Reviews (page 2 of 7)
This was great. I only know the couple Kings of Leon songs that were radio hits (and I liked them), but the rest of these songs had the same laid back yet rockin' vibe that I associate with them. I loved this album and listened to it twice. Five stars.
Nostalgia
insane nostalgia for me
Not a bad track. Love the drumming. Can’t fault it- has its own sound and definitely original, great album.
5 sterne
Great, now Use Somebody will be stuck in my head for the next 48 hours.
Yes
diossss, nunca lo he escuchado completo pero amo amo amo las canciones de este álbum, mera chimba, no tengo quejas, puros temazos
Fabulous.
This album is such a banger. Interesting lines, cool drum parts. Bass drum gets a bit too active for my taste at times but a great record all around. 5
Probably one of my favorite albums of all time! Every song is a banger and flows so perfectly from the first note to the last! Also remember when my buddy first showed me these guys! Blew my mind!
Good
Includes the iconic "sex on fire" and "use somebody" - all the songs were super solid, great album
Loved most of the songs
2009 me was a big fan of this album.
Cracking opening song. I know all these tunes! Super horny, dirty guitar licks. Amazing sound. Love this so much more than the other album on this list.
!!!!!! !!!! no notes !!!!!
Honestly, you forget how good this album is and before you know it you haven’t skipped a song and your and play 2 all the way through again.
Awesome lp!
Mood/Vibe: the last of the 2000s indie rock and roll Standout Tracks: All of them? No skip album. Sex On Fire & Use Somebody still deserve their flowers but Cold Desert & Notion have been added to the rotation. Replay? Immediate replay to really let the album sink in. Even better the second time around. Opening/Closing Songs: The opening track is Closer and what a great introduction. We get a clear understanding of the vibe of the album, funky synth sounds mixed with that heavy guitar that permeates the album. Solid open and a personal favourite. The closing track is Cold Desert. I love the fade out and fade back in. A last moment, a last hurrah. A triumphant ending to a triumphant album. Notes: The opening song gives me Imagine Dragons vibes. This album was owned by my mother I believe? Perhaps dad, but either way it was an album that got plays in our house in the late 2000s/early 2010’s. As a result this, listening to this album was washed with brilliant nostalgia mixed in with an adult appreciation of music and what makes it so fucking good. What a brilliant album to begin this project with. 5 stars for memorable, enjoyable, nostalgic, guitar-heavy, late-2000s masterpiece.
A really good album that is completely new to me. The singers voice and the space they leave between the singing in a lot of the songs is great. It feels very thoughtfully done. Definitely a band I want to listen to more in the future.
If I could give this negative stars I would
I actually listened to this multiple times it was very good
Objectively a great album. It flows well from start to finish, with some solid highs along the way. “Sex on Fire” wore out its welcome out in 2008, but “Closer” still stands as the best track. 4.5/5 stars.
Not quite as weird and wonderful as Aha Shake Heartbreak but still a tremendous voice and spectacular sound
I have great memories of 2008 when this album released. There hadn't been a good "rock" album that really spoke to me released in a good bit. Then out of nowhere, this hit and it absolutely slapped. 17 years later, it still slaps. Just straight up, unapologetic rock. I wish I could hear it for the first time again.
Love this album
The first Kings of Leon album I heard in full and in my opinion their magnum opus, Only by the Night is an absolute achievement from which they learned the wrong lessons. This is unfortunately also their last good album. The pitch shifting pedal use on the bass in Closer to start the album already tells you this is different than before. Sex on Fire is a great lead single and nobody saw Use Somebody blowing up the way it did. Just a great rock album.
As a fan, this was their album that sprung them into fame and acclaim. It was a well rounded, well composed album
great listen. enjoyed the driving guitar, melodies, and vocals.
An homage to my angst filled teen years
5 star on nostalgia alone. Listened to this album so much when I worked at a record store in college.
That's some good 2000s indie that's aged super well. That was a great listen
I’ve heard of Kings of Leon before, but never really dove into their music. I think listening to this album has convinced me to do so. It was really great to listen to with some recognizable tunes and some things that should’ve definitely come up in my algorithm before.
Wow. This album is just perfect and i remember how groundbreaking it was when it came out. Always a treat to listen to.
9/10…blues rock / indie
Great recording. I have this on my Playlist.
Awesome live saw them last year.
Standout Songs: Closer Sex on Fire Use Somebody Manhattan Notion Be Somebody Absolutely beautiful album by one of my favourite bands. I have this album on CD and I absolyely love it.
I just about like it enough to give five stars, although the album does seem to lose it's way a bit after the first four tracks.
This rocks. One of my favorite bands and my favorite album from them. If you don't like this you have a big ol' dump in your pants. Get off your pretentious high horse, nerd. Best Song: Revelry Rating: 9.5/10 (Near-Perfect) Stars: 5/5
Finally, an album from the 2000's that people actually listened to. The experimental nonsense was getting tiresome.
Pleasantly surprised
A banger front to back.
Sehr viele Hits! 17 underrated, closer banger
Love this.
Nice sound, some cool basslines, and softer but not boring. A solid band playing near their full potential.
A solid album! Fun instrumentals and vocal work. It sorta fell off by the end, but was still fairly enjoyable. 'Use Somebody' was my fave.
Not their best but still pretty good
Album itself 5/5 - Use Somebody 10/10, plus Close, Sex on Fire, Crawl...
The transition of Kings Of Leon from the 'Southern Strokes' to arena rockers. Big choruses,epic production. I wish it still had the ragged charm of their first two records but you can't fault it's ambition.
5*
Sex of fire - is the song of Wattpad generation
Excellent lyrics, excellent vocals, excellent guitarwork, excellent melodies, but most of all, excellent drumming full of variety. An underrated album!
Songs i knew: most of em Songs i liked: most of em I done the majority of my goosing to this album in 2008, primarily in a travel lodge in Warrington because we were both living at our mars. You know most of the songs on this album whether you like to admit it or not, that being said I literally had to skip SOF and use somebody because they've been overplayed and so saturated at this point. Is it a high 4 or a low 5? Fuck it low 5 because of all the goosing.
One of my first albums, favourite band. I HAVE to give the 5 stars
Fire!
Legend
a album for eternity
For me this is the last great album they made
Biased, because this is already one of my favorite albums ever. The southern edge in the rock, the cool factor throughout. Great stuff
Yes
Ah Kings of Leon. This album took over the radio when I was in high school, primarily Sex on Fire amd Use Somebody. It's seriously hard to think of a place where these songs weren't playing at the time. I've listened to the rest of the album maybe once before this return and I got to say, it's a nostalgic trip and I really enjoyed the sound that this group brings. My new favorite from here is Revelry but I liked Closer too. It's a very clean and polished alt rock sound that isn't overly synthy like today's alt rock.
I'm just going to say it. This album fucks. Am I right?! 5/5
I love the singer's very soulful voice, full of fieriness, sometimes reverence, sometimes endearing and compassionate. A good mix of some easy riffs with soft vocals and some hard hitting cacaphonies of emotion. A truly remarkable balance across the album as well. I always felt they were kind of one-hit wonders with sex on fire, but they really earned a spot in my heart with this album.
