Biography: Our Lady Peace

Formed in 1992 by frontman Raine Maida and guitarist Mike Turner, Our Lady Peace (OLP) quickly became a Canadian music powerhouse with the release of 1994's Naveed.

Following in the footsteps of grunge, OLP immediately earned comparisons to Stone Temple Pilots and even Led Zeppelin, due to their angst and raw sound.

Led by Maida’s unique vocals, almost in the same vein of Billy Corgan, OLP’s sophomore effort, Clumsy, debuted in 1997 and went on to reach platinum status in the U.S. Singles such as “Clumsy” and “Superman’s Dead” helped lift the band into the mainstream in the States with a more alternative sound. Also with Clumsy came a change at bass, with Duncan Coutts (who was intended to be the band’s first bassist) replacing Chris Eacrett.

In 1999, Our Lady Peace released Happiness… Is Not A Fish You Can Catch, more of a classic rocker than their first two albums.

Perhaps OLP’s most critically acclaimed album, Spiritual Machines, came in 2000. Often called "a poor man’s OK Computer," Spiritual Machines was a concept album loosely based on author Ray Kurzweil’s book, "The Age of Spiritual Machines." As acclaimed as the album may have been, its sales were the worst the band had experienced to that point, and OLP made two major changes.

Before their 2002 comeback album, Gravity, founding member Turner left due to creative differences and was replaced by Steve Mazur. Also out was longtime producer Arnold Lanni, and in was Bob Rock. With these two moves came a major change in sound, as OLP turned more radio-friendly, off the success of their biggest hit, “Somewhere Out There.”

Most notably, Maida’s falsetto was virtually nowhere to be seen on Gravity, as opposed to the previous four albums, where it was a staple. The album would go gold in the US, and OLP would continue working with Bob Rock for their 2005 album, Healthy in Paranoid Times.

Healthy in Paranoid Times was a difficult album for the band, as they admittedly almost broke up numerous times while recording it. Most notable was Maida’s strained relationship with Bob Rock, and the album would be the band’s last with the producer. With Rock gone, OLP released a greatest-hits album, A Decade, to fulfill their contract with Sony, and the band then went independent and worked out of Maida’s studio.

In 2009, the band released their latest album, Burn Burn, more of a stripped-down rocker.

Our Lady Peace is working on their eighth studio album and have stated that they are revisiting their past records for influence.