My Darkest Days
| My Darkest Days | |
|---|---|
 Matt Walst live, 2009. | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | MDD |
| Origin | Norwood, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Hard rock, post-grunge, alternative rock |
| Years active | 2005-2013 (on hiatus) |
| Labels | 604, Mercury |
| Associated acts | Zakk Wylde, Chad Kroeger, Ludacris, Jessie James, Three Days Grace |
| Website |
www |
| Members |
Matt Walst Brendan McMillan Doug Oliver Reid Henry |
| Past members |
Chris McMillan Paulo Neta Sal Costa |
My Darkest Days is a Canadian rock band based in Peterborough, Ontario consisting of lead singer Matt Walst, bassist Brendan McMillan, drummer Doug Oliver, and keyboardist Reid Henry.[1] They were discovered by Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, who signed them to his record label, 604 Records.[2]
In June 2010 the band went on tour with Sick Puppies, Janus, and It's Alive,[3] and shot a video in Las Vegas to support their first single, "Porn Star Dancing", released on June 21, 2010.[1][4] In August 2010, they toured with Trapt, Skillet, and Papa Roach. Chad Kroeger appears and sings in the "Porn Star Dancing" video, as does American rapper Ludacris (in the extended version only) and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde, playing lead guitar for the single.[1] Matt Walst is currently the lead vocalist of Three Days Grace.[5]
History
Early years
The band was founded by Matt Walst in 2005, who was born in Norwood, Ontario, and whose older brother, Brad Walst, is the bassist for Canadian rock band, Three Days Grace. Instead of playing in his brother's band, Matt decided to form one of his own with his friends Brendan McMillan on bass guitar, Doug Oliver on drums, and Chris McMillan on lead guitar. The talented Chris McMillan left the band and became an electrician being replaced by Paulo Nesta. In 2009, a friend introduced Walst to Toronto–based singer–guitarist Sal Costa, who later became the band's guitarist, replacing Paulo Neta, who became the guitarist for Thornley. However, the departure of Sal was confirmed on the website in a post dated January 9, 2013. My Darkest Days has opened for many bands, including Three Days Grace, Default, Theory of a Deadman, Skillet, Papa Roach, Nickelback, and Hinder.[4]
My Darkest Days won a contest called Rock Search put on by 97.7 HTZ FM in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2008 with "Every Lie". This gave them time in a recording studio publicity in Niagara, Ontario. It gave the band money to tour for a year as well.
Debut album (2009–2011)
When Chad Kroeger heard My Darkest Days' music, he was so impressed he immediately signed them to his record label. Matt Walst gave Chad Kroeger their demo while touring together. The first song they wrote after being signed was "Porn Star Dancing," which became their first single. Kroeger decided he wanted to be featured on it, along with a friend of his, Zakk Wylde, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Black Label Society and a former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. Kroeger and Wylde both appear in the video, which was filmed at the Hard Rock Las Vegas Vanity nightclub.[2] A remix of the single was also released which featured Atlanta rapper Ludacris.[6] On their official Facebook page, My Darkest Days announced their debut eponymous album was to be released on September 21, 2010. On the album, the song "Set It on Fire" features Australian singer/guitarist Orianthi on lead guitar, known from her work with Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, and Michael Jackson. Also on the album is a collaboration with country-pop singer Jessie James, on the Duran Duran cover "Come Undone".
The Saw 3D soundtrack released on October 26, 2010 features the song "The World Belongs to Me."
My Darkest Days was named the “Best New Band of 2010” by hardDriveXL after hitting the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ranking, as well as No. 1 on FMQB’s Active Rock list.
My Darkest Days’ first major–label single, “Porn Star Dancing,” went gold in Canada and in the United States.[7]
In March 2011, My Darkest Days was involved in a bus accident where their Bandwagon RV style bus flipped and fell into a ditch in rural Idaho. No major injuries were incurred, but drummer Doug Oliver suffered a sprained ankle and the band missed one tour date in Boise with Three Days Grace.[8] It was announced on their Facebook page that they will be entering the studio in October 2011 with Joey Moi of Mountain View Records to start writing new material for their next album.[9]
Sick and Twisted Affair (2012)
The lead single from their second studio album, "Casual Sex", was released to iTunes on January 17, 2012 and was sent to Canadian rock radios on January 13, 2012.[10] Their second album, Sick and Twisted Affair, was released on March 26, 2012. It features the singles, "Casual Sex" and "Sick And Twisted Affair". My Darkest Days went on tour with Nickelback, Bush, and Seether in April 2012. They were a part of Nickelback's Here and Now 2012 World Tour. Save Yourself, taken from Sick and Twisted Affair, was featured on the soundtrack for the hockey video game, NHL 13.
Three Days Grace and side projects (2013–present)
Following frontman Adam Gontier's departure from Three Days Grace in 2013, Matt Walst was brought on as their replacement lead vocalist for their tour, and was later made the permanent lead singer of the band. They released an album titled Human on March 31, 2015 with Walst's vocals being featured for the first time with the group.
While Matt has been busy with Three Days Grace, fellow bandmates started up side projects of their own. Doug Oliver started a band called Cold Creek County in 2013. Brendan McMillan and Reid Henry started a band called Never Say Die.
Members
- Current lineup
- Brendan McMillan – bass guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
- Doug Oliver – drums, percussion (2005–present)
- Reid Henry – keyboard, vocals, rhythm guitar (2010–present)
- Former members
- Chris McMillan – lead guitar, vocals (2005–2007)
- Paulo Neta – lead guitar, vocals (2008-2009)
- Sal Coz Costa – lead guitar, vocals (2009–2012)
- Matt Walst – lead vocals, lead guitar (2005–2012)
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [11] |
US [12] |
US Alt [13] |
US Rock [14] | ||
| My Darkest Days |
|
11 | 38 | 9 | 12 |
| Sick and Twisted Affair |
|
29 | 29 | 9 | 11 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [15] |
US [16] |
US Alt [17] |
US Main [18] |
US Rock [19] | |||||
| 2010 | "Porn Star Dancing"[20] (featuring Zakk Wylde and Chad Kroeger) | 40 | 90 | 21 | 1 | 7 | My Darkest Days | ||
| 2011 | "Move Your Body" | — | — | — | 23 | — | |||
| "Every Lie" | — | — | — | 24 | — | ||||
| 2012 | "Casual Sex" | — | — | — | 22 | 46 | Sick and Twisted Affair | ||
| "Sick and Twisted Affair" | — | — | — | 37 | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 Bergen, Werner (June 24, 2010). "My Darkest Days at Red Dog for two shows". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- 1 2 "Porn Star Dancing", Island Def Jam, June 2, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ↑ Okarmus, Matt. "Sick Puppies bring unique sound to Capital City", Montgomery Advertiser, July 8, 2010.
- 1 2 Youseph, Ramon. "My Darkest Days—Pornstar Dancing Single Review", Rock Music, suite101.com, June 23, 2010, accessed July 9, 2010.
- ↑ "About - Three Days Grace". Three Days Grace. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- ↑ Zakk Wylde featured in My Darkest Days video", Blabbermouth.net, June 21, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Web magazine bands music group photos news reviews events Live 'N Loud Magazine". Livenloudmagazine.com. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
- ↑ Archived August 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days band status from Sep 12, 2011". Facebook. September 12, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days band status from Jan 13, 2012". Facebook. January 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days Album & Song Chart History - Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ "My Darkest Days : Chart History : Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
- ↑
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - October 18, 2012". RIAA. Retrieved 2013-01-11.