Nickelback
Biography
Few bands did more than Nickelback to establish the force of slick, commercially minded post-grunge in the 2000s. Led by vocalist Chad Kroeger, the band initially emerged in the late '90s as Canada's answer to Creed, prizing a blend of gruff vocals and distorted (yet radio-friendly) guitars. After a handful of singles failed to gain much traction in Canada, "How You Remind Me" caught hold in 2001, eventually topping the charts in several countries while gathering four Grammy nominations and four Juno Awards. Creed imploded several years later, but Nickelback's popularity only grew as the decade progressed, effectively eclipsing those acts that had once informed the band's sound.
Chad Kroeger honed his frontman skills by performing with cover bands in Hanna, a small Canadian town 215 kilometers northeast of Calgary. After growing tired of playing other people's songs, he borrowed money from his stepfather and relocated to Vancouver, where he recorded his first batch of original material. Mike Kroeger, Chad's bass-playing sibling, decided to join his brother's band, as did fellow Vancouver transplants Ryan Peake (a guitarist who had befriended the Kroegers in middle school) and Ryan Vikedal (a drummer from Peake's hometown of Brooks, Alberta). Nickelback officially took shape in 1996 and quickly set to work, releasing two albums -- the Hesher EP and full-length album, Curb -- before the year was up. By 1998, the bandmates were managing themselves; Chad courted radio stations, brother Mike Kroeger handled distribution, Ryan Vikedal booked shows, and Peake maintained the band's website.
January 2000 saw the arrival of The State, Nickelback's second independent release. Issued at a time in which Canadian content requirements were increased (and, accordingly, local radio stations had begun to desperately seek out homegrown product), the album fared very well on indie charts. Nickelback toured ceaselessly in support of The State, logging approximately 200 shows while playing alongside other groups of the burgeoning post-grunge genre. Nickelback's commercial appeal wasn't lost on the record industry, either, and The State's distribution rights were quickly snapped up by Roadrunner Records in the U.S. and EMI in Canada. As the band continued to tour, Chad Kroeger kept writing new songs, many of which were honed in front of live audiences. Much of that material found its way onto Silver Side Up, which was produced by Rick Parashar (who came to prominence in the early '90s by helming Pearl Jam's Ten, Alice in Chains' Sap, and Blind Melon's self-titled debut) and recorded at Green House, the same Vancouver studio used during The State's creation. The combination of Nickelback's growing popularity and Kroeger's focused songwriting propelled Silver Side Up onto album charts across the world, spearheaded by the hit single "How You Remind Me." Kroeger capitalized on that exposure by producing another Vancouver-based band, Default, and collaborating with Saliva's Josey Scott for the Spiderman soundtrack. The Long Road then arrived in 2003, featuring an increasingly polished sound and another high-charting single, "Someday." While some listeners criticized the apparent similarities between "Someday" and "How You Remind Me," The Long Road had little trouble maintaining Nickelback's wide audience, eventually selling over five million copies worldwide.
In February 2005, Nickelback announced the departure of Ryan Vikedal. He was soon replaced by 3 Doors Down's former drummer, Daniel Adair, and Nickelback returned to Kroeger's studio in Vancouver to begin work on another album. ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell (who unfortunately died before the album's release) were guests on the chart-topping All the Right Reasons, which arrived in October 2005. The album proved to be Nickelback's most popular effort to date, remaining in the Billboard Top 30 for over two years and selling over 7 million copies in the U.S. alone. It also spawned five Top 20 singles, a feat that attracted the attention of veteran producer (and demonstrated hit-maker) Mutt Lange. Nickelback traveled to Lange's home in Switzerland to share songwriting ideas; impressed with the results, they also enlisted him to helm their next album. Recorded in a converted Vancouver barn, Dark Horse marked the band's sixth studio album upon its release in November 2008. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
Selected Discography
This band has a very special place in my heart...I was going thru some very rough times in my life and these guys got me thru it...they are awesome...
|
||
Yea, anywhere you go online there's allways negative peeps,it's like why are you listening to or learning about someone or something you don't like??? Hello is that not completely silly? You goofy Gusses.N E ways This misic is some good stuuf.In my famous words,LOVE IT!
|
||
I'd Come For You and Savin Me are probaly the best songs that they have ever done.
|
||
i know right? personally, we are all allowed to have opinions, and in mine, Nickelback is a great band. at least if you post a negative comment, have it contain something useful that could be improved.
|
||
everyone has different musical tastes, so every band is going to have people who like them and people who don't. i personally love Nickelback, all of their song are awesome and the lyrics are really well written. And if your going to post a negative comment, be mature about it. None of the "they suck" crap, its pointless and makes you sound like a whinny 8 year old...
|
||
That whole Pop thing really went to their heads. Another band that has no good music, yet is still uber popular. I just don't get it.
