3 DOORS DOWN
''US AND THE NIGHT''
MARCH 11 2016
37:55
**********
01 - The Broken 02:46
02 - In The Dark 03:43
03 - Still Alive 02:42
04 - Believe It 03:22
05 - Living In Your Hell 03:48
06 - Inside Of Me 03:45
07 - I Don't Wanna Know 03:24
08 - Pieces Of Me 03:38
09 - Love Is A Lie 02:47
10 - Us And The Night 03:59
11 - Fell From The Moon 03:56
All Tracks By Brad Arnold, Justin Biltonen, Chris Henderson, Chet Roberts, Greg Upchurch
**********
Brad Arnold/Vocals
Justin Biltonen/Bass
Aron Friedman/Keyboards, Programming
Chris Henderson/Guitar
Chet Roberts/Guitar, Programming
Greg Upchurch/Drums
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Last time we saw 3 Doors Down it was in 2011, when the post-alt quintet started to take stock of the onset of middle age on the monotone Time of My Life. Looking straight into the abyss caused the band to fracture, with the group losing founding member guitarist Matt Roberts and longtime bassist Todd Harrell, leaving vocalist Brad Arnold firmly at the helm. Arnold retained drummer Greg Upchurch, kicked Chris Henderson up to lead guitar, added new guitarist Chet Roberts and bassist Justin Biltonen, then hired renowned heavy rock producer Matt Wallace to make 2016's Us and the Night. Despite its nocturnal title, Us and the Night is by many measures a brighter affair than Time of My Life: the guitars are still cranked to the max and the rhythms would fill a stadium but the tenor is lighter, the band spending equal time on affirmations ("Everybody's got a right to change," they cry on "Believe It") and sly sleaze ("In the Dark" -- as in "She likes to do it in the dark" -- is Nickelback by any other name). If 3 Doors Down favor wide strokes over specificity, that only underscores how they're attracted to the elements that drift along in the mainstream current, appropriating shopworn mass culture so they can spin it into something bigger, louder, and simpler. To their credit, these instincts sound better here than they have on the last couple records because they embrace their essence, how they want to be broader and burlier than the rest, how they want reflection to seem like celebration and parties to be a dark night of the soul. This contradiction means the band remains an uneasy good time, but at least on Us and the Night the reconstituted 3 Doors Down have decided to look on the sunny side of life.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Stacia Proefrock
Hailing from the small town of Escatawpa, Mississippi, 3 Doors Down hit their peak in the 2000s with a string of post-grunge singles, most notably "Kryptonite," "When I'm Gone," and the ballad "Here Without You." "Kryptonite," with its minor-key shuffle and references to Superman, was the catalyst for the band's career, generating an unprecedented buzz at a local radio station -- Biloxi's WCPR -- during the band's independent days. Such support helped make 3 Doors Down a regional favorite, enabling them to draw relatively large crowds to their local live shows and, consequently, extending their popularity beyond the Deep South to internationally famous clubs like New York's CBGB.
The founding members of 3 Doors Down -- vocalist/drummer Brad Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts, and bassist Todd Harrell -- were raised in Escatawpa, a cozy town of 8,000 people. Although brought up in religious households, the musicians also felt the call of rock & roll at an early age, eventually forming a rock trio in 1994 to play a friend's backyard party. As the years progressed, so did the band's sound, and the group soon added guitarist Chris Henderson and retained a studio drummer so that Arnold could come forward and sing live. After touring the Gulf Coast's venues, the band made its way to New York, where a showcase at CBGB brought 3 Doors Down to the attention of Republic Records. A subsidiary of Universal, Republic Records signed the musicians and issued their major-label debut, The Better Life, in early 2000.
Away from the Sun
The Better Life became one of the biggest-selling albums of 2000, going platinum four times during its first year of release and spawning several singles. The band furthered its success with 2002's Away from the Sun, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top 200 and, like its predecessor, climbed to multi-platinum status. 3 Doors Down toured steadily throughout 2003 and 2004 in support of Away from the Sun, and issued the live EP Another 700 Miles in November 2003 as a holdover between studio efforts. The group returned with a heavier album, Seventeen Days, in early 2005. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and went platinum in its first week of release. A self-titled album, which followed in May 2008, repeated its predecessor's success when it too debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.
