Saint Asonia

Lore & Background

Saint Asonia formed in 2015 after Adam Gontier left Three Days Grace in 2013. Gontier and Staind guitarist Mike Mushok began writing songs together in April 2014 without intending to form a band, but after writing 11-12 tracks and recording a three-song demo, they attracted interest from RCA Records. They recruited former Finger Eleven drummer Rich Beddoe and former Dark New Day bassist Corey Lowery to complete the lineup. The band released their debut single 'Better Place' on May 15, 2015, and made their live debut at Rock on the Range the following day. Their self-titled debut album was released on July 31, 2015, and sold 13,000 copies in its first week.

Lineup changes occurred over the years: Rich Beddoe left in June 2017 and was replaced by Mike Mushok's former Staind bandmate Sal Giancarelli. Corey Lowery departed in summer 2018 to join Seether and was replaced by Adam Gontier's cousin Cale Gontier. In January 2020, Cody Watkins replaced Sal Giancarelli on drums. The band released their second studio album 'Flawed Design' on October 25, 2019, and later released two EPs, 'Introvert' (July 1, 2022) and 'Extrovert' (November 18, 2022), compiled as 'Introvert/Extrovert' on December 9, 2022.

Saint Asonia went on hiatus in October 2024 after Adam Gontier rejoined Three Days Grace full-time. The band stated the hiatus was temporary and that they would be back soon.

Reader's Guide

Saint Asonia's significance lies in its formation as a supergroup bringing together members from prominent rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s, particularly Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace and Mike Mushok from Staind. Their debut album achieved commercial success, topping the US Top Hard Rock Albums chart and reaching number 29 on the Billboard 200. The band's music, described as post-grunge and hard rock with catchy vocal melodies, continued the sound of their members' previous projects while establishing their own identity. Their second album 'Flawed Design' was inspired by the deaths of Gord Downie, Chris Cornell, and Chester Bennington, reflecting a more personal and somber tone. Despite lineup changes, the band maintained a consistent presence on rock radio and toured extensively with acts like Seether, Disturbed, Alter Bridge, and Breaking Benjamin. Their temporary hiatus in 2024 following Gontier's return to Three Days Grace left their future uncertain, but their catalog remains a notable entry in 2010s rock music.

Did You Know?

• The band's name was chosen because members felt like 'refugees that just hit it off creatively.'
• Their debut album sold 13,000 copies in its first week and topped the US Top Hard Rock Albums chart.
• The band's second studio album 'Flawed Design' was inspired by Gord Downie, Chris Cornell, and Chester Bennington.

Origins: Two Songwriters, One Accidental Supergroup

Saint Asonia did not begin as a calculated project. In April 2014, Staind guitarist Mike Mushok and Adam Gontier—fresh off his 2013 exit from Three Days Grace—started trading riffs and melodies in Toronto with no plan to launch a band. By the time they tallied eleven or twelve finished tracks, the chemistry was undeniable. A three-song demo caught the ear of RCA Records, and the duo quickly filled out the roster with Finger Eleven alumnus Rich Beddoe on drums and Dark New Day bassist Corey Lowery. The group's first public teaser in early May 2015 leaned into their collective pedigree, noting that the four members had collectively shared twenty-five top-ten rock singles, seventeen of them chart-toppers. Gontier later described the group as 'more like refugees that just hit it off creatively.' Their debut single 'Better Place' dropped on May 15, 2015, and the following day they took the Rock on the Range main stage as a special guest opener—a fitting curtain-raiser for a band born from serendipity rather than strategy.

Debut Momentum: Charting and Touring in 2015–2016

The self-titled debut arrived on July 31, 2015, through RCA Records, carrying eleven tracks produced by Johnny K. The lead single 'Better Place' climbed to number eight on the US Mainstream Rock chart and number nine on the Canada Rock chart, while the follow-up 'Let Me Live My Life' hit the airwaves in mid-July. The album itself peaked at number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200, moving thirteen thousand copies in its first week, and claimed the top spot on the US Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Momentum translated quickly into touring: Saint Asonia headlined their own August 2015 run, then opened for Seether through the fall. By February 2016 they were the opening act for the first leg of Disturbed's 2016 tour, a significant step up in profile. Between headline dates the band also explored covers, posting a rendition of Phil Collins' 'I Don't Care Anymore' to YouTube in late April 2016 before it appeared on the iTunes Store in early May. For a group that had only started writing together a year and a half earlier, the trajectory from bedroom demos to major-tour support slots was remarkably steep.

Shuffling the Deck: Lineup Changes and Flawed Design

Saint Asonia's early stability proved temporary. In June 2017, drummer Rich Beddoe departed on good terms to pursue other projects, and by July 12 the band was on stage with Sal Giancarelli—Mushok's longtime Staind bandmate—behind the kit. The next shake-up came in the summer of 2018 when bassist Corey Lowery left to rejoin Seether full-time; his seat went to Cale Gontier, Adam's cousin and the bassist for Art of Dying. With the lineup solidified, the group signed with Spinefarm Records in February 2019 and entered the studio with producer Brian Sperber. The resulting album, Flawed Design, was announced alongside the single 'Beast' in September 2019 and released on October 25 of that year. Its lead single, 'The Hunted,' featured Sully Erna and dropped in July. Flawed Design reached number 171 on the Billboard 200. The drum chair would change once more on January 26, 2020, when Cody Watkins of Art of Dying stepped in to replace Giancarelli, giving the band a fresh rhythmic foundation heading into an uncertain year.

The Long Tail: EPs, Pandemic Disruptions, and a Sudden Hiatus

The years following Flawed Design brought both creative output and external disruption. In March 2020 the band played three Canadian dates with The Standstills, but their planned spring opening slot for Alter Bridge's Walk the Sky tour was postponed and their summer run with Breaking Benjamin was cancelled, both casualties of the pandemic. They resurfaced with a cover of The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' in November 2021, then pushed forward with the single 'Above It All' in May 2022 and two companion EPs—Introvert (July 2022) and Extrovert (November 2022)—later combined into a physical release with bonus tracks in December. Touring resumed in 2023 on the Rock Resurrection tour alongside Theory of a Deadman and Skillet, followed by the Devastate Tour and a co-headlining US run with Black Stone Cherry in early 2024. Yet on September 13, 2024, the group withdrew from Theory of a Deadman's Unplugged Tour citing personal matters. Days later, on October 3, Gontier announced his full-time return to Three Days Grace, and Saint Asonia declared a temporary hiatus, promising they would return.

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