Latest Release
- NOV 15, 2024
- 18 Songs
- Silver Side Up · 2001
- All the Right Reasons · 2005
- Dark Horse · 2008
- All the Right Reasons · 2005
- All the Right Reasons · 2005
- All the Right Reasons · 2005
- All the Right Reasons · 2005
- Dark Horse · 2008
- Silver Side Up · 2001
- Dark Horse · 2008
Essential Albums
- Nickelback bassist Mike Kroeger and drummer Ryan Vikedal establish a full-throttle momentum in the first moments of "Never Again," the song's intensity levels increasing further with Ryan Peake’s slashing riff and Chad Kroeger’s ferocious vocal performance. Besides being a compelling opening salvo for Nickelback’s third album, the song is an unequivocal statement of purpose, one that demonstrates just how far the band had come since its founding in 1995. Like "How You Remind Me" and "Too Bad"—the two songs that helped turn Silver Side Up into the band's commercial breakthrough—"Never Again" rewards Chad Kroeger for his diligence through the Alberta rockers’ early years; the young songwriter learned his craft by reverse-engineering hits by the era’s biggest acts to figure out how he could most effectively construct his own songs, then road-testing the results over the course of hundreds of live shows. This can be considered the section of the post-grunge Venn diagram where Nickelback’s ambition overlaps with the wider rock audience’s hunger for sounds that moved past the tropes of '90s rock while reinforcing '70s hard-rock fundamentals. Though the burly likes of "Woke Up This Morning" still indicated Nickelback’s debt to Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains—two former clients of Silver Side Up co-producer Rick Parashar—"Just For" and "Hollywood" draw Nickelback closer to the fresher, bolder, and arguably heavier likes of Linkin Park and System Of A Down. An even more important element in the template Nickelback was busy forging is the emotional potency in Kroeger’s lyrics. For all the hooks that he packs into "How You Remind Me" (at least three, including the "yeah-eah" part), the song’s staying power may have more to do with Kroeger’s canny ability to zero in on the rage, yearning, doubt, and resentment that can fill a heart when a romance goes south. Tougher feelings also fuel "Too Bad," a terse rocker whose lyrics capture the painful dynamics that often develop between fathers and sons, and "Good Times Gone," a more wistful ode that gets a lift from the slide guitar contribution by Big Wreck’s Ian Thornley. Such expressions of hurt and vulnerability lend a rawer and more personal aspect to the band's relentless drive to make an impact.
Albums
- 2023
- 2023
- 2022
- 2022
- 2012
Artist Playlists
- Canada's hard rock heroes prove why they're global superstars.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
Compilations
More To Hear
- Songs from the Arkells, Nickelback, Neil Young, and more.
- Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake on their album Get Rollin’.
About Nickelback
Nickelback’s melodic post-grunge embraces the radio-friendly vibe of ’80s Canadian rock (think Bryan Adams and Loverboy) and the introspective bent of angsty ’90s alternative. Unsurprisingly, this gives the Vancouver band widespread appeal: In the 2000s, they crossed over to the pop world with emotionally rich hits, such as “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph,” but kept a firm toehold in the heavier realm with the slashing “Too Bad” and the Southern rock-inspired “Rockstar.” Led by guitarist/vocalist Chad Kroeger, his bassist brother Mike Kroeger, and guitarist Ryan Peake, Nickelback initially coalesced in the early ’90s in Hanna, Alberta, as the cover band Village Idiot, playing alternative songs by Urge Overkill and fellow Canadians The Tragically Hip. Early songs show traces of this period—the 2000 radio hit “Leader of Men” takes cues from the stacked harmonies of Nova Scotia power-pop act Sloan—although 2001’s global smash Silver Side Up found Nickelback settling into their rowdy but tender approach to mainstream rock. Even as musical trends changed, the band remained successful (2005’s All the Right Reasons hit No. 1 in multiple countries) by keeping their sound fresh. The Korn-reminiscent “Must Be Nice,” from 2017’s Feed the Machine, for example, interpolates lines from nursery rhymes and Dr. Seuss, while the album’s title track boasts jackhammering metal riffs. Like all rock bands with staying power, Nickelback strike a perfect balance between sonic familiarity and measured risk-taking.
- ORIGIN
- Hanna, Alberta, Canada
- FORMED
- 1995
- GENRE
- Rock