I was not too knowledgeable about this project prior to this listen. I was previously aware of the critical acclaim of this album. I was also aware of their songs Use Somebody and Sex on Fire, both fantastic songs. Overall, I throughly enjoyed this project, however, a lot of it sounded a bit repetitive but I think it worked. The only lowlight was 17, which while isn't a completely awful song like most people on this would have you think, it's pretty bad.
5- klasyk
Goed veel klappers
Such a time and place album of theirs. Not their best but it is crazy how their lead singer cut his hair shorter for this album and everyone was like when did this guy get hot? And then they became the biggest band in the world
I hated 'Sex on Fire' when it came out. A truly overblown anthem of the sort I'm not predisposed to appreciate. So I ignored this album for a long time.A year or so later, while I was watching an episode of Casualty, they played an awesome song, which I Shazzamed, and it was 'Closer'. That was the turning point for me, which overcame my bias and led me to begrudging respect for this band. I've listened to this a few times since, and I'd say the album tracks are better than the singles, probably due to the fact they are less familiar to my brain. 'Crawl' with it's fuzz bass is immense and the last song evoked a feeling of 'Faith' by the Cure for some reason (This lot are not in the same league) which is always a good thing. Even with SOF it's getting a 5 star rating.
Been a favorite since long before, sentimental
Very good album. I like it.
Awesome album
#316. This album is way better than it has any right to be. I couldn't tell you why it's so good, because in reality no part of it is particularly any better than any thing else out there, but it somehow manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. All of the rest of their albums are more or less exactly what you'd expect from them, but somehow this one manages to be something more. 5/5: fantastic.
I’m usually quite selective with the rating feature on this website and have only given a few five stars. This means that I usually know an album really well before rating it so highly. I’ve heard of kings of Leon before but I’ve never enjoyed an album so much on a first listen. I genuinely had to stop what I was doing as not to miss a second of it. Amazing.
I noted that there are three Kings of Leon albums that once were on the 1001 list but none are now. This one and Youth and Young Manhood I found very good… and think maybe one of those could remain. I guess of those two this one was a little bit better. It was the album where I became aware of this band so maybe that’s part of it.
This just is a great album, from the first to the last track.
Standout
Great album
amazing album. liked every song, but one. its edgy, melodic and has a sexiness to it.
One of the major releases of the late 00’s. The Followills really nailed what everybody seemed to long for at exactly the right time. Caleb’s vocals are extremely emotional and powerful, Jared’s bass playing is playful and Nathan’s drumming is always a breath of fresh air. There’s a chance this might be dated - I might still be too much in love to notice it. And when you close an album on “Cold Desert” (a go-to late night favorite of mine) I have nothing bad to say.
Sex on Fire suffers from the Somebody I Used to Know curse of being a great song that got overplayed until bloody and unrecognisable. This is a massive album.
Great
This one had me singing in Revelry.
loved!
I’m at a 4.5 that I’m gonna begrudgingly bump up to a 5, because I think it’s not a 4, but it just doesn’t feel like a 5. Make no mistake; I think this album’s fucking great. This is incredibly cool to me – I only knew Use Somebody, which I still think is an all-timer of a track, but I’ve never really heard any of the other songs surrounding it, and up until Track 6, everything was blazing hot, all cylinders firing, all engines go, felt like one of the easiest 5s I might give. And yet, of those final 5 tracks, I was only really digging the last 2; something about Tracks 7 through 9 sounded really good, but they never really put the full package together in the same way that the first 6 tracks did. Who knows? I might just be overreacting to an underwhelming finish; those first 6 tracks hit like crack, man. Absolute bliss for me. Even those last 5 tracks are still good listens; the soundscape never lets up a single time during this album, and you can’t say that Caleb Followill can’t sing his ass off, because he was belting like a motherfucker on this. I’m sure someone will get more enjoyment out of Notion or I Want You than I did (17 is an actively mediocre track), and they don’t take away from the rest of the album at all. It’s a great listen, and it deserves to be on the list; kind of conflicted about bumping it up to a 5, but I really do think it's just too good to only give it a 4.
I have to say I sighed when I got another Kings of Leon album. But boy was I wrong. I loved it, and I loved the music the infinity playlist offered up afterwards.
Awesome album
Proper good 00s throwback. Sex on Fire was all the rage on the airwaves at the time (ca. 2007-08 I think) but this album has some other great tracks too
Only by the Night - Kings of Leon This is one of the best rock albums of 2008. So many hits off of this album, but some of the deep cuts are even better. I hope their onstage and offstage antics have gotten better. We don't need "The American Oasis" band. I think my favorite song on this album is "Manhattan." Caleb Followil has such an aching in his voice as he sings, "I said who are you? Don't matter who you are. So we dance all night and dance all day. I say." and this minimalistic guitar comes in and it's the most beautiful transition and melody. So much emotion in this song, from the vocals to the melodic guitar. This album was right before their fame took off and they got distracted. It's a tight rock album that exudes sex and shows just how good this band is. 5/5
I forgot how much I enjoyed this album.
Loved this album when it came out, and it still holds up for me today. Strong indie rock from start to finish. No dips. Another surprise 5 for me.
This album rips
I didn't want to leave this challenge. It brought back wonderful memories of living in Nashville & the excitement there was knowing this was a local band making it big. There was so much buzz in the air & a bunch of us knew or had seen Kings of Leon play before this album. Electric times. Musically, this is fantastic rock album. If someone were to ask me what the 2000s sounded like, I'd play this. Sex on Fire immediately followed by Use Somebody is a strike to the senses. Love this album & will revist it often. 4.5 stars
Ça me désole mais je suis obligé de mettre 5
Oh man this album is great. Closer just grabs you straight away and by the time Manhattan kicks in you wonder do I like this particular song or am I having a dopamine rush. Certainly after my second listen I was keen to listen again. Faves from today are Crawl, Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, and Notion but there's plenty more in second place. That's 2 out of 2 5-Star records from KoL for me!
Crear un ambiente muy envolvente. Siento que tendría que haber conocido este disco mucho antes. El cantante usa un quiebre vocal muy bien hecho y lo hace propio de su estilo. Es como si estuviera por desafinar en cada momento, pero lo sabe utilizar muy bien. Album super recomendado!!!
apsolutni klasik
Good album!
My favourite album when I was 15. Know every song. Best song is Manhattan or Be Somebody.
God I fucking LOVE this album. Restored my faith in rock when it was released, after a few years in the swirly whirly jazz world. Hearing Use Somebody one night blew me away, and reminded me of Joshua Tree-era U2 without all the pompous grandiosity affiliated with Bono and Co. And this glorious album does not sound dated at all. A masterpiece.
Incredible! One of the best! First half of the album is much better than the second one, but this album definitely needs to be in the list
I know. I'm surprised, too. I thought this album was only "Sex on Fire" but, it turns out, it's absolutely full of jams. The opening track, "Closer" is such a vibe and the album just... keeps slapping all the way through "Cold Desert". I tried to find a reason to dock it a star but even the fact that "Sex on Fire" is SO overplayed couldn't kill the album.
Love a good flash back to my latest teens/early 20s. This album fully resonates with what was going on my life. Kings of Leon were just beyond good, so genius. This album is there most popular, but all their albums before this one belong on this list, no question!
Heel strakke plaat! Top immers en perfect afgemixt
I used to listen to this album on repeat when it came out. Holds up well.
