social media post<\/a>, which said he had \u201chelped redefine mainstream rock music, blending post-grunge accessibility with emotionally direct songwriting.\u201d<\/p>\nIn May 2025, Arnold announced that the band would be canceling its summer tour because he had advanced-stage kidney cancer that spread to his lungs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not real good,\u201d he said of his diagnosis. \u201cBut you know what? We serve a mighty God, and He can overcome anything. So I have no fear. I really sincerely am not scared of it at all.\u201d He added, \u201cI\u2019d love for you to lift me up in prayer every chance you get.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was public about his battle with alcoholism. He said he started drinking in his teens, an addiction fueled by the pressure of stepping on a tour bus at 20 years old. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a lot to hand a 20-year-old,\u201d he told a Christian podcaster. He thanked religion for his sobriety and took to proclaiming his faith on stage. <\/p>\n
Born in Escatawpa, Miss., in September 1978, Arnold formed the band with friends Todd Harrell and Matt Roberts in the mid-1990s. <\/p>\n
As a 15-year-old in algebra class, he wrote the song \u201cKryptonite,\u201d drumming out the beat on his desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to be our drummer,\u201d he told the lead vocalist of the band Candlebox in an interview. \u201cI only became the singer because we didn\u2019t have a singer. That beat just came from just sitting on a desk. I probably wrote that song in the length of time that it took to me to just to write it down. It really was just one of those that kind of fell out of the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n
It became the band\u2019s breakout hit in 2000 and earned a Grammy nomination. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Better Life,\u201d the first of the band\u2019s six albums, sold more than six million copies, and the 2005 album \u201cSeventeen Days\u201d entered the national charts at No. 1. That year, reviewing a Los Angeles performance, a critic noted Arnold\u2019s \u201cheartland drawl\u201d and sleeveless denim shirt, calling him \u201cless punk than Springsteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band released its final album, \u201cUs and the Night,\u201d in 2016. The following year, the band played at the inauguration of President Trump. Arnold is survived by his wife, Jennifer.<\/p>\n