My Darkest Days
Encyclopedia
My Darkest Days is a Canadian rock
band based in Toronto
, consisting of lead singer Matt Walst, lead guitarist Sal Costa, Bassist Brendan McMillan, Drummer Doug Oliver, and keyboardist Reid Henry. They were discovered by Chad Kroeger
of Nickelback
, who signed them up for his production company, 604 Records
.
In June 2010
, the band went on tour with Sick Puppies
, Janus
, and It's Alive
, and shot a video in Las Vegas
to support their first single, "Porn Star Dancing," released on June 21, 2010. Kroeger appears in the "Porn Star Dancing" video, as does American rapper Ludacris
and Black Label Society
frontman Zakk Wylde
.
, who was born in Norwood, Ontario
, and whose older brother, Brad Walst, is the bassist
for 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 drum
s, and Chris McMillan on lead guitar
. Chris McMillan was later replaced by Paulo Neta. 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
. My Darkest Days has opened for many bands, including Three Days Grace
, Default
, Theory of a Deadman
, Skillet
, Papa Roach
, and Hinder
.
My Darkest Days won a contest called Rock Search put on by 97.7fm in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2008 with "Every Lie". This gave them time in a recording studio publicity in Niagara, Ontario.
When Chad Kroeger
heard My Darkest Days' music, he was so impressed he immediately signed them to his record label. 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. There is also a remix of the single featuring American rapper Ludacris
.
On their official Facebook
page, My Darkest Days announced their debut eponym
ous album was to be released on September 21, 2010. On that album, the song "Set It on Fire" features Australia
n 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 song "Come Undone".
The Saw 3D soundtrack released on October 26, 2010 features the single "The World Belongs to Me."
My Darkest Days was named the “Best New Band of 2010” by hardDriveXL after hitting the #1 spot on Billboard
's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ranking, as well as #1 on FMQB
’s Active Rock list.
In March of 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..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..
My Darkest Days’ first major–label single, “Porn Star Dancing,” went gold in Canada last month.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, consisting of lead singer Matt Walst, lead guitarist Sal Costa, Bassist Brendan McMillan, Drummer Doug Oliver, and keyboardist Reid Henry. They were discovered by Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger
Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback...
of Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
, who signed them up for his production company, 604 Records
604 Records
604 Records is the production company of Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger and attorney Jonathan Simkin, founded in 2002. Their records are distributed in Canada by Universal Music Group....
.
In June 2010
2010 in music
2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music...
, the band went on tour with Sick Puppies
Sick Puppies
Sick Puppies is an Australian rock band, formed in 1997. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Shimon Moore, bassist Emma Anzai and drummer Mark Goodwin....
, Janus
Janus (US band)
Janus is an American Alternative metal band based in Chicago. They formed around 1998 and are signed to REALID/ILG Records. They have released 3 studio albums, Influx , Armor , Red Right Return . They mix alternative metal with non-traditional rock instruments, such as auxiliary percussion, and...
, and It's Alive
It's Alive (band)
The glam-style metal band It's Alive was formed in 1985. Martin "Max Martin" Sandberg was one of the founding members of the band...
, and shot a video in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
to support their first single, "Porn Star Dancing," released on June 21, 2010. Kroeger appears in the "Porn Star Dancing" video, as does American rapper Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
and Black Label Society
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
frontman Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
.
History
The band was founded by Matt Walst in 20052005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
, who was born in Norwood, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and whose older brother, Brad Walst, is the bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
. Instead of playing in his brother's band, Matt decided to form one of his own with his friends Brendan McMillan on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Doug Oliver on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and Chris McMillan on lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
. Chris McMillan was later replaced by Paulo Neta. In 2009
2009 in music
The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...
, a friend introduced Walst to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
–based singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
–guitarist Sal Costa, who later became the band's guitarist, replacing Paulo Neta, who became the guitarist for Thornley
Thornley (band)
Thornley is a Canadian post-grunge/hard rock band formed by Ian Thornley in 2002. The band was started when Ian Thornley returned to Toronto after the breakup of his earlier band, Big Wreck. With the help of Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Thornley signed on to Kroeger's 604 Records...