My first “who are these guys?!” and a core music memory. Leans a bit Arena Rock but probably their peak.
This album was everywhere. It had loads of singles. I had heard it before but never a proper listen outside of the singles. It's one of the albums that is just good and will age well (Hot Fuss, Jagged little pill, etc.). Stand out tracks - Closer - Crawl - Sex on Fire - Use Somebody - Revelry - Be Somebody - Notion
Great songs one after another. 4-5 stars but I’ll round.
4.5
very melancholy album
5/5
My personal guilty pleasure.
Actually a great album front to back
Awesome
I really like this album. Good indie rock and some very catchy songs. 5/5
Ooft. Those opening few bars of Closer transported me right back to high school. Kings Of Leon really blew up in the late 00s and epitomised the alt-rock sound of that era. With four songs from this album making Triple J's Hottest 100 for the year including "Closer" which didn't even get an official single release goes to show the pull of the Kings at this point in time. Best: Crawl; Sex On Fire; Use Somebody Worst: I Want You
Very nice. "Sex On Fire" is a hit!
This one hit i dunno
Uno dei migliori album degli anni 2000, almeno per quanto riguarda la scena indie rock, è un 4,5 ma do 4 stelle
3.8
So many songs that I forgot defined my youth
Banger after banger
I didn't like this when it came out. It's grown on me.
I enjoyed this more than some of the other reviews that are out here. It’s far from a complete album, no doubt; but the first four songs on this record were an incredibly strong start. We’ve all heard Use Somebody and Sex On Fire before and both are great songs, but Closer and crawl were excellent as well. After that, this album is not nearly as good. All of the songs that follow the first four were solid, but nothing was outstanding. As a result, 4 stars from me. Much better than average, not close to a 5 star album though.
I love this album. Not sure it is the beta of all time but a very good rock album from the 2000s
Decent album with several hit songs in the first half.
Liked this one more than I expected to. Probably still won't run out an buy a copy, but it's a good, fairly straight-forward rock album.
### Overview *Only By The Night* is the fourth studio album by the Tennessee-bred rock band Kings of Leon. Following the Southern-stomp of *Aha Shake Heartbreak* (2004) and the more polished *Because of the Times* (2007), this album represented a deliberate shift toward arena-filling rock. It became their commercial breakthrough, catapulting them from cult favorites to global headliners. However, this success came with artistic trade-offs that divided longtime fans. --- ### Lyric Analysis **Strengths:** Caleb Followill’s lyrics on *Only By The Night* move away from the sleazy, anecdotal storytelling of early work (“Taper Jean Girl,” “Molly’s Chambers”) toward broader, more existential and atmospheric themes. There’s a noticeable preoccupation with **isolation in public spaces**, **spiritual emptiness**, and **escapism**. - **“Closer”** – Opens with “Stranded in this spooky town / Stopwatch is ticking ‘til I get out.” The lyrics are minimalist but effective, evoking paranoia and carnal desperation. - **“Crawl”** – An anthem of resilience: “I know you got pain / Just let it shine.” Simple, mantra-like. - **“Cold Desert”** – The most lyrically raw moment. The closing confession: “I’ll never be your cornerstone / I’m on a prayer to a nothing, nowhere / I saw God and he laughed at me.” It’s a stunning admission of doubt and self-destruction, recorded late at night after drinking. **Weaknesses:** For every “Cold Desert,” there are vague, repetitive lines. **“Use Somebody”** – while catchy – relies on universal clichés (“Someone like you, ooh / I’m ready, ready”). **“Notion”** and **“Manhattan”** suffer from placeholder lyrics that prioritize mood over meaning. The specificity that made early KoL albums feel like literary Southern gothic fiction is largely gone. --- ### Music & Arrangement **The Shift:** The band traded raw, jagged garage-rock for **spacious, delay-drenched arena rock**. Guitars are cleaner, drums more measured, and melodies are hook-first. - **Matthew Followill’s guitar** – Moves from bluesy leads to textural, U2-inspired arpeggios and Edge-like delay (especially on “Revelry” and “Use Somebody”). The solo on “Manhattan” is clean and melodic, not raucous. - **Caleb’s voice** – Evolved from a yelping, punk-blues snarl (early days) to a crooning, reverb-soaked, Bono-esque wail. This is most apparent on “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody,” where he holds long, soaring notes. - **Rhythm section (Nathan and Jared)** – Jared Followill’s bass becomes more melodic and less rooted (prominent on “Closer” with its synth-like bassline). Nathan’s drumming is simplified, favoring half-time grooves and big tom fills over the jazzy, unpredictable patterns of earlier records. **Standout Tracks (Musically):** - **“Closer”** – Minimalist, hypnotic bass loop, eerie slide guitar, and a martial beat. Uncomfortably sexy. - **“Crawl”** – Swinging, tense riff with a stop-start dynamic that recalls their earlier grit. - **“Cold Desert”** – Sparse piano and a wounded vocal. Proof they could still strip down effectively. **Weaknesses:** Several tracks (**“Notion,” “17,” “Revelry”**) blend into a mid-tempo, reverb-laden sameness. The band’s former unpredictability – sudden tempo changes, dissonant solos, chaotic breakdowns – is almost entirely absent. --- ### Production **Producer:** Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King (returning from *Because of the Times*). **Aesthetic:** Massive, polished, but not sterile. The album is engineered for **stadiums and car stereos**. Key production choices: - **Reverb as an instrument** – Almost every vocal and guitar has long tail reverb, creating a sense of cavernous space. - **Compressed drums** – Snare and kick are punchy but lack natural room tone, giving a modern rock sheen. - **Layered vocals** – Thick harmonies on choruses (e.g., “Sex on Fire”’s “ohhhhh”). - **Dynamic range** – Quieter verses, explosive choruses. Formulaic but effective. **Pros:** The production gives songs like “Use Somebody” a timeless, anthemic quality. It’s clean without sounding over-quantized. **Cons:** The album lacks warmth and grit. Compare the raw, blown-out sound of *Youth & Young Manhood* – *Only By The Night* feels airbrushed. The rawness of Nathan’s snare and the room bleed are gone. For some, this is a betrayal of their roots. --- ### Themes 1. **Fame & Isolation** – Written after years of relentless touring, the album drips with loneliness in crowded rooms (“Manhattan” – “I’m in a Manhattan bar tonight / I just got into town”). 2. **Spiritual Doubt** – “Cold Desert” and “Revelry” question faith, redemption, and purpose without offering answers. 3. **Escapism Through Sex & Substances** – “Closer” and “Sex on Fire” use physicality as temporary relief from emotional numbness. 4. **Brotherhood Under Stress** – Less explicit here than on earlier albums, but the tightness of the rhythm section suggests a unit holding together by playing, not talking. --- ### Influence - **On Kings of Leon** – This album defined their “arena era.” Subsequent albums (*Come Around Sundown*, *Mechanical Bull*) chased this sound with diminishing returns. They would never recapture the raw energy of their first three albums again. - **On Rock Music** – Alongside bands like The Killers (Sam’s Town) and Coldplay (Viva La Vida), KoL proved that post-garage-revival bands could pivot to mainstream rock without losing cred entirely. “Sex on Fire” became a karaoke staple and rock radio fixture for a decade. - **Negatives** – It inspired a wave of imitators: gruff-voiced frontmen, delay-soaked guitars, and “whoa-oh” choruses in alt-rock. The album’s success arguably pushed KoL away from their unique Southern weirdness toward generic rock tropes. --- ### Pros & Cons Summary | **Pros** | **Cons** | |----------|----------| | Huge, anthemic choruses (“Use Somebody,” “Sex on Fire”) | Loss of raw, unpredictable Southern garage-rock sound | | “Cold Desert” is an emotionally devastating closer | Several mid-tempo tracks blur together (“Notion,” “17,” “Revelry”) | | Excellent, cavernous production that rewards good headphones | Over-reliance on reverb and vocal layering; feels airbrushed | | Jared’s bass work on “Closer” and “Crawl” is inventive | Lyrics often trade specificity for vague, universal sentiments | | Catapulted the band to global success (deservedly or not) | Alienated fans of *Aha Shake Heartbreak* and *Youth & Young Manhood* | | Strong thematic cohesion (fame, exhaustion, doubt) | “Sex on Fire” – while catchy – is lyrically nonsensical (“Your sex is on fire” – what does that actually mean?) | --- ### Final Verdict *Only By The Night* is a masterclass in **arena-rock transformation** – for better and worse. It contains some of Kings of Leon’s most enduring songs and their single greatest lyrical moment (“Cold Desert”). But it also marks the point where they sanded off their rough edges to fit a stadium mold. **Recommended for:** Fans of U2’s *The Joshua Tree*, The Killers’ *Sam’s Town*, or anyone who wants big, melancholic rock anthems. **Not recommended for:** Listeners seeking raw, blues-punk immediacy or quirky Southern storytelling. It’s an album of trade-offs: intimacy for scale, danger for accessibility, personality for universality. Whether that’s a success or a sell-out depends on where you first discovered them.
