Kings of Leon are closer after hitting rock bottom in 2011.

The "Sex on Fire" hitmakers were forced to take a year long break due to exhaustion, coupled with rumors frontman Caleb Followill was drinking too much, and the family band believe their time out of the limelight has made them stronger.

During an interview with Fearne Cotton on UK station BBC Radio 1, Caleb said, "We're brothers and that's never going to change. We'll always have moments where we don't see eye-to-eye but I think it made us realize how much we love what we're doing. How blessed we are. I think it made us closer."

The Oklahoma rockers - also formed of Caleb's brothers Nathan and Jared and their cousin Matthew - were initially at a loss as to what to do when they returned to their hometown and were faced with an empty schedule after being forced to cancel their world tour promoting their fourth album Only by the Night, which culminated in a series of disastrous performances:

"It was a bit of a shock for us because we had toured so much for so long and so hard. It was a bit of a shock to us to basically have a whole year freed up. But after a week or so, we thought it feels good to be home and get to be a dad and a husband and doing normal things. And I think it showed us there's nothing wrong with taking a break to recharge your batteries and come back bigger, better and stronger. The circumstances of why we had to take that break might not have been the way we envisioned it [though]."

The band now make sure they book into separate hotel rooms and spend time apart when they're on the road so as to avoid tensions running high again. "We've learned its OK to take time to yourself even if you're in the some hotel, same room, same city. It's OK to take time and get a breath of fresh air and clear your head. Whereas early on, we did everything together. In the same dressing room, on stage, in the same club, wearing the same clothes. we can be a cohesive unit on stage, but off stage it's OK to be your own person," Nathan explained.