|
||
gotta be somebody is like...THE BEST SONG EVER!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! and that's no matter what.
|
||
They didn't make it this far by just "shakin' hands......L O L ! ! ! . . . . . . . .
|
||
whats with all the nickelback haters?!?!?! ? first of all nickelback is a GREAT BAND no matter what anyone says. songs like 'animals' and 'far away' are some of the best songs ever made. second of all if u hate nickelback why post on their site...?
|
||
Here's another reason everyone hates Nickelback. They think that Chad Kroeger should only be writing songs for them, not other performers like Bo Bice. They think that he should only be working with Nickelback, not any other performers. I know this is the ranting of a teenybopper, but you are jealous of his songwriting credits for outside performers.
|
||
Will any of the other Nickelback members be able to fill Chad Kroeger's songwriting shoes if he wasn't in the band anymore?
|
||
and sgchika it doesnt say "leave a friendly comment about this artist" it just says leave a comment so i will excersize that suggestion :) but i will do you a favor that i think everyone else should. instead of just saying "its garbage" i will back my opinion up with reasons and critique
|
||
i dont know verbal. ya the music is solid but its just your typical radio music. nothing new or special. i am tired of listening to watered down meteocre radio friendly music. i need something new and exciting. so i think its boring even though other people enjoy it. i just fear people enjoy it because they havnt heard anyhing except what the fm radio feeds them. because thats whats really wrong with america. they think a band is good when they never really have explored their options to begin
|
||
I thought this band was a bunch of sell-outs until I heard one of thier albums. The radio just does not do them justice. They are a solid band.
|
||
oh btw if you dont like the band dont go to their page and leave comments... its rude and none of us could do any better otherwise we would be famous too.
|
||
ok stop switching your name best of the best...
first of all im not mexican. i just know multiple languages because i travel which is something you would know nothing about. second of all im not even kind of a slut and you wouldnt know that because you dont know anything about me so keep your mouth shut and stop talking about things you know nothing about like me and music :) |
||
As Willow would say "Listen to Godsmack lol hahahahaha" No I've posted on here a nice sum of comments about how the band is solid but if they got rid of Chad dbag Kroger their rep would skyrocket and people wouldn't feel so crappy for how they sound. Nuff Said!!!
|
||
i agree nickleback sometimes sounds country (most recent album), yes nickleback has become a stereotype for bands like hinder and others, but dont foret that they are the orrigional and they play their own music. the cadaver please tell me why they are f**king garbage, maybe u know from experience? whatever floats you boat, just a question buddy, f**k on
|
||
This band is f**king garbage. I'd break their faces if I saw any of them. I mean, listen to that singer...mak e s me want to strangle a hick or something.
|
||
Nickelback has now become the stereotype for those rock bands that sound like every other rock band.
|
||
Nickelback are on the Country Music Television website. I'm not kidding. I know country singer Travis Tritt covered "Should've Listened", and Mutt Lange was married to Shania Twain, and Mike used to wear a cowboy hat onstage earlier in their career. I think these are the reasons why they are on that website.
|
||
No, Mike Kroeger worked at Starbucks, and he always said "Here's your nickel back" to the customers when they bought cups of coffee. That was the inspiration for their name, not what you said. And, what about Hinder and Saving Abel? They think it's the 80s, too, unless you were already planning to tell them that, too.
|
||
I need to rephrase what these guys are- they aren't "sellouts" because they never made good music that was original. I think the term POSER is more appropriate and they need to get an image overhaul cuz it's not the 80's anymore, no matter how much they wish it was!
|
||
I know how nickelback got their name- They were charging 5 cents for their first album and people were demanding their Nickelback!! These guys are good at what they do though, but they just seem in it for the money to me and that means they are SELLOUTS!
|
||
first of all im a girl, which you would know if you looked at my username since chika (although misspelled) means girl in spanish dummy. second of all you would know about inbreeding since your sister is also your daughter.
|
||
I think you are a good artist i like the song far away song.I still like your other songs and cd also.
|
||
lol how can you bash nickelback when your username proclaims you as the gayest man alive. blink182 isnt music... and no i hate to break it to you but "MASTERS OF INCEST" was actually the name of your last family reunion
|
||
wow u really dont know ur freaking music if u think this is even remotely country. seriously, meth rots ur brain so stop using it!
|
||
Is it possible for Pandora to block Nickelback from playing on any of my stations? I hate them with the fire of 1,000 suns and never, never, NEVER want to hear any of the s**t they call music.
|
||
"douche with AIDS"??!!!-- - W T F ? ? ? ! ! ! ! Are you a frickin' moron??!!!- first of all, WE DON'T KNOW that he had AIDS, secondly, why would someone w/AIDS be a "douche"..?? ? - unless you're TOTALLY CLUELESS (which you probably are)....
|
||
| report abuse |