. My Darkest Days has opened for many bands, including Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
, Default
Default
Default may refer to:*Default , the failure to do something required by law**Default judgment*Default , failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or to pay back a loan*Default , a preset setting or value...
, Theory of a Deadman
Theory of a Deadman
Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian rock band from Delta, British Columbia, formed in 2001. The band is currently signed to Roadrunner Records as well as Island Records. The band also includes traits of other music styles, such as country and acoustic, as well as their post-grunge and alternative...
, Skillet
Skillet (band)
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996. The band currently consists of husband and wife John and Korey Cooper , along with Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison. The band has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose...
, Papa Roach
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest . The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy , their platinum album Getting Away with Murder , The Paramour Sessions , and Metamorphosis...
, and Hinder
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma that was formed in 2001 by drummer Cody Hanson, guitarist Joe Garvey, and singer Austin Winkler. The band was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007.-Formation and early history:...
.
My Darkest Days won a contest called Rock Search put on by 97.7fm in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2008 with "Every Lie". This gave them time in a recording studio publicity in Niagara, Ontario.
When Chad Kroeger
Chad Kroeger
Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback...
heard My Darkest Days' music, he was so impressed he immediately signed them to his record label. 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
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
, lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Black Label Society
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
and a former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
. Kroeger and Wylde both appear in the video, which was filmed at the Hard Rock Las Vegas Vanity nightclub. There is also a remix of the single featuring American rapper Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
.
On their official Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page, My Darkest Days announced their debut eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous album was to be released on September 21, 2010. On that album, the song "Set It on Fire" features Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer/guitarist Orianthi
Orianthi
Orianthi Panagaris , better known simply as Orianthi, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is perhaps best known for being Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his ill-fated This Is It concert series. Her debut single "According to You" has peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8...
on lead guitar, known from her work with Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Also on the album is a collaboration with country-pop singer Jessie James, on the song "Come Undone".
The Saw 3D soundtrack released on October 26, 2010 features the single "The World Belongs to Me."
My Darkest Days was named the “Best New Band of 2010” by hardDriveXL after hitting the #1 spot on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks ranking, as well as #1 on FMQB
FMQB
Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...
’s Active Rock list.
In March of 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..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..
My Darkest Days’ first major–label single, “Porn Star Dancing,” went gold in Canada last month.
Current lineup
- Matt Walst – lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
(2005–present) - Sal Costa – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(2009–present) - Brendan McMillan – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2005–present) - Doug Oliver – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(2005–present) - Reid Henry – KeyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
, vocals (2010–present)
Former members
- Paulo Neta – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals (2005–2009) - Chris McMillan – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals (2009)
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Alt Billboard charts The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine... |
US Rock |
||
| My Darkest Days My Darkest Days (album) My Darkest Days is the debut album by Canadian rock band My Darkest Days, released on September 21, 2010. The album has sold more than 100,000 copies in the US and more than 20,000 in Canada... |
|
11 | 38 | 9 | 12 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Main |
US Alt |
US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
|||||
| 2010 | "Porn Star Dancing Porn Star Dancing Porn Star Dancing is the debut single by the Canadian rock band My Darkest Days from their debut self-titled album released on September 21, 2010 . The song spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Rock Songs chart where, on December 11, 2010, it peaked at number seven... " (featuring Zakk Wylde Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,... and Chad Kroeger Chad Kroeger Chad Robert Kroeger is aCanadian songwriter, singer, and guitarist best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band Nickelback... ) |
40 | 90 | 1 | 21 | 7 |
|
My Darkest Days | |
| 2011 | "Move Your Body" | — | — | 23 | — | 33 | |||
| "Every Lie" | — | — | 24 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Presenter | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Juno Awards of 2011 Juno Awards of 2011 The Juno Awards of 2011, honours Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2009 and in most of 2010. The awards presented in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 26 and 27 March 2011. A week of related events on 21 March 2011... |
New Group of the Year | |