"We never take anything for granted," says Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. But this is one band that certainly could.
Since it rolled out of Alberta some 13 years ago, Nickelback has been hit-making, multi-platinum concern whose last album, 2005's All The Right Reasons is one of the most successful of the century, and has stoked great expectations for the quartet's sixth album, Dark Horse. A lesser group might rest on its proverbial laurels and assume the world is anxiously waiting for it, but Nickelback -- Kroeger, his brother and bassist Mike Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake and drummer Daniel Adair -- still feel like a new album is a fresh opportunity to prove themselves.
"I honestly think that with every song you release you have to keep winning your own fans over again," Chad Kroeger explains. "I want every single song to be amazing. That's what I want to hear, so that's what we have to try to provide to our fans."
His brother, bassist Mike Kroeger, adds that, "Any artist that is even surviving right now is a dark horse because things change pretty fast. You're a superstar one day and wake up the next day and you're anonymous. To be successful in any way is beating the odds right now, I think."
Nickelback is well ahead of those odds, and it continues to pulverize them with Dark Horse, an 11-track survey of everything the group has done so well to this point -- fist-pumping anthems, grinding rockers, soaring power ballads, grinning sexual innuendo, heart-wringing romanticism, choruses that stick in your ears after the first listen and hooks so big they practically boomerang through the songs.
And while Mike Kroeger contends that Dark Horse "isn't affecting some huge departure from our past efforts," it does find the band working in some fresh -- and rarefied -- rock 'n' roll territory. It marks the first time Nickelback has worked with an outside producer since Silver Side Up in 2001, but considering that producer is Robert John "Mutt" Lange, he of AC/DC "Back in Black," Def Leppard "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" and Foreigner "4" fame, it's easy to understand why the group was willing to open up the inner sanctum again.
"He was actually somebody we were interested in working with for a long time," notes Peake. "We had to think a lot about relinquishing a bit of that control to someone else. But we just said, 'Yeah, let's give it a shot.' If there's anybody we were gonna try to work with, it would be very cool to work with somebody like (Lange), who's done some pretty fantastic work in the past.
"And we knew we're way too headstrong to let someone else come in and make things totally different for us, no matter who they are!"
Nickelback's track record certainly speaks to the group's stature. The group has sold 27 million albums worldwide and, since the 2001 breakthrough of "How You Remind Me," has sent 13 singles rocketing onto the various Billboard charts, expanding its solid foothold in rock markets to the Top 40 world.
All The Right Reasons insured Nickelback an indelible place in rock history, however. It spent a staggering 112 consecutive weeks in the Top 30 of the Billboard Top 200, was certified 8-times platinum in the U.S. and has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, topping charts in four countries. All The Right Reasons spun off seven multi-format singles and made Nickelback the first band in Nielsen BDS history to send five singles onto the CHR charts. All five of the album's videos hit No. 1 on VH1's playlist, while Nickelback has sold more than 9 million single digital downloads and more than 5 million ringtones of the album's songs. All The Right Reasons won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and helped the quartet to three Billboard Music Awards in 2006 and a pair of Juno Awards in Canada. And on the road, Nickelback has sold more than 1.65 million concert tickets over the course of the album cycle.
"It wasn't like we all sat back and said, 'Oh my God, this is gonna be the biggest record of our lives,' " Chad Kroeger recalls. "It was us sitting around saying, 'we're really proud of this record, and I hope that everyone else is gonna love it half as much as we do.' And they did."
All The Right Reasons did, however, set a high bar for Dark Horse, but the members of Nickelback say they felt a different kind of pressure when they sat down with Lange to start working on the new album.
"That pressure has always been there; it's self-imposed pressure from before we started selling records," explains Mike Kroeger. "It's self-imposed pressure to do your best work."
Peake adds that, "I've been asked quite a bit about the pressure of a new album, and I don't buy into it. I didn't buy into it after (2001's six-times platinum) Silver Side Up, I didn't buy into it after (2003's three-times platinum) Long Road and I'm not gonna buy into it again. We just have to go in, do the best to our possible abilities and leave it up to the people."
