The stronger songwriting on 3 Doors Down's multi-platinum sophomore effort, Away from the Sun, was encouraging, especially after the rote post-grunge of their 2000 breakthrough, "Kryptonite." But the hit single "When I'm Gone" resonated in particular with American military personnel and their families, who identified with lyrics like "Hold me when I'm here" and "Love me when I'm gone" as deployment to Iraq became imminent in spring 2003. That populism guides Seventeen Days, the Mississippi band's third full-length album. Its liner notes connect to a cross-section of U.S. culture, thanking NFL quarterbacks and major league ballplayers alongside Tim McGraw, Metallica, Dale Earnhart Jr., and "our troops everywhere." And Away From the Sun's Southern rock flourishes have been broadened to creat...