Such a distinct voice. Without Caleb at the sticks, the Kings of Leon are just 'of Leon'.
Pretty cheesy but sounds good 🧀🧀🧀🧀
Enjoyed far more than I expected, bonus star for that! :)
An album that is far more consistent than I expected it to be. I thought that it might be a few bits muddled in with a bunch of filler tracks but that's not the case at all. It starts off strong and finishes well, perhaps sagging a little bit in the middle. Despite this, a great rock album. Favourites: Closer Use Somebody I Want You Cold Desert
Pretty good pretty cool. I've always appreciated that Kings of Leon don't really sound like other bands (more specifically the singer of course). A few big time hits on this album too which is fun, and the other songs don't drag them down nor lurk in the shadows of the hits
extra star for nostalgia!
Given I'm fairly sure I've never listened to this album, it's amazing how many tracks I know. Just shows how big they became, assume this was their zenith. It's not as good as their debut album that we had a couple of weeks ago in my opinion, and I preferred the more blues rock style they had on that album. However, it's hard to say this isn't good too, and understandable why it appeals to a larger audience. It's cleaner, and more sanitised, probably by design. Use somebody and sex on fire were played to death. Crawl and revelry probably my favourites 4
wow me ha encantado, lo volvería a escuchar.
Very pleasantly surprised. One more than one occasion I had that the thought of I had no idea this was who sang this, I know and like this song.
Great album. Always a fan of these guys and this album is one of their top efforts. 8.75/10 Top song Revelry
Oof 2008
I think there's too much empty space in a lot of their songs which leads me to think of them as a little bland. Could use more bass or something to make the whole composition sound less thin. That being said they are good clean songs and I have always enjoyed the song 'use somebody' and the vibes are nice
pretty good! standard rock - got some classics on here. Not a fan of 17. But I feel like this is a classic band so fun to listen to that.
I forgot how much I liked their sound from this era. Yes, the singles got overplayed and still pop up on playlists from that era but there's a reason: they're so catchy. I like the fullness of the band's sound and the vocals have so much soul/heart to them.
I saw them twice in concert. I like their older stuff more, but hey I like some good arena rock too. This album has some bangers on it even if I'd be good never hearing some of them again like Sex on Fire and 17. I'd add Use Somebody to that list too because I heard it way more often than I wanted to, but I do actually think it's a really good song. My faves are probably Closer, Manhattan, Revelry, and Notion. I have lots of nostalgia with Kings of Leon's music. I don't think they're among the greatest ever bands, but this album in particular had some huge hits and I generally think they get hated on more than they deserve.
pior q eu curti..
I love KOL. And there are some good songs on this album
Good songs gs
3&4 were absolute bangers. Started off slow but as the album continues it got better. At first i thought I wasn't going to like it but I have to admit it was a great album
Some certified childhood classic on this album. I've always been an avid listener of these kind of 2000s alt rock albums, but I never really checked this one out entirely. The vocals really stood out to me, mainly because I can hear that southern accent coming through on most of these tracks. Overall I'd say the album is good. The two best tracks on the album are obviously Use Somebody and Sex On Fire.
4/5
Actually enjoyed the deep cuts. The hits are so overplayed
Having only heard the singles, I was surprised by the quality of the rest of the songs on this album. Reading the reviews, there was someone who said the band used every trick in the book to build tension, and I wish I hadn't read that, because now I can't un-hear it. It's not going to sway my opinion, but they're right; there is some pretty formulaic songwriting happening here. One of the things I usually take note of are bass-forward mixes because that seems to be so rare in rock. Well done here, and kudos to the bassist for being so good they want you out front ⭐⭐⭐.51
Det va akkurat som forventa, det.
i finally got to listen to more songs from the same record on which hits „sex on fire” and „use somebody” are. and while these two will probably remain my favorites on the album (at least for now), i enjoyed vast majority of the songs, especially „manhattan”. i was surprised with how vulnerable this album got. i also want to highlight how the title of the record perfectly corresponds with its themes. this may sound a bit cliché but this album literally felt like how a night out feels when you’re far from being okay, when the realization hits that you are unable to handle some things and you suddenly understand the fragility of one’s life. i’ve had multiple nights that felt like this and the production on this record expresses really nicely how deeply rooted some desires can be. at least that’s my take away from it. i gotta give it as well to the voice of the main singer that perfectly expressed all these emotions - at times it sounded very desperate even, which i personally always love
Tiene canciones main chsrachter
Really solid album. Almost too mainstream feeling given how overplayed the singles were but the b sides are lesser known tracks still feel really authentic. Love the vocals. Just enough grit to notice it's there.
This was really cool. I was aware of some of this in passing but didn’t pay a whole lot of attention at the time of its release. I’ll for sure be revisiting.
Did this album turn these guys into assholes, or was it just when we all realized it? Big successful album, hard to deny Sex On Fire’s heat, but I could go three lifetimes without hearing Use Somebody again. I like the back half of this album better, personally.
Already have this one in rotation. Certainly some solid hits on here but one of the things I like about Kings of Leon is their albums usually don’t have e any filler and a solid listen front to back.
My father-in-law had a Harley and Sex on Fire was on his "HD" playlist. HD = Hard Driving. Sometimes he would casually sing the song around the house. Anyways, I had to overcome this memory and the fact that many songs on this album were played into oblivion to acknowledge this is a pretty solid album. Yuge at the time. Yea, hardcore fans will say they sold out with this album. Whatever, it is pretty solid. 3.75/5
Liked it! Stand-outs - Closer - Revelry - 17
I remember this one!!
