Since their arrival on the international music scene in 2003, the Kings of Leon have shown us what it means to be young and cocky: their music oozing swagger, their lyrics filled with tales of fast living. After moving to Nashville in 1998, the three brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared met up with cousin Matthew and had formed the band by 2000. The group, taking its name from the brothers' father and grandfather, is heavily influenced by their religious upbringing, most of which they spent travelling the south with their preacher father. Their southern garage rock sound soon attracted the attention of record executives and by 2001 Kings of Leon had signed a deal with RCA. Their debut EP Holy Roller Novocaine was released in early 2003, with three of the four Followills still in their teens. Youth and Young Manhood followed six months later, earning the group rave reviews from critics. The popularity of the release saw them gain relative stardom, especially outside of the United States. 2004 saw the band reunite with producer Ethan Johns to work on the follow up, Aha Shake Heartbreak, which was released later that year. While the second album is very much part of the same musical landscape, the lyrical mood is unmistakably darker, reflecting the band's experience with the shadier side of debauchery and fast living that their rapid rise to international stardom allowed them. As of early 2006, Kings of Leon went back into the studio to work on their third album, Because of the Times.