The Killers Inside

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints frowns on drugs, alcohol and premarital sex, but for a while, Flowers was drinking and partying hard on the road. Two years ago, around the time of the release of Sam's Town, he stopped. "I think I probably feel less guilt, and I'm also healthier than I've ever been," says Flowers. He's hazy on what led to his change, except to say, "My wife being pregnant and all that really put things into perspective. But there is an element of fun that I miss out on," Flowers says, with some wistfulness.

Flowers voted for Obama, but his politics have often seemed to lean right: He has expressed sympathy for George W. Bush in the past, and he criticized Green Day for singing "American Idiot" overseas. And he worries out loud that America is turning away from religion. "In England, the press treat [religious believers] like you believe in Santa Claus, and it's turning that way in America," he says, with obvious disapproval.

Flowers' faith in his band is equally fervent: He recently suggested the Killers could become bigger than U2, and he thinks his best songwriting is still to come. "I feel like I've got to constantly write songs," he says. "I could go up to my hotel room right now and — y'know, I still want to write an 'Imagine.' It's not impossible to me, as much as everyone would like to say it is."

Despite the six years they've been together, there's something odd about the Killers' offstage chemistry — they don't have much of it. They look and act like they're in four different bands, and their interaction is more like that of colleagues than pals. "We're becoming friends," says Flowers. "We're still learning about each other. We've only known each other for about as long as this band's been around."

But as different as they may be, these guys are united by their oversize ambition: The band, which started with guitarist Dave Keuning's and Flowers' jam sessions in 2002, established goals from the beginning. "I remember asking Brandon, 'So you want to be big, right?' And he's like, 'Yeah,' " says Keuning. (According to Day & Age producer Price, Flowers and Madonna have more than a little in common: "There's a drive and determination that those two have," he says, "where it's kind of 'succeed by any means necessary.' ")