I have a lot of childhood fondness for this album and know the whole tracklist front to back, basically. They were HUGE Down Under back in the day. It's pretty good, and I do like the music a lot, but from a more objective perspective it's not particularly great and meaningful music that'll push boundaries and tear at the heartstrings. I think the introduction of electronic elements to rock that was all the rage in 2008 doesn't really suit this album all that well and they would have been better off leaning into that almost QotSA sound they sometimes get close to. But then if that were the case we probably wouldn't be talking about them, would we? fav tracks: Closer, Sex On Fire, Crawl, Use Somebody
I remember judging people for liking this album because I thought it was too commercial and the older stuff, which the pathetic little slugs didn’t even know, was better. I’ve got over myself.
Amphitheatric
I like this album and them!
Huge album with a few huge tracks that were played everywhere when this hit the scene. This is a powerful record and I like it more today then when it was released. Caleb really comes into his own and defines his vocal prowess at this point. He got a certain anguish in his voice that resonates and pairs well with the band's bluesy alt-rock sound. "Sex On Fire" became the gay anthem and I happened to be in SF visiting croissant tomorrow when the song was at it's peak. Could not escape it. Best tracks for me this go around however are "Crawl" followed by "I Want You." Maybe cause "Sex On Fire" and "Use Somebody" were so over played (still greats though). I been impressed with the Kings so far with what has made the list. They prove their titles and reign over the masses with this well crafted album...3.83 stars.
Kings of Leon had a steady climb through their first couple years and albums. While the prior album Because Of The Times was a solid release, Only By The Night is where they really put it all together. Always liked this album and for a spell while I was in college I felt like the Kings were everywhere. Rightfully so as this album is a true force from start to finish. It features a couple extremely popular hits that still sound great nowadays and a handful of very solid accompaniment from all the deep cuts. You can rattle off any of the hits as crowd pleasers but Manhattan was the track that resonated with me the most this time around. I always appreciated this album, but this listen really cemented how good it is. You can hear the growth in Kings of Leon from all facets as they really refined their southern sound but made it all the more accessible to the masses on this one. A very deserving entry in all ways. 3.92 stars
Some solid rock and roll. I enjoyed the whole album.
Those vocals. Dayum. Of course I was familiar with Sex on Fire and Use Somebody, but the whole album was excellent, and now I’m obligated to go through their whole catalog.
tatsächlich sehr gut
Never latched on to this band as a fan. There’s definitely some good songs. The lead singers voice gets on my nerves after a while
Me I like that album.
7/10
De twee eerdere albums van Kings of Leon die in deze lijst stonden gaf ik hoge cijfers, maar dit album vind ik wat minder. "Als ik €25,- zou kunnen betalen om nooit meer Sex on Fire of de Hollandse variant ervan te hoeven horen dan zou ik het meteen doen" typte ik bij het eerste album dat ik van ze kreeg en daar sta ik nog steeds achter. Toch is het geen verschrikkelijk album, al is het me (zeker vergeleken met die twee andere albums) allemaal wat teveel bewerkt. Tegelijkertijd is dit wel het album dat de schoorsteen lekker laat roken bij die mannen, dus geef ze eens ongelijk. Ik ga ondanks alles voor een 3,5 afgerond naar 4 sterren, omdat ik de afgelopen dagen bijzonder weinig plezier heb gehad van deze generator en dan is dit toch wel prettig.
Very good album actually. The vocals are cool!
I remember growing up as a teenager in 2008, getting really into rock music, and here came Kings of Leon breaking into the mainstream with two singles off of this record, "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody". I still enjoy these two songs despite the overplay, and it certainly proved enough to get into the Tennessee-based Southern rock group later in life. But here's the thing - for as much as the band finally had a breakthrough in their home country, they already had massive success over in the U.K., which is why there are three of their records in the 1001 Albums books. Lest we forget, Robert Dimery and his team are predominantly British, and they seem to love Kings of Leon over there. With all that said, how did it feel listening to Only by the Night? Well, I do consider this album good, but I'm not sure I would call it the best of what this band has done up to this point. I will touch upon this more when I get the other two Kings of Leon records later in my album journey, but basically, this band used to be a lot more raucous and energetic early on, with elements of garage rock in their sound. But around this album and its predecessor, Because of the Times, the band began to slow things down and embrace a more accessible, alternative rock style. Now, I'm not gonna knock a band for going in a different direction if it helps spark creativity, and there are at least a few cool ideas executed well here. The buzzing bass groove of "Crawl", the ramshackle acoustic guitar sway with the hazy reverb echoes of "Manhattan", Nathan Followill's punchy polyrhythmic beat alongside the arpeggiated guitars on "Revelry", there's even still some intensity left in the band at this point on cuts like "Notion" and "Be Somebody". Not to mention how emotive and powerful Caleb Followill can be as a frontman, or how crisp and biting the production from Angelo Patragalia is. I simply can't help but notice how slowed down the band had become, especially with the foreknowledge of their later records, because it doesn't pick back up here outside of some occasionally better melodic songwriting. Then there are the lyrics, which I'm also admittedly divided on. I certainly commend the band for trying to be a little more confrontational, with "Crawl" highlighting the regressive nature of American policy at the time, the persecution of Native Americans on "Manhattan", and even calling out their own fanbase for grievances on "Notion" and "Be Somebody". Even the self-confrontational muse on "Revelry" seemed rather potent, as Caleb reflected on his intoxicated behavior and looked to reconcile after the relationship faltered. Yet, at the same time, I can't help but feel like Kings of Leon now and then fall into some bad Southern rock tropes with their writing, particularly around women, without any swagger, bravado, or even a little humor to make it somewhat tolerable. There are moments where the earnestness in the lyrics can rub me the wrong way, like with "17," which is indeed about having feelings over a seventeen-year-old girl. One would think that writing songs about underage girls was a bad habit that we would have collectively stopped with the decline of glam metal in the 90s. I have similar issues with "I Want You", as the framing tries to imply reciprocating feelings between a girl and a guy even after the skeevy setup in the first verse and the caught sex tape in the second verse. I could see a track like this played up in a certain way, but the sincerity in the lyrics and delivery just left me feeling odd about it. At the end of the day, I'll still consider Only by the Night to be a decent record overall, despite a few misgivings. But I cannot deny that this is a point of no return for Kings of Leon, as their sound will continue to dilute after the success of this album.
Esimene pool albumist on tõesti hea tänapäevane rokk. Teisel poolel veits vajub ära, aga ikka kuulatav kraam. See plaat natuke liiga palju kaldub Sob Rock territooriumile, terve see kõla on lihtsalt melanhoolne. Aga ühte albumit kannatab ikka kuulata. 3.7/5
This might be their best album, imo
I can pretend, like most people on this site, not to like this album and give it a 1, but I actually like it. It has some good tunes.
A lot to like here, great hooks, full sound, and consistently good songs.
classic. very young liv era album. lot of throwbacks
Favourite Songs: Closer Sex On Fire I Want You
I’ll admit it I liked it
The first solid album I’ve heard of theirs, def a few weird songs but overall good. This is a light 4, not as heavy hitting as some of the others.
Only gets 4 instead of 5 stars because of '17' which is discordant and frankly creepy
Good alternative band. Good sound, and music.
