3 Doors Down: Brad Arnold (vocals, drums); Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson (guitar); Todd Harrell (bass).

Additional personnel: Kevin Paige (keyboards).

Recorded at Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee.

"Kryptonite" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

The success story of 3 Doors Down starts typically enough. An aggressive and unrelenting phone campaign to radio stations for their breakaway single "Kryptonite" snowballed into a showcase at New York's legendary CBGB's and a deal with Universal Records. The Escatawpa, Missouri quartet offers a sound that is grounded in '90s alternative rock but doesn't ignore the contributions of hard-rock music's foundations from the '60s and '70s.

"Loser" finds 3 Doors Down using Alice In Chains-influenced minor-key vocal harmonies and acoustic-then-electric dynamics. In "Duck and Run," vocalist/lyricist Brad Arnold urges fans to remain positive despite life's trials. The delicate balance of human relations is explored in "Not Enough." In "Be Like That," Arnold sings of a daydreamer's envy, sounding like a heavier Matchbox 20. Though the band began as a power trio, with Arnold on drums and vocals, 3 Doors Down added a second guitarist and a drummer to fatten its sound for THE BETTER LIFE.

Entertainment Weekly (6/2/00, pp.78-9) - "...Shows the boys have assiduously studied the Metallica/Pearl Jam/Creed oeuvres. At its swaggering best, LIFE crackles with energy and crowd-pleasing choruses..." - Rating: B-

Q (12/00, p.136) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A bolt-together Stone Temple Alice in Pearl Jam's Soundgarden hybrid....this is rock for people who wear woolen muscle vests and worry about hair products..."