And so the transformation is finally complete ? during the flaming 3? minutes of 'Sex On Fire', their Southern rock gallops off into the sunset, effortlessly replaced by the ascendant guitars and seismic choruses that will slay a thousand stadiums. Fulfilling the ambition first suggested on last year's 'Because Of The Times', Kings of Leon don't wanna be the Black Crowes no more; it's U2 ? especially the dark, twisted days of 'Achtung Baby' ? they have in sights.

But unlike Coldplay and Snow Patrol, the three Followill brothers and their cousin aren't content with mere imitation ? there's a bleak American Gothic suffering to even their most grand, radio-ready moments. They clearly haven't forgotten their roots. The sludgy riff and rolling thunder bassline of 'Crawl' are enthralling yet decidedly ominous, even as the haunted, tortured vocals ("Hell is surely on its way") are delivered as only the son of a Pentecostal evangelist can.

Shimmering guitars may lift 'Manhattan' heavenwards, but rootsy, impassioned singing grounds the celebration. On 'Closer' the opposite is true: Caleb Followill's gutsy voice soars above the dirty writhing of the band. Even the stirring (and perhaps ironically titled) 'Revelry' never quite turns into a full-on celebration. And the primal 'Be Somebody' ? more about yearning than actual success ? prowls the shadows.

Only the country-gospel-rocker 'Use Somebody', which rises from America's heartland like a long-lost 'Joshua Tree' track, is an all-out anthem of success, matching their Tennessee roots with the world-dominating ambition of U2 and 'Born In The USA' era Springsteen.

Sometimes that ambition gets the better of them: during the pleading five minutes of 'Cold Desert' ? more glowing embers than flickering flame ? Kings of Leon come dangerously close to treading on the toes of '80s power balladeers Journey and Foreigner. But the bad vibes don't linger.