing and it packs a serious and stinging rock `n' roll punch track after track. --Jedd Beaudoin