If you were alive and even semi-conscious in the year 2000, you undoubtedly heard "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down. It was inescapable. The song and the debut album from which it leapt, The Better Life, defied the laws of gravity. Both clung to the top of any given chart--album, singles, multi-format radio--for most of that year and beyond. "Kryptonite," in more ways than one, was like the dude Brad Arnold was singing about: Superman. The song struck a huge literal and figurative chord with the populace, a full year before America truly needed a superhero. But who knew that then? Two years, four #1 singles, a couple of world tours, unprecedented radio success, multiple big award nominations, and a bazillion album sales later (alright, it shifted 6 million, but who's counting except the RIAA?), 3 Doors Down are back with their new album, "Away From the Sun."

Produced by Rick Parashar (Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Blind Melon), Away From the Sun finds 3 Doors Down back with a vengeance and ready to rock. Most bands feel pressure to sidestep the dreaded sophomore slump, the expectations of the millions of listeners who'd purchased the debut, but Brad didn't have any worries. He had compelling subject matter: All that time spent on the road. "A lot of the lyrics on Away From The Sun are about loneliness," admits Brad. "On tour, you really have nothing but time on your hands. I was feeding off those feelings of isolation. With these songs, I wanted to convey to the listener that he or she is not alone--there are a lot of people who feel the same way." "The band has grown a lot on the road," he adds. "Our sound is different now," says Matt. " The music has grown. In one word, it's better." One listen to the first single, "When I'm Gone" and you'll agree.

Away From the Sun continues 3 Doors Down's evolution to rock band supreme. "Dynamically, our sound is bigger," says guitarist Chris Henderson. [We've] come a long way from where they began but never strayed from their original goal which was to "make rock n' roll and good ol' American music."