Nickelback’s music is mainly listed under grunge, post-grunge, and alternative labels, but one can also hear heavier tones in some of their songs, which has confused many about the band’s genre. In a recent interview with Q On CBC, Nickelback frontman Kroeger said that their sound is close to metal, but with a balanced tune, especially in their last album.
“We’ve been far heavier than anything on [‘Feed The Machine’],” said the frontman, agreeing with the interviewer’s statement about their music having a metal sound. “But for some reason, with the initial tease that was put out there by [the label], they gave this little tease, and it does that [imitates heavy drum sound]. And it was like, ‘Oh, that’s the little teaser that went out there; it’s Nickelback?’”
He continued, “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, they’re heavy. Oh, this is going to be a heavy record.’ The record is just this balanced record, just like all the rest of them. The heaviest record we ever did was the last record [‘Get Rollin’’], and nobody talked about it. We didn’t talk about it.”
Since Nickelback’s inception, the band has acquired a controversial position in the rock world due to its approach to the music industry. It was dubbed the most hated rock band, but still, its songs achieved incredible commercial success. It was the ‘guilty pleasure’ of some rockers, while others couldn’t bear listening to them because of their stance in the market.
Many thought that following the same patterns in their songs was a market move and completely against the nature of rock music. While their position in the rock world has not been entirely accepted by all rockers, it is clear that the frontman’s words about their belonging to the metal scene will cause a reaction.
The last release of the band mentioned by the frontman was dropped under the title ‘Get Rollin’’ at the beginning of last September and became the band’s tenth studio album. They started the preparations in 2019, but the band members didn’t want to rush. As they highlighted in this interview, they play and create as they please.
While still in the early stages of the album, in 2019, Kroeger revealed that they wanted to release an album in a metal direction. This album has a heavier tune than the previous records, but it is debatable whether it can be labeled as metal.
