Seventeen Days

Hailing from the small town of Escatawpa, MS, 3 Doors Down (3DD) forged a major-label contract using popular live shows and the reputation of a single song – their rote post-grunge hit Kryptonite generated unprecedented buzz at local radio stations and later in internationally famous clubs. Next hit single When I'm Gone resonated in particular with American military personnel and their families, who identified with lyrics like "Hold me when I'm here" and "Love me when I'm gone" as deployment to Iraq became imminent in spring 2003. Even President Bush became a fan of 3DD. That populism guides Seventeen Days, the Mississippi band's third full-length album, written in a spirited 17 days. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and went platinum in its first week of release. Its liner notes connect to a cross-section of U.S. culture, thanking NFL quarterbacks and major league ballplayers alongside Tim McGraw, Metallica, Dale Earnhart Jr., and "our troops everywhere."

Away From the Sun's Southern rock flourishes have been broadened to create an album that's purely American, built from meaty power chords and everyman lyrics that search for redemption in plain-faced terms. It's no surprise that Bob Seger, heartland crier from another era, guests on Landing in London. It's not the weary traveler's anthem Seger's Turn the Page is – London's keening strings can't replace the pain and longing of Alto Reed's saxophone wail. But 3 Doors Down try their best, and Seger's rough tenor riding shotgun makes the song more memorable. When I'm Gone's template repeats throughout Seventeen Days. Lead single Let Me Go has the usual quieter verses building to a strong chorus, with easily identifiable lyrics like "You love me/But you don't know who I am." Be Somebody and Real Life use similar pieces, aligning thick distortion choruses next to brooding verses and lyrics about finding one's own road. The harder-charging guitars of Never Will I Break and Right Where I Belong reference Alice in Chains' legacy, Father's Son is a morality tale in more quiet/loud dynamics, and My World amplifies Southern rock capably. Comparisons to Skynyrd are inevitable (and likely welcome): frontman Brad Arnold owns a healthy dose of the late Ronnie Van Zant's grit, personality and menace. But even with a healthy respect for heritage, 3DD is a thoroughly modern American band, and a good one. 3DD have hit on a formula that works very well for them. It's a great framework for Brad Arnold's earnest lyrics, and the heavy bass and rousing guitar melodies by Matt Roberts and Todd Harrell ensure plenty of radio play. It's not unique, and the songs tend to run together. But they're heartfelt, and easily fill the average American's rock & roll quota.