TORONTO - To some, Three Days Grace is one of several bands who readily churn out thick, guitar-soaked sonic sludge which rock radio stations and a few million eagerly lap up.

But to fans of the Ontario quartet, it's more like sledgehammer rock, beating you about the head with beefy, brawny riffs and equally large choruses.

Opening a sold-out, two-night stand at Toronto's Kool Haus Thursday evening, Three Days Grace executed this blueprint to a tee before the youthful, party-hard crowd routinely pumping their fists or giving lead singer Adam Gontier and company the devil horn salute.

Touring behind its 2006 sophomore album One-X, the foursome opened with the crunchy Animal I Have Become that had Gontier pacing the stage in a black t-shirt, black pants and fingerless black gloves. After getting the crowd to sing along for the leadoff tune, and making the first of many "make some f--king noise" edicts, the group went immediately into the slightly more deliberate Pain which briefly sapped the momentum.

While much of the songs seem to rely on Gontier's occasional growls and the work of mohawk-sporting guitarist Barry Stock, bassist Brad Walst and drummer Neil Sanderson also held their own during Let It Die. Aside from the lighting guys, Sanderson might have had the best seat in the house perched on a rather lofty drum riser.

"How you guys feeling? Everyone good?" Gontier asked a few songs in, sounding like a host making sure everyone was taken care of. Fortunately, Gontier has taken care of his own problems after an addiction battle with pain medication a few years ago. And while physically fine, the themes of isolation and depression are at the core of much of the tunes such as Drown and Wake Up, the latter described as a song about "trying to get a second chance."

With Gontier by himself and seated with acoustic guitar, Three Days Grace opened and closed its mini unplugged section with a cover of Alice In Chains' Rooster that the crowd loudly provided backing vocals for. This was the lone light musical moment however as they quickly got down to the testosterone-fuelled rock again with the breakthrough hit I Hate Everything About You, a song rarely played at wedding receptions.

As more crowd surfers appeared, the band basically hit the homestretch with the adequate one-two punch of Get Out Alive and Never Too Late which fared a bit better. But these paled compared to Scared off the band's 2003 self-titled album. Demanding everyone jump during this particular hard rock romp, Gontier spent portions of the song wielding a large spotlight and aiming it around the audience.

After a little more than an hour, Three Days Grace changed things up slightly with Riot that had a lot of the crowd jumping around for, highlighting a noisy night by a journeyman-like Canadian outfit.

Opening for Three Days Grace was Seether, a trio who come off like some mash-up of Nickelback and Nirvana. Lead singer Shaun Morgan and his henchmen were solid for most of its 45-minute set featuring Rise Above This, Like Suicide and Gasoline.