Adam Gontier Says He Was in a ‘Dark Place’ When He Left Three Days Grace in 2013: ‘I Couldn’t Do It’ (Exclusive)

• Three Days Grace announced the return of original lead singer Adam Gontier in October
• Gontier, who left the band in 2013, opens up to PEOPLE about his exit and journey to sobriety
• The rocker opens up about his experience making music with the band again — and how they’ve checked their “egos at the door”

It’s “Never Too Late” to return to your roots — just ask Adam Gontier.

Over a decade after Gontier, 46, left Three Days Grace in 2013, the rocker is back and opening up his exit, the catalyst for his seven-year sobriety and what it’s like returning to the band as a co-lead singer.

“I think emotionally and physically and spiritually, I was in a really dark place. We had been touring nonstop. It felt like for so long, and there was so much that had compounded for me. Mainly I was just not healthy,” Gontier, who once developed an addiction to painkillers, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“At the time, I just felt like I couldn’t do it and I needed to look after myself,” he continues. “I had to stop the machine from rolling — at least from my end. It felt like a giant machine. I was in the middle of it, getting thrown around.”

Gontier — who was a founding member of the rock band in 1992 — left Three Days Grace in January 2013. At the time, the band cited unspecified health issues for his departure and Matt Walst came in as his replacement. Gontier later addressed the speculation about his health in a letter to fans, according to Loudwire.

“It is important for me to address any concerns regarding my health being connected to drugs or addiction. The truth is, when I was struggling during that dark time in my life, I hit rock bottom, and I had the kindest of people reach out from all over the world, and reach their hands out to help pick me up,” he wrote at the time, per the outlet. “I am so blessed to be walking in the light now. I am reminded of your loyalty, always. The truth is, and I’m very proud to say this…, I am sober. That chapter in my life is over.”

He added, “After twenty years of being part of an ever evolving band, I have been inspired by life, to move on and to continue to evolve on my own terms. I could not be more grateful for all the souls who have travelled along with me.”

Looking back, Gontier says his exit “could have been done a little bit more noble.” However, at the time, he was “too deep into myself and what I needed and wasn’t concerned about anybody else.” He also admits he had a lot of “living to do.”

“Things change over the years — and here we are,” he says now.

During his time away from the band, Gontier joined Saint Asona as their lead singer and had his first child in 2017, which served as the official “catalyst” for his sobriety.

“I’ve changed my focus and I’m much more present… that was a big thing that I wasn’t for many years. It was all about me and what I needed and what I wanted. I think the best thing about being a dad is you get out of yourself. It’s not about you anymore. And that’s really changed my life for the better,” he says of his two kids, who are ages 3 and 7.

Gontier has been sober for seven years now and maintains it by remaining in “the right environment” and surrounding himself with the right people. Still, he acknowledges that it is an “every day” choice.

Over the pandemic, founding member Brad Walst — with whom he reconnected over the years — reached out to him and asked if he’d be interested in returning to the band as co-lead singer with Brad’s younger brother Matt. Gontier was in.

Fast forward, the band announced Gontier’s return in October 2024 and they released a new song, “Mayday,” in November.

“It’s been pretty seamless. It is very natural because we were all really tight growing up,” Gontier says, adding that they’ve “checked all our egos at the door.”

He continues, “We just want to make the best music we can and put on the best show we can.”

The band is currently working on an album and Gontier says it’ll still be their “angsty, riffy, heavy vibe” but they’re also “trying to explore some different lanes.” Beginning in February, the band will also embark on a tour across the U.S. that wraps in July. See tour dates here.

“Having the two singers, it really gives us a unique opportunity to try different things and try different melodies and all sorts of stuff. So it’s really exciting and it’s really been a lot of fun,” he says of the album.

Listen to “Mayday” here.