One of the last really solid rock albums to get substantial radio play.
Yeah, not bad, but not incredible either.
Enjoyed this more than I expected...thought it was a pretty well constructed album overall.
Surprisingly enjoyable! Having been tangentially familiar with KoL from radio play back when, I never gave their album a full listen. However, now that I have, I think they have way more depth than has been attributed to them. They are talented musicians, with great feel for rock sound. I like their hits, but surprised more by their B-sides!
They sound good but I much preferred the lowfi sounds of Youth and Young Manhood
7/10
In generale un bel sound, mi è piaciuto
Good album yea
Good 2000’s rock
Alternative rock that evokes big stages at music festivals, Olympic themes, or soccer broadcast anthems, providing a rich listening experience. This album was my first introduction to the band, but it conjures a fictional sense of nostalgia that is deeply moving.
I really enjoyed this, probably because I wasn’t a college frat boy in the early 2000s who heard it over and over back then
I feel like I associate Kings of Leon more closely with artists like The Killers and almost being in that pop realm because of the hits in Use Somebody and Sex on Fire. However, there are some pretty great bass lines, deep drums, and shreddy guitar that I would associate more with the grungier bands. Really great album here. I could see the singers voice being off-putting to some, but I don't mind it. Has almost a southern rock twang to it.
Good but not 'great'
A friend described this album as "like U2, if they'd been raised in Tennessee by the Allman Brothers." A bit of a stretch, but I get it. Very good album.
Album 1045 of 1089 Only By The Night - Only By The Night (2008) Rating : 4 / 5 I went into this one knowing the band mostly from radio play and didn’t really have any expectations beyond that. What I found was a really solid, enjoyable album with a groove that pulls you in without trying too hard. There’s a nice melodic bass presence running throughout that gives the songs some depth, and the band’s overall feel is relaxed and confident. Nothing feels rushed or overcooked. The songs are well put together, the production is clean, and the album flows naturally from track to track. What stood out most to me was their musical personality. There’s a clear sense of who they are, and they stick to it without sounding repetitive. It’s the kind of album you can just let play and enjoy, which is often the highest compliment I can give. Definitely one I’ll be coming back to.
Man, did I love this record when it first came out. I must've run this record through about 100 spins during the first week of its release. The songs were all catchy, and I considered it a great record front-to-back with no skippable tracks. I kind of wished it wasn't so polished as far as recordings go—particularly because I liked the lo-fi indie vibe of the previous records a lot—but the songs were great. Then, over the following 6 months, the rest of the world caught on. The radio played the same three or four tracks non-stop for the next two years. They toured, but concert ticket prices jumped up and the shows were chock full of sorority girls and frat bros. The guys in the band started showing up on GQ magazine covers, and the interviews they gave made them seem like super dickholes. It felt like the whole band culture (which I had admittedly just assumed of them) shifted, and these sorta scruffy indie rock kids seemed fully invested in becoming corporate rock darlings. And the record that I really loved at one time turned into a record that I started to despise. Almost 20 years has passed at this point. I can go back now and almost totally appreciate this record again—though if I never hear "Sex on Fire" or "Use Somebody" again, I'll be happy—but I don't think I'll ever really love it like I did the first few times I'd heard it; the nostalgia attached to this record for me is still pretty tainted. I still love their first three records, and I quite like the record or two after this one, even if they really did go full-blownsies with the major record label ball-licking (maybe I've just learned to accept Kings of Leon on their own terms at this point?). But I don't think I'll ever recapture the joy I initially felt with this record. 7/10 I pretty much have to round up to 4 stars. I'm not entirely thrilled about that—because I truly hate at least 2 tracks on this record now—but it really is altogether much better than a 3-star record.
Great album all the songs are catchy and well produced. There is a lot going on, a lot of detail that is a great listen. It's not super aggressive but not too laid back either, a nice balance. This is an album that I will be listening to many more times.
I only had a vague memory of Kings of Leon. Then I noticed two songs that I had heard before and really liked. I also found the intro to the first song very promising. Unfortunately, the album as a whole couldn't live up to the very good first impression. But maybe I'll give it another listen. 4/5
Kod mene je stvar s njima što su mi tako ok, apsolutno mi ništa ne smeta, ima pjesama koje skoro mogu reći da volim, ali nikad, baš nikad ne bih išla i namjerno upalila KOL. Zato nisam nikad čula ništa mimo najvećih hitova. Nisam ništa propuštala. Ovo odsad zvanično zovem catfish albumima, nabacaj prvo hitove da upecaš raju i onda ostalo čisti filler.
reminded me of high school. loved them back then. listened to their earlier albums more but this one was still just as good. less screaming tho
Awesome
So good so many hits
O álbum que me introduziu ao Kings of leon.
Best Track - "Sex On Fire"
Honestly, fuck the haters. Kings of Leon is such a good late oughts rock band. The sound really changed from the early oughts butt rock sound. I'm glad for once a newer album is on this list. The bright melodies indicative for a historical base in southern rock and tight grooves and deep rythmns akin to motown this band is full of rich and eclectic taste. The lyrics are relatable often revolving around young love and feeling out of touch and out of place. Its real good music. Before you die album? At least once. Monitor how rock changed through out the decades.
Heard this album a few times, but 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody' so much I've lost track. These songs were really played to absurdity when they came out. Listening through the album now, I gotta admit there are some good stuff in there more than just 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. 'Manhattan', 'Closer', 'Revelry', and 'Notion' are for example good tunes. Still, I have a hard time not associating this album with extreme radio-friendliness and mainstream. Just feels so commercial somehow, but I can't decide if it was created that way or they just became victims of their own fame. The album is good, but not stellar. Weak 4 for me.
If this is on here I hope every other album is. This isn’t a bad one, it’s just more subdued than previous work. Fav track: cold desert
Really good album, every song is listenable. Arena rock that has a U2 influence. I missed this band completely at the time, enjoyed finding them here. Notable tracks include Closer, Crawl, Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Notion, I Want You, Be Somebody.
# Album Name: Only By The Night # Artist: Kings of Leon # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: A very good album imo. 2000's soft cock rock at its best probably. Doesnt quite hit a 5 but a high 4. Simple melodies, simple riffs but pretty good songs. And its got 5-6 good tracks on here. # Top Tunes: Closer / SoF / Use somebody / manhattan / revelry / notion / # Would I listen to it again? Yes
Sexy and heavy. One of the best alternative rock albums of the last 25 years, if not one of the best selling. Incredible rhythm section. Whatever happened to these guys?
Somehow I never got into these guys back in the day, but I really enjoyed this one.
I'd heard of these guys but never heard their stuff really, other than probably a couple of singles without knowing it was them. The album starts of with a very cool sounding track in Closer. The second track is cool too, and the third and fourth songs I've definitely heard before, Sex on Fire, and Use Somebody. I feel like I've heard Be Somebody as well--it's a good track. The album overall is quite good, and I can see why it was popular. 4/5
I remember this being released and the world tour that followed. I had tickets with a couple of "friends", but there was a lingering jealousy I had between one of them and my wife. I stopped listening to them because of this issue I had. Somehow still haunts me today, I'll never know the truth... anyway... This was a huge album for KoL, "Sex On Fire" and "Use Somebody" were massive singles. Their follow-up album didn't have as much clout. This is a decent album, but I can't shake my jealous disposition and the weird feeling this album brings me.