Work on Dark Horse began in March, after Nickelback made its long-awaited contact with Lange. The band traveled to the producer's home base in Switzerland to begin going over song ideas. The tunes came from a variety of directions; for instance the dynamically swelling "If Today Was Your Last Day," had been around for awhile but hadn't been finished. "Chad brought it out of the vault and the creative juices started to flow," Mike Kroeger notes. Then there's "This Afternoon," whose acoustic, rootsy flavor, along with some downright country-style guitar licks represent a refreshing departure from the Nickelback norm. "It's a big-time part of our background," Mike Kroeger notes, "that whole laid-back, barroom kind of feel. Where we grew up everybody listened to country. I would say that song's our 'Friends In Low Places,' y'know?"
Dark Horse's other songs -- recorded during the summer at Chad Kroeger's converted barn studio in Vancouver -- traverse a wide terrain, from the arcing melodic ebb and flow of the first single, "Gotta Be Somebody" and the metallic groove of "Burn It To The Ground" to the heavy riffery of "Something In Your Mouth" and "The Next Go Round" and the inspiring balladry of "You'll Never Be Alone" and "I'd Come For You." "We're a rock band," Peake says. "We like to get heavy and we do like to write stuff that's melodic and maybe a little more mellow. It's nice to have both, and it's nice to have both accepted by the fans. There are some bands that can only put out one kind of thing, but our fans are pretty open so we don't get stuck in one place."
Mike Kroeger adds that, "I think people expect that level of effort or level of 'quality' from us. We don't pen ourselves into one identity; we're just trying out new things and doing some things we haven't done before...and making sure that it's as good as it can be and the cleanest and most refined version of what we do."
That's what comes honestly for Nickelback, And it seems to work time and again.
"We're kind of a people's band," Peake explains, "so we'll leave it up to them whether they like it or not. We're one of those bands people come back to, which is very cool."
Even when it's applied to a self-declared, multi-platinum dark horse.
23/06/2009 - NICKELBACK PICK UP 3 MUCH MUSIC AWARDS; ALEXISONFIRE PERFORM Canada's MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS took place over the weekend and saw two Roadrunner artists take the ceremony by storm! AL 19/06/2009 - THIS WEEKS TOP NEWS AND MEDIA Owing to all of the RR staff being stuck in a field (AKA running around hooking up rucks of interviews before getting hideously drunk) last ... 18/06/2009 - NICKELBACK SPEAK EXCLUSIVELY TO MYSPACE UK ABOUT NEW SINGLE 'IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY' Monday saw the release of a brand new single from rock heavy weights NICKELBACK and MYSPACE UK took the opportunity to speak to the b 11/06/2009 - ROADRUNNER UK CHAT TO BLACK STONE CHERRY; FOLKLORE & SUPERSTITION SPECIAL ED. OUT NOW! BLACK STONE CHERRY were in the UK recently in support of NICKELBACK so we took the opportunity to catch up wit 06/06/2009 - NICKELBACK LIVE IN SESSION WITH ABSOLUTE When they were in the UK recently for their sell out UK arena tour, NICKELBACK popped in to Absoute Radio and recorded two l 02/06/2009 - ROADRUNNER UK BLOG UPDATE There's been another update on the Roadrunner UK Blog and this time it's Sami, who looks after the online PR in the office and the ... 