3 Doors Down
The Better Life

THE REVIEW

It is February of the year 2000 when four friends from Escatawpa, Mississippi, release their first album. The group in question is called 3 Doors Down and the album is "The Better Life."

The original lineup of 3DD is led by the singer (and unusually also the drummer, in the studio) Brad Arnold, followed by the two guitarists, Matt Roberts and Chris Henderson, and the bassist, Todd Harrel.

The song that best reminds us of the 3 Doors Down of "The Better Life" is undoubtedly the debut single "Kryptonite": the song starts with a light guitar arpeggio and then evolves into an energetic chorus with distorted guitars. The lyrics of this track are comic-inspired as it talks about an unspecified Superman... a clever play on words with the pronunciation between "Kryptonite," (the kryptonite), and "crypto night," which means being hidden by the night.

If "Kryptonite" is a crescendo of melodic energy, other tracks like "Life On My Own" and "By my side" are overwhelming from the start, especially "By my side" certainly among the best songs of the album with a precise Arnold and the guitar duo in great shape: perhaps the most technical song of the album.

There are then tracks that do convince, yes, but only to a certain extent like the rhythmic, well-played, and well-sung "Smack" and "Better Life" but quite monotonous whereas "So I Need You" and "Not Enough" pleasantly mix more energetic sounds with more melodic ones, making them enjoyable but without leaving a mark.

"The better life" is a fairly heterogeneous album as demonstrated by "Be Like That," the "black sheep" of the LP because it is the only romantic ballad close to pop. This track achieved good success accompanying the movie "American Pie 2": an interesting song thanks to Arnold's almost whispered beautiful voice and the violin arrangement in the final part.

"Down Poison" represents the true weak point of the album because it is neither one thing nor another: not melodic, not technical, not energetic, and not even well sung by Arnold who redeems himself greatly in "Loser" and "Duck And Run."

In these two songs, the singer-drummer showcases a voice with a somewhat dark, sad, angry, desperate, and sometimes almost weeping tone, as in "Loser" characterized by a well-placed metal interlude in the middle of the song, and as in "Duck and Run" where gritty guitar accompaniments make the verses stronger than the chorus.

These are 3 Doors Down, a band that did not bring anything new to rock but well applied the teachings of the post-grunge era with heart and technique. In the future, the guys from Minnesota will tend to commercialize their sound without, however, losing their identity or becoming banal, unlike their Canadian cousins Nickelback.