In 2015, Taken for Granted released their first studio album, made solely and entirely by one man only: Maxime Toussaint. At the time, Taken for Granted was a one-man band, but since Maxime wanted to play live, he decided to turn it into a full-pledge band.  
   
It all started in 2014, when singer/songwriter Maxime Toussaint, 16 at the time, decided to launch his first album, which was called Until Now. The entire album was written, recorded and mixed in Max's basement. While recording the album, Max had an idea that would be the beginning of a new journey: why not put up a show to celebrate the project's success! A temporary band was formed for that show. When Maxime entered college, he met Raphaël Girouard-Laflamme, a guitarist with which he had a cover band, and showed him some of his songs. Raph was rather enthusiastic, and proposed to launch a permanent band with the other members of the cover band and the two other members. That's how, in early 2016, Taken for Granted was formed, with Gabriel Lefebvre (Vocals), Alexis Thivierge (Keyboards), Xavier Paquette (Bass) and Louis Nadeau (Drums).
   
Taken for Granted takes his inspiration from pop/punk bands like Simple Plan and All Time Low, but also from more metal bands such as Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace, blending heavy guitar sounds with more pop-like melodies that have nothing to envy to the top-10 radio hits. Often, Max has been told that his voice sounded like Chester Bennington's from Linkin Park, while still keeping a noticeable difference that allows him to keep his own identity in his singing.  
   
For the future, Taken for Granted sees big: they are currently working on many aspects of the project at once, being in the process of writing their first full-band album while getting gigs to play live, in order to get their name out there. Like Maxime says: 'Our goal is, for now, to gain more popularity in Montreal, but the real objective is to get through the mass and show the whole world what we do.' A pretty ambitious plan, but far from being impossible, and they believe they have what it takes.  
   
'In the end, it all comes down to showing who we are,' says Maxime. 'When I write my songs, I don't think about what people want to hear, but rather what I want to say. When I sing, it's imperative for me that I get in a position where I can feel the songs, not just sing them. And I hope that can translate to all and every single person that listens to my songs, because nothing makes me more proud than knowing I made it though to other people's hearts. That, for me, - and I'm sure the others agree with me - is the sole reason I play.'

Taken For Granted