Actually liked this much more than I expected
bit of fluff but largely very good
Lots of bangers, it doesn't get boring though. His voice is full of emotion, the echo effect in the instrumentals create a nice contrast with his voice.
fajny do potanczenia podobal mi sie nawet pare piosenek dodanych
This seems like a big departure from their earlier works. The guitar sound is much more complex, melodically and texturally, than I remember it being on "Youth and Young Manhood" and "Aha Shake Heartbreak". What an atmospheric opening track. That searing, semi-psychedelic guitar in the left ear, the throbbing, echoey guitar in the right, the wobbly synth in the centre carrying a great countermelody... Closer is a great song, no question, and I'm rather upset this is the first I've heard of it. Crawl is equally good (if not more so), with an aggressive yet surprisingly complicated guitar part that climaxes with an absolutely shredding solo towards the end. Sex on Fire is fine but comes across as a harder rendition of late-era Police tracks. It also just isn't as interesting or gritty as the previous two. Props for trying, though. (The muted guitar line in the right channel is pretty sweet.) Use Somebody is solid enough, again featuring a strong guitar line and great vocals, but it sounds like a relic of its time. Compositionally, it could easily be a Coldplay or Imagine Dragons track from the same era. Revelry is another track that seems to be big, and again it's a little too poppy for what I'm really looking for from King of Leon, but it's still very, very good. Great, conscious drumming that reminds me of Neil Peart (may he rest in peace). 17 is the kind of weird, mildly experimental thing I'm looking for. There are quite a few texturally contrasting sections packed into three minutes, and it gives the ear a heck of a lot to latch onto. I wish it were more catchy, though. The melody is stagnant and sounds almost improvised. Love the guitar solo at the end, though. (Kings of Leon are two for two with those.) Towards the end of the album, we get four consecutive strong tracks: the clean, anthemic Notion, the plaintive I Want You (again reminds me of the Police), the weirdly held-back, tense Be Somebody, and the slow, gazey Cold Desert. The latter three are a bit more forgettable, but the former, Notion, is rightfully one of the bigger songs on the record. 4/5 Key tracks: Closer, Crawl, Notion
I'm glad this Kings of Leon album was added at some point to the "1001 Albums" series, as it's likely the best of the three that exist in the cumulative collection (I've only listened to their debut album prior to this one). Like a few other bands and albums, it's also an utter mystery exactly why the 2005 edition included their first two albums, then dropped those soon after, and at some brief point included this one, only to drop it later (or so it seems). Also curious to read (in Wikipedia) that Kings of Leon, and this album in particular, were indeed kings in Australia and the UK and elsewhere, far more successful outside their home country than within. I particularly enjoyed the opening three tracks "Closer", "Crawl" and "Sex on fire", and also the pair "I want you" and "Be somebody", but really there aren't too many weak points on the album, and they seem so much more interesting (and clearly older and wiser) than their debut album, although I suspect their early fans might not have enjoyed their more mainstream sound on this album.
Love a couple of tracks, I think this is a 4 star for me. I listened to it in my car first and almost gave it a 3 but listened to it again with headphones and a much better experience. Not a car album!
Love it
Was great
I enjoyed this one
I seem to remember the singles off this album being played constantly everywhere for a while. They’re pretty good, despite being overplayed. A couple of duds on here too, but generally listenable without anything being amazing
Nostalgia probably doing a lot of heavy lifting here. To the extent that I was tempted by a fiver. However, although I enjoyed some of the less well known tracks, probably not quite enough for a perfect score. Simpsons: No
Haven't listened to this album since it came out, lots of nostalgia, don't listen to much Kings of Leon these days but it was enjoyable to go back and listen to it.
Solid!
Only By The Night turned out to be a really good album, In fact, it's the best Kings of Leon album i have heard. I always thought of Kings of Leon to just be this really typical and generic rock band and i expected this one to have the sound of that stuff a lot seeing as this album has all the songs i mainly know well from these guys and while it is kinda generic rock, it was still some very enjoyable stuff that was super pleasant to listen to. The guitars are really good here and i think Caleb Followill's voice is at it's best here since the songs feel like they are really well made around it. I didn't really expect this to be that much of an improvement over the other two Kings of Leon albums i heard but that's what it turned out to be. Best Song: Closer Worst Song: Manhattan Side Note: Since this is the last Kings of Leon album i'm doing, here are the rankings: 1. Only By The Night 2. Youth And Young Manhood 3. Aha Shake Heartbreak
Extra star for the nostalgia
Yes...being a millennial I can't help but rate this album higher than what it perhaps deserves. However, there are some REALLY good songs like Closer, Revelry, Notion, and Manhattan. Ok fine I like the whole album.
Interesting
I know it's run of the mill adult contemporary rock, but I will eat this album up all day. Clean guitars and a raspy voice with a solid beat.
Amazing album.
Ok, I'm familiar with KoL but never listened to this all the way through and never realized they were all on the same album. It was a jam. 4/5
My guess is that this will be the last of their albums (chronologically) that makes this list.
Could have sworn they were British. I’ve been fooled. Decent album though. Sex on fire/ use somebody are bangsrs Specific rating - 4.3 Fav song- sex on fire Least fav- crawl
I had liked the few songs of theirs I had heard but was generally unfamiliar with them. Great album to start with! Not a single bad song. Good clean rock ‘n’ roll
Way too criticised for going commercial. Yes its more pop orientated but the atmosphere and sound is fantastic and the song writing is solid.
First 4 songs were amazing, especially the lead off track closer. the second half of the album falls flat.DID NOT LIKE 17.
Początek bardzo dobry. Dużo wspomnień z czasów liceum. Potem już się wypłaszcza i wynudza, ale na 4 zasługuje.
- two songs in and I REALLY like this type of music -love the all the instruments
Pretty great tbh
This album came out at a transitional point in my life, it marks the time I turned in to an adult. I was an expectant Father, had my first real car (not a shitbox) and a respectable job finally. Trip listening to it end to end tbh as I haven't really since I lost my cd. That haunting opening track of Closer, the chug of Crawl, the pure extacy of Sex on Fire. Manhattan, Notion, Revelry. This is actually a banger.
No surprise this was quite popular concurrently while Dane Cook's star was brightest. Read into that however you'd like... Still like both and I'm not sure if I should be ashamed and/or brave in my exclamation. One of my favorite album openers: CLOSER. Jumping into CRAWL
Great top to bottom
I love this album! sex on fire, use somebody and closer are some fo my favorite songs on this one!
Really good,
Familiar, I enjoyed it.
This seems to be an eariler example of the pop rock that really sucked in the 2000s. I happened to be in a great mood listening to this and I liked it. It has some hits and hit a nice sonic middle ground of melodic and anthemic. The kings got lucky with this one.
A little bit of nostalgia for this.
9/10
Closer is a really good opener Good radio music, I enjoyed it. Not great because faceless, one of the albums I'd go 3.5 if I could
First four tracks carry
At the time that this album came out alternative rock really needed something cool and this album did it. My hometown boys tap into stadium rock anthems and caught fire. “Closer” and “Revelry” are my favorites. Love this album.
....