01/06/2009 - BLACK STONE CHERRY LIVE AT GIBSON GUITARS- PICS AND REVIEW When they were in the UK supporting label-mates NICKELBACK, BLACK STONE CHERRY used one of their days off to e 28/05/2009 - NICKELBACK SPEAK TO SKY NEWS NICKELBACK chatted to Sky News recently about fame, paparazzi and donating money to charity. You can check out the video interview wit 28/05/2009 - BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE NICKELBACK BASS TECH ON TOUR + KILLER LIVE REVIEW Tonight sees the penultimate show of the current NICKELBACK UK headline tour, and in the player below, you will get to hear from Mike's bass ... 27/05/2009 - RR UK BLOG UPDATE- BEN FROM BLACK STONE CHERRY TAKES OVER BLACK STONE CHERRY are currently on tour here in the UK and Ben was finally able to get online on the road and update the ... 21/05/2009 - NEW SINGLE, NEW VIDEO, UPCOMING TOUR- ALL GO FOR BLACK STONE CHERRY Kentucky’s favourites BLACK STONE CHERRY begin their support slot on Nickelback’s UK arena run in Manchester tomorrow, and are set for their own flurry of hard ... 19/05/2009 - BLACK STONE CHERRY EXCITED TO BE BACK IN THE UK- NEW VIDEO INTERVIEW This week sees the BLACK STONE CHERRY guys come back to the UK to support their label mates NICKELBACK, so on 19/05/2009 - NICKELBACK IN JO WHILEY'S LIVE LOUNGE TOMORROW (MAY 20TH) Tune in to Radio 1 tomorrow (May 20th) to hear NICKELBACK live in session in Jo Whiley's live lounge. Jo is on air from 10am tomorrow, ... 18/05/2009 - CHECK OUT THE NEW BLACK STONE CHERRY VIDEO- THINGS MY FATHER SAID BLACK STONE CHERRY hit the UK this week to support label mates NICKELBACK and so it's with rather good timing 12/05/2009 - BLACK STONE CHERRY TO PLAY SPECIAL ACOUSTIC SHOW Black Stone Cherry will be playing a special acoustic set for Planet Rock Radio winners at Gibson Studios in London on May 27th. For your ... 06/05/2009 - NICKELBACK'S STAGE MANAGERS TALK ABOUT SETTING UP THE DARK HORSE TOUR Meet Donnie and Jerry. They have worked with NICKELBACK setting up their stages for years and this year, in the Dark Horse Tour, they have ... 30/04/2009 - NICKELBACK CONFESS THEIR ADDICTION TO PYRO Well, kinda. Here we hear from their pyrotechnic dude just how the guys LOVE to set things on fire and blow things up. All for ... 28/04/2009 - NICKELBACK PREMIER NEW VIDEO WITH ROADRUNNER Check out the new video from NICKELBACK for the life affirming IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY, which will be released as a single on ... 15/04/2009 - MORE BEHIND THE SCENES OF NICKELBACK'S DARK HORSE TOUR- THIS TIME DRUMS! Daniel Adair from NICKELBACK. He's an awesome guy. Here his drum tech backs us up on our claim, and Dan sings his tech's praises too. ... 14/04/2009 - MEET THE NICKELBACK GUITAR TECHS AND SEE WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR THEM ON TOUR... In our latest update from the road on the DARK HORSE tour, NICKELBACK guitar techs walk us through what it's like for them working with ... 19/06/2009THIS WEEKS TOP NEWS AND MEDIA Owing to all of the RR staff being stuck in a field (AKA running around hooking up rucks of interviews before getting hideously drunk) last ... 09/01/2009GOTTA MEET THE HOTTIE WITH THE MILLION DOLLAR BODY...? Damn straight! Check out this cheeky number from NICKELBACK'S current album DARK HORSE- the monumental SOMETHING IN YOUR MOUTH. Click on the player below to ... 24/06/2008ROADRUNNER RECORDS EUROPE WELCOMES STAIND Springfield, Massachusetts natives STAIND are set to release their brand new record THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS through Roadrunner Records in Europe on September 8.THE ILLUSION ... 07/10/2008NICKELBACK REVEAL THE ARTWORK FOR NEW ALBUM 'DARK HORSE' PLUS SINGLE STREAM GOES LIVE HERE 08/10 Multi platinum rockers NICKELBACK have revealed the artwork for their upcoming album DARK HORSE which is due for a release on the 17TH NOVEMBER.Work on ... 12/02/2008Get A Free Roadrage 20-Track DVD A ROADRAGE DVD is available exclusively NOW via Virgin/V.Shops for a mere £7.99 or utterly free if you buy 3 RR CD's for £20 or ... 