3 Doors Down: Time Of My Life

Radio-friendly road trip rock.

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Solid yet safe southern-twanged songwriting is what 3 Doors Down do best, and after nearly 15 years on the circuit, their fifth album Time Of My Life indicates that their radio-friendly, inoffensive rock sounds are here to stay.

Some tracks stand alone as potential hit singles in the making: the title number is a catchy Black Stone Cherry-style rock anthem; Race For The Sun is entirely southern, summery and upbeat; and the dreamy echoes of She Is Love remind us that the band are still capable of producing impressive ballads.

However, you can’t deny that when the album is played in its entirety, the similarities of the mid-tempo mopes make them mesh together. Furthermore, dry, generic and soppy ballads like Back To Me and What’s Left drag the album into dull territory.

Their decision to rely on such sounds is all the more aggravating when final track and album highlight Believer bursts with fast-paced punk undertones that both surprise and impress, proving that 3 Doors Down are perfectly capable of experimentation and need more confidence in leaving those bland ballads behind.

Hannah May Kilroy

Hannah May Kilroy has been writing about music professionally for over a decade, covering everything from extreme metal to country. She was deputy editor at Prog magazine for over five years, and previously worked on the editorial teams at Terrorizer and Kerrang!. She currently works as the production editor for The Art Newspaper, and also writes for the Guardian, Classic Rock and Metal Hammer.  

Latest in
Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024
Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play
Robert Smith, Lauren Mayberry, Bono
How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide
Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024
Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue
The Beatles in 1962
"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal
The Mars Volta
“My totalitarian rule might not be cool, but at least we’ve made interesting records. At least we polarise people”: It took The Mars Volta three years and several arguments to make Noctourniquet
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Latest in Review
/news/the-darkness-i-hate-myself
"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town
Sex Pistols at the RAH
"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more
Arch Enemy posing in an alleyway
Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass
The Darkness press shot
"Not just one of the best British rock albums of all time, but one of the best debut albums ever made": That time The Darkness added a riot of colour to a grey musical landscape
Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux Deluxe Box Set
“The live recording sees the piece come to life… amid the sepulchral gloom there are moments of real beauty”: Roger Waters' Super Deluxe Box Set of his Dark Side Of The Moon Redux
Cradle Of Filth Press Shot 2025
Twiddly Iron Maiden harmonies, thrash riffs, horror, rapping (kind of) and sexy goth allure: The Screaming Of The Valkyries is peak Cradle Of Filth