Really, really, good. SO close to 5 stars. Follow on tiktok @1001album for full review.
His voice is a little single dimensional but the music is great at least for one album.
It’s the bass guitar and drums that take most of the tracks here beyond being just another pop rock song. Very impressed by this IMO, you could throw out Use Somebody and Sex On Fire and still be left with a good album - Manhattan, Revelry, 17, Notion (where this album cooks IMO). 3.5 stars and rounding up
Nostalgic for me. It was so fun for a genuine rock song to be a hit when I was in high school. The full album is a bit redundant and I get why there are some negative reviews on here, but I really don’t think the music is bad. It sets a cool vibe.
This is a really good album
Pretty good album. I knew the pop songs: Closer, Sex on Fire, and Use Somebody (though I don’t think I knew who sang them). Some of the other songs are growing on me too, like Manhattan and Revelry.
I somehow missed the high point for these guys (but for 'Sex on Fire,' which was inescapable.) While there's some filler here, I enjoyed more than the familiar singles ('Closer,' 'I Want You.') Might not go into heavy rotation, but would definitely listen again.
14/10/2025 It is far too overplayed, but it was on okay album. I can't hate it too much. Spotify listeners: 21.3 million
„Only by the Night“ erschien 2008 und wurde im Blackbird Studio in Nashville aufgenommen. Die US-amerikanische Band Kings of Leon – bestehend aus den Brüdern Caleb, Nathan und Jared Followill sowie ihrem Cousin Matthew Followill – fand hier den Weg vom kantigen Southern-Garage-Rock früherer Jahre zu einem zugänglicheren, atmosphärischen Sound. Die Mischung aus eingängigen Gitarrenflächen, hallgetränkten Vocals und stadiontauglichen Refrains trug Songs wie „Sex on Fire“ und „Use Somebody“ weit über den Indie-Rahmen hinaus. Auch Titel wie „Closer“ und „Revelry“ zeigen die neue, melancholisch-düstere Klangfarbe, die das Album prägt. Der Gesang wirkt kontrollierter, die Produktion glatter, aber die emotionale Intensität bleibt spürbar. „Only by the Night“ markiert den endgültigen Durchbruch der Band, zugleich aber auch einen Bruch mit ihren roheren Wurzeln – ein Schritt hin zu größerer Reife und Massentauglichkeit, den man mögen oder vermissen kann.
Didn’t realize how many Kings of Leon songs I’d heard before
So good loved it
People really don't like this, huh. I get it, I suppose I can see why people think it's so bland. But compared to some of the shit out there that's *actually* bland, this may as well be the most experimental thing you've ever heard. I get that it can be a bit generic at times, but go and listen to an Ed Sheeran album in full, that will give you a new perspective on the meaning of "bland." Then you will see how much there actually is to appreciate on this album.
Adding Use Somebody to the list of songs I recognize but have no clue who made them, overall album was good most of the songs are filler but the good songs are very good
Thought that each song had its own creativity behind it and that the songwriting and lyrical content was on par with the feeling that they were trying to get across. The drive of the upbeat drums along with the guitar tones and vocals was excellent. I would say they stand out amongst themselves in the rock genre and reminds me of those youthful days. Many of the songs have an emotional impact along its them as well which ties into those days when I was a kid.
PRETTY SICK
I didn’t think I’d dig this album because the band is so mainstream, but it was really good! I’ll be listening to it again.
Geros dainos, gražūs tekstai. Žinojau tik pora, įdomu buvo pasiklausyti.
Really solid record - compressed production but the songs are solid. Didn’t listen all of the way thru. Singer is very solid.
By 2008 the indie rock boom had largely settled down and the forces that determined what was and wasn't hitting the airwaves had gathered full force. Kings of Leon, by virtue of being in the right place at the right time, were ready for that ride. Only by the Night takes what the familial band had mastered on prior albums and made it sleek and polished, therefore taking the route of their predecessors and gathering up a whiff of being at the top of the mountain. There are, of course, some gems within the record that serves as reminders of what remained at the band's core. But the page had been flipped and Kings of Leon's next chapter was already being written. Favorites: Closer, Crawl, Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Revelry, 17, I Want You.
My favourite album from the band
This was my favorite of the Kings of Leon albums and I would listen to this one again over the others. Bonus that my daughter liked it.
nice album that nearly destroyed the band with the fluke hit of the century
Kings of leon is on this list multiple times?! This is the one album of theirs I can conceive of being here. Very overplayed in its time, his voice was really grating to me. It's ok but kind of generic rock when I hear it now, still enjoyed more tracks than I thought I would. 4* Highlights: use somebody, sex on fire (it's just nostalgic at this point), notion, cold desert
The album that catapulted them into the mainstream. Their debut was a raw superb collection of songs and this (4th album I think) was as good as they were going to get from this point onwards. Unbelievable to me that this came out 17 years ago.
I'd forgotten how much I liked this album when it came out.
tbh i think Kings Of Leon have mostly aged pretty well. obvs disclaimer i'm a teenager of the noughties, i have a soft spot for all the indie slop of that time but i never really spent much time with KOL and i don't know why (was probably too busy crying over the Libertines or something). a lot of these songs still sound fresh to me and i really enjoyed this. my favourite KOL songs are the big emotional lump-in-your-throat stadium songs, i think they were really good at that - The Notion is the best example of this on this album and is the best song on the album imo.
Really enjoyed listening to this album.
3.5
Strong throughout. The key to one's ears is the conviction and distress in the vocals which sounds like authenticity and passion. The driving playing and slight, minor-key plaintiveness add depth and richness. One missed these guys in real time – or didn't fully appreciate anyway – but one likes more with every hearing.
Closer is awesome. Like it as an intro Crawl is cool asf Sex on Fire is the hit song of the album, but I like use somebody more I want you and Be Somebody are really vibey and cool Cold Desert is an awesome closing track
Je n’ai jamais accroché à Kings of Leon, parce que je trouve que le chanteur chante avec affectation. Par contre je dois reconnaître que c’est un groupe innovateur et que plusieurs de leurs pièces sont irrésistibles
Catchy songs, have heard a few singles from this album before. Strong vocals, really love the bass playing on this album.
I like this. I favored 4 songs and all the others I'd listen to again.
Not super interesting? But maybe I missed the point. Or maybe I'm just not helped by the hits from this album playing at the local Border's Books and Music back in the day.
originally i didn't seem to recognize this album but some of the songs i ended up listening to suddenly unlocked memories from the past. soft, alternative, or maybe indie rock pop music. kings of leon is the kind of band that u2 tries to be, i feel. it's very simple in structure and instrumentation, but it's meaningful in a lot of different ways. u2 sounds like a cliché but these guys actually sound really nice... nothing spectacular, and some songs really blend in, but it's pretty great i think.
Solid album by Kings of Leon. I do like some of their other albums more hence the rating.
Okay so, unlike many hits from when I was a kid, I don’t hate “Sex on Fire” or “Use Somebody” (the latter of which I quite like). I also think they have solid songwriting skills and I love Caleb’s voice. However, their albums as a whole tend to bleed together, one song into another. Also like 85% of the lyrics are kinda impossible to understand because Caleb never annunciates at all. I do think it’s a really solid album, but not an incredible album.
I have normally given them short shrift but I really enjoyed it. Must be the beard alliance