Us and the Night is the sixth studio album by American rock band 3 Doors Down, released on March 11, 2016. It is 3 Doors Down's first studio album since Time of My Life (2011), marking the longest gap between two studio albums up to that point in their career, and the band's first album with Chet Roberts on lead guitar and Justin Biltonen on bass. The album received mixed reviews from critics. Us and the Night debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned three singles: "In the Dark", "Still Alive", and "The Broken". To promote the record, the band headlined tours across Europe and North America.

Us and the Night
The cover consists of the band in a forest covered in shadows, with white smoke behind them. The band's logo and album title appear above them, both colored in white.
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 11, 2016[1]
RecordedMay–July 2015
StudioRivergate Studios[1]
(Nashville, Tennessee)
Blackbird Studio
(Nashville, Tennessee)
GenreAlternative rock
Length37:48 (standard edition)
44:48 (deluxe edition)
LabelRepublic
ProducerMatt Wallace[1]
3 Doors Down chronology
Time of My Life
(2011)
Us and the Night
(2016)
Singles from Us and the Night
  1. "In the Dark"
    Released: January 15, 2016[2]
  2. "Still Alive"
    Released: May 30, 2016
  3. "The Broken"
    Released: November 2016[3]

Background

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On June 17, 2015, Chris Henderson announced that the new album would be titled Us and the Night.[4] The release date was announced on January 7, 2016.[1]

Promotion

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On May 3, 2016, 3 Doors Down announced a 13-city European tour to support the album, starting on October 19 at Berlin's Columbiahalle and finishing on November 6 at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Pop Evil were a supporting act on all dates and Fallen State performed on the U.K. dates.[5][6] On May 16, the band announced a 24-city summer-fall U.S. tour, beginning on August 26 at Charleston's Municipal Auditorium and finishing on November 12 at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort, with Pop Evil and Red Sun Rising as supporting acts.[7] On January 20, 2017, the band announced a Canadian leg of their tour, starting on March 9 at Moncton's Casino New Brunswick and ending on March 19 at Enoch's River Cree Resort & Casino.[8]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic51/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]
Consequence of SoundC−[11]
Renowned for Sound     [12]

Us and the Night garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 51, based on 4 reviews.[9]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted how the album was "a brighter affair than Time of My Life", giving credit to the band for favoring "wide strokes over specificity" with their lyrical content and instrumentation, concluding that "[T]his contradiction means the band remains an uneasy good time, but at least on Us and the Night the reconstituted 3 Doors Down have decided to look on the sunny side of life."[10] Jessica Thomas from Renowned for Sound commented about the overall feel throughout the record's track listing: "While there’s nothing necessarily bad or unpleasant about its content or delivery, there just isn’t anything new or exciting either. Each track falls into the rut of being entirely too similar, and from the thematic material to production, there’s just too much familiarity to discern from one track to the next."[12] Consequence of Sound writer Adam Kivel also gave a critique on the band's lyricism throughout the album: "Arnold’s lyrics latch onto tired tropes and clichéd rhymes, rather than offering any sort of narrative or emotional specificity. None of the songs are terrible, but none of them make much of an impression."[11]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200,[13] number two on Top Rock Albums chart,[14] and number one on the Independent Albums chart, with 24,000 copies sold on its first week of release.[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by 3 Doors Down

No.TitleLength
1."The Broken"2:46
2."In the Dark"3:43
3."Still Alive"2:41
4."Believe It"3:21
5."Living in Your Hell"3:48
6."Inside of Me"3:45
7."I Don't Wanna Know"3:24
8."Pieces of Me"3:38
9."Love Is a Lie"2:47
10."Us and the Night"3:59
11."Fell from the Moon"3:56
Total length:37:48
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Found Me There"3:22
13."Walk Before You Run"3:38

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the album's booklet.[16]

3 Doors Down

  • Brad Arnold – lead vocals
  • Chet Roberts – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Chris Henderson – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Justin Biltonen – bass
  • Greg Upchurch – drums

Technical

  • Matt Wallace – producer, engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing engineer
  • Nik Karpen – assistant mix engineer
  • Ernesto Olvera – assistant engineer
  • Marshall Bastin – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Chart performance

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Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released
Title Year Peak chart positions
US
Main. Rock

[28]
"In the Dark" 2016 2
"Still Alive" 6
"The Broken" 36

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "New Album, Us and the Night, Available March 11th!". Three Doors Down. January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  2. ^ Childers, Chad (January 15, 2016). "3 Doors Down Unveil New Song 'In The Dark'". Loudwire. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "3 Doors Down "The Broken"". Republic Records. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Bowar, Chad (June 17, 2015). "3 Doors Down Reveal 'Us and the Night' Album Title". Loudwire. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  5. ^ "3 Doors Down Announce Plans To Tour Europe In October/November 2016". Red Light Management. May 3, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "3 Doors Down - Us And The Night UK Tour". Red Guitar Music. November 2, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Childers, Chad (May 16, 2016). "3 Doors Down Reveal Summer/Fall Tour 2016 U.S. Tour With Pop Evil + Red Sun Rising". Loudwire. Archived from the original on October 13, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Slingerland, Calum (January 20, 2017). "3 Doors Down Are Taking Some Serious Heat Over Their Upcoming Canadian Shows". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews for Us and the Night by 3 Doors Down". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Us and the Night - 3 Doors Down". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Kivel, Adam (March 11, 2016). "3 Doors Down – Us and the Night". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Thomas, Jessica (March 24, 2016). "Album Review: 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night". Renowned for Sound. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  13. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. April 2, 2016. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "Rock Albums". Billboard. April 2, 2016. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (March 24, 2016). "Killswitch Engage, 3 Doors Down Lead Veteran Debuts on Rock Albums Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Us and the Night (booklet). 3 Doors Down. Republic. 2016. B0024575-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "Australiancharts.com – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  20. ^ "3 Doors Down Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – 3 Doors Down – Us and the Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  25. ^ "3 Doors Down Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  26. ^ "3 Doors Down Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  27. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  28. ^ "3 Doors Down Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2020.