Mississippi’s 3 Doors Down makes top-notch second-rank rock: “Kryptonite,” the big one from their 2000 debut The Better Life, married cleanly corrosive guitars, efficient rock-dude vocals, a Nickelback chorus that actually swung, and a snare-drum riff that made it easy to pick out on the radio. Away From the Sun, the band’s latest, is less distinctive — slower tempos, Rick Parashar’s anonymous production, no snare riffs — but it still shows how capable of filling a slot these guys are. Lead single “When I’m Gone” could be the score for a zillion angry Friday-night drives away from home or her or whatever.