01/06/2009BLACK STONE CHERRY LIVE AT GIBSON GUITARS- PICS AND REVIEW When they were in the UK supporting label-mates NICKELBACK, BLACK STONE CHERRY used one of their days off to e 12/02/2008Roadrage £7 & £8 Bargains Further to the last news update about the stonkingly cheap Roadrage campaign kicking off at Virgin this month, we can now tell you it's actually ... 18/06/2009NICKELBACK SPEAK EXCLUSIVELY TO MYSPACE UK ABOUT NEW SINGLE 'IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY' Monday saw the release of a brand new single from rock heavy weights NICKELBACK and MYSPACE UK took the opportunity to speak to the b 06/06/2009NICKELBACK LIVE IN SESSION WITH ABSOLUTE When they were in the UK recently for their sell out UK arena tour, NICKELBACK popped in to Absoute Radio and recorded two l 12/02/2009NICKELBACK PRESENT THEIR NEW VIDEO FOR UPCOMING SINGLE 'I'D COME FOR YOU' March 23rd sees NICKELBACK release their second single off current album DARK HORSE and below we present the video. Here, ladies and gentlemen is I'D ... 19/05/2009BLACK STONE CHERRY EXCITED TO BE BACK IN THE UK- NEW VIDEO INTERVIEW This week sees the BLACK STONE CHERRY guys come back to the UK to support their label mates NICKELBACK, so on 28/04/2009NICKELBACK PREMIER NEW VIDEO WITH ROADRUNNER Check out the new video from NICKELBACK for the life affirming IF TODAY WAS YOUR LAST DAY, which will be released as a single on ... 11/06/2009ROADRUNNER UK CHAT TO BLACK STONE CHERRY; FOLKLORE & SUPERSTITION SPECIAL ED. OUT NOW! BLACK STONE CHERRY were in the UK recently in support of NICKELBACK so we took the opportunity to catch up wit 09/12/2008NICKELBACK TALK INFLUENCES OVER ON MSN UK MUSIC Ryan and Chad from NICKELBACK recently took time out of their hectic schedule to chat about their new album DARK HORSE (in stores NOW) and ... 12/02/2008Updates From The Studio Some current notes of interest from the studio this week: 36 Crazyfists - up in Portland writing and laying some tunes down to tape. Currently ... 12/02/2008Vinyl Side Up Did you know you can now buy Nickelback's 'Silver Side Up' on vinyl from Simply Vinyl? And the company making this glorious piece of vinyl ... 12/02/2008Nickelback At The Juno's A year ago at this time, Nickelback was nominated under the category of Best New Group at the 2001 Canadian Juno Awards. One year later ... 12/02/2008Updates From The Studio some current notes of interest from the studio this week: 36 Crazyfists They start pre-production of their second Roadrunner release on May 1st up in ... 12/02/2008Some Early Praise THEORY OF A DEADMAN are receiving early praise from the critics for their debut album (the first release from Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger's 604 Records ... 12/02/2008Updates And The VMA's The latest snippets on Theory Of A Deadman? 1) The band have a covermount CD track on Metal Hammer (7/11). 2) As of September 29th, ... If Today Was Your Last Day If Today Was Your Last Day I'd Come For You I'd Come For You Dark Horse Dark Horse Gotta Be Somebody Gotta Be Somebody Far Away Far Away Photograph Photograph The Ultimate Video Collection The Ultimate Video Collection All The Right Reasons (Special Edition) All The Right Reasons (Special Edition) Silver Side Up/Live At Home (25th Anniversary Re-Issue) Silver Side Up/Live At Home (25th Anniversary Re-Issue) All The Right Reasons All The Right Reasons The Long Road The Long Road The Long Road (Digi) The Long Road (Digi) Live At Home Live At Home Curb Curb Silver Side Up Silver Side Up The State The State Promo Live Shots 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London 19th September 2008 - 02 Arena, London Press Other Disc Presentation London, 19th September 2008 London, 19th September 2008 London, 19th September 2008 London, 19th September 2008