Time of My Life
3 Doors Down toured throughout 2009, released a digital-only acoustic holiday album at the end of the year, and began to work on their next album in 2010. With Howard Benson serving as producer, the guys shuttled themselves between L.A. and Tokyo, recording the album in both cities and eventually emerging with 2011's Time of My Life. The following year saw the release of the band's first Greatest Hits collection, which featured three brand-new tracks. These songs also offered fans their first look at incoming guitarist and former guitar tech Chet Roberts, who replaced founding member Matt Roberts (no relation). By 2013, bassist Todd Harrell had also departed, opening the door for another new member, Justin Biltonen. Sporting a new lineup, 3 Doors Down set about recording their sixth LP with producer Matt Wallace. Us and the Night appeared in March 2016.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************
''US AND THE NIGHT''
MARCH 11 2016
37:55
**********
01 - The Broken 02:46
02 - In The Dark 03:43
03 - Still Alive 02:42
04 - Believe It 03:22
05 - Living In Your Hell 03:48
06 - Inside Of Me 03:45
07 - I Don't Wanna Know 03:24
08 - Pieces Of Me 03:38
09 - Love Is A Lie 02:47
10 - Us And The Night 03:59
11 - Fell From The Moon 03:56
All Tracks By Brad Arnold, Justin Biltonen, Chris Henderson, Chet Roberts, Greg Upchurch
**********
Brad Arnold/Vocals
Justin Biltonen/Bass
Aron Friedman/Keyboards, Programming
Chris Henderson/Guitar
Chet Roberts/Guitar, Programming
Greg Upchurch/Drums
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Last time we saw 3 Doors Down it was in 2011, when the post-alt quintet started to take stock of the onset of middle age on the monotone Time of My Life. Looking straight into the abyss caused the band to fracture, with the group losing founding member guitarist Matt Roberts and longtime bassist Todd Harrell, leaving vocalist Brad Arnold firmly at the helm. Arnold retained drummer Greg Upchurch, kicked Chris Henderson up to lead guitar, added new guitarist Chet Roberts and bassist Justin Biltonen, then hired renowned heavy rock producer Matt Wallace to make 2016's Us and the Night. Despite its nocturnal title, Us and the Night is by many measures a brighter affair than Time of My Life: the guitars are still cranked to the max and the rhythms would fill a stadium but the tenor is lighter, the band spending equal time on affirmations ("Everybody's got a right to change," they cry on "Believe It") and sly sleaze ("In the Dark" -- as in "She likes to do it in the dark" -- is Nickelback by any other name). If 3 Doors Down favor wide strokes over specificity, that only underscores how they're attracted to the elements that drift along in the mainstream current, appropriating shopworn mass culture so they can spin it into something bigger, louder, and simpler. To their credit, these instincts sound better here than they have on the last couple records because they embrace their essence, how they want to be broader and burlier than the rest, how they want reflection to seem like celebration and parties to be a dark night of the soul. This contradiction means the band remains an uneasy good time, but at least on Us and the Night the reconstituted 3 Doors Down have decided to look on the sunny side of life.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Stacia Proefrock
Hailing from the small town of Escatawpa, Mississippi, 3 Doors Down hit their peak in the 2000s with a string of post-grunge singles, most notably "Kryptonite," "When I'm Gone," and the ballad "Here Without You." "Kryptonite," with its minor-key shuffle and references to Superman, was the catalyst for the band's career, generating an unprecedented buzz at a local radio station -- Biloxi's WCPR -- during the band's independent days. Such support helped make 3 Doors Down a regional favorite, enabling them to draw relatively large crowds to their local live shows and, consequently, extending their popularity beyond the Deep South to internationally famous clubs like New York's CBGB.
The founding members of 3 Doors Down -- vocalist/drummer Brad Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts, and bassist Todd Harrell -- were raised in Escatawpa, a cozy town of 8,000 people. Although brought up in religious households, the musicians also felt the call of rock & roll at an early age, eventually forming a rock trio in 1994 to play a friend's backyard party. As the years progressed, so did the band's sound, and the group soon added guitarist Chris Henderson and retained a studio drummer so that Arnold could come forward and sing live. After touring the Gulf Coast's venues, the band made its way to New York, where a showcase at CBGB brought 3 Doors Down to the attention of Republic Records. A subsidiary of Universal, Republic Records signed the musicians and issued their major-label debut, The Better Life, in early 2000.
Away from the Sun
The Better Life became one of the biggest-selling albums of 2000, going platinum four times during its first year of release and spawning several singles. The band furthered its success with 2002's Away from the Sun, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top 200 and, like its predecessor, climbed to multi-platinum status. 3 Doors Down toured steadily throughout 2003 and 2004 in support of Away from the Sun, and issued the live EP Another 700 Miles in November 2003 as a holdover between studio efforts. The group returned with a heavier album, Seventeen Days, in early 2005. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and went platinum in its first week of release. A self-titled album, which followed in May 2008, repeated its predecessor's success when it too debuted at the top of the Billboard 200.
Time of My Life
3 Doors Down toured throughout 2009, released a digital-only acoustic holiday album at the end of the year, and began to work on their next album in 2010. With Howard Benson serving as producer, the guys shuttled themselves between L.A. and Tokyo, recording the album in both cities and eventually emerging with 2011's Time of My Life. The following year saw the release of the band's first Greatest Hits collection, which featured three brand-new tracks. These songs also offered fans their first look at incoming guitarist and former guitar tech Chet Roberts, who replaced founding member Matt Roberts (no relation). By 2013, bassist Todd Harrell had also departed, opening the door for another new member, Justin Biltonen. Sporting a new lineup, 3 Doors Down set about recording their sixth LP with producer Matt Wallace. Us and the Night appeared in March 2016.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
********************