Nickelback are not known for their insight, but Chad Kroeger's caterwauling claim that "we got no class, no taste" on "Burn It to the Ground," the second song on their sixth album, Dark Horse, is a slice of perceptive, precise self-examination. They work with legendary producer Robert "Mutt" Lange (the sonic architect behind Back in Black and Pyromania, two of hard rock's towering monuments) here, and Lange decides to give the band a production caught somewhere between the two extremes of AC/DC and Def Leppard, pumping up some muscle on Nickelback's heaviest rockers and adding some color to their power ballads, suggesting some heretofore verboten suggestions of modernity in the form of electronic rhythms, even taking it to the extreme of adding drum loops to the surefire crossover hit "Gotta Be Somebody." Lyrically, Kroeger trots out a parade of dirty little ladies in pretty pink thongs, porn stars, strippers, and sluts, all of whom are desired and despised for showing too much skin; he's either had his heart broken by those loose women, or he's singing to the good girl left at home while he's out on the town. Nickelback do manage to shed their leathery rock skin a couple of times, first with an arena-rocking "Burn It to the Ground" and then echoing Toby Keith's "Let's Talk About Us" on the white-boy rap pre-chorus for "Something in Your Mouth," but these are mere glimpses of something unpredictable; Dark Horse was constructed entirely from the group's standard power ballad and hard rock templates. The mood only lightens at the end of the record, when Kroeger and company take a break from carousing to kick back with bros and a bong for "This Afternoon" -- its strum-along choruses are a relief but so is its mellowness, as Kroeger seems calmer, relaxed, even friendly. Maybe it's because there were no women in the picture.
Some targets are so easy it seems almost shameful to hit them (Chinese Democracy, anyone?). And so it is with a twinge of regret (just a twinge, mind you) that I join the music-critic dogpile on top of Nickelback's new release Dark Horse.Dark Horse being, of course, a faintly ridiculous name for the latest album by a platinum-selling corporate rock hit machine. But then, many things about thi...
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I realize that Chewing Gum For The Ears leans much more toward the indie/alternative side of music, but I still dig a good rock 'n' roll record every once in a while. Back in high school, I enjoyed Nickelback's first two U.S. releases The State and Silver Side Up despite the fact that both were big, dumb rock records. Since that time, I always give the new Nickelback album a listen, just fo...
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Chances are not many folks are going to take the time to review the new album from Nickelback and will instead just give it a categorical thrashing. So when the album leaked earlier this week I allowed my curiosity (and yes, my casual fandom) to get the better of me and I grabbed a copy of Dark Horse , the band's sixth record. Produced by Mutt Lange, Dark Horse is in many ways a far cry from t...
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With every album release Nickelback manage to produce a host of chart filling singles but the new track from the Canadian rockers seems extra special. "Gotta Be Somebody" has already been filling the top ten from the album "Dark Horse" (set to be released on the 18th November) and it did well to not disappoint [...]
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Some targets are so easy it seems almost shameful to hit them (Chinese Democracy, anyone?). And so it is with a twinge of regret (just a twinge, mind you) that I join the music-critic dogpile on top of Nickelback's new release Dark Horse.Dark Horse being, of course, a faintly ridiculous name for the latest album by a platinum-selling corporate rock hit machine. But then, many things about thi...
More >
Chances are not many folks are going to take the time to review the new album from Nickelback and will instead just give it a categorical thrashing. So when the album leaked earlier this week I allowed my curiosity (and yes, my casual fandom) to get the better of me and I grabbed a copy of Dark Horse , the band's sixth record. Produced by Mutt Lange, Dark Horse is in many ways a far cry from t...
More >
Chad Kroeger laughs when asked if the phenomenal sales for 2005's "All the Right Reasons" gave confidence to Nickelback as it set out to make its sixth studio album, "Dark Horse."Full story here.
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Never Gonna Be Alone "Never Gonna Be Alone" is the 6th single off of Nickelback's sixth studio album Dark Horse, to be released on September 29th. The song is a power ballad, similar to other hits by the band such as, "I'd Come For You", "Far Away", and "If Everyone Cared"."Never Gonna Be Alone" reached #68 on The Billboard Hot 100 a few months before it was released as a single.Was this a good...
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"Burn It To The Ground" is the fourth single off Nickelback's most recent album Dark Horse. Unfortunately, this is the kind of Nickelback music that I don't care for. The video is live, which isn't a plus either, though they do go all out with the explosions & everything.
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With every album release Nickelback manage to produce a host of chart filling singles but the new track from the Canadian rockers seems extra special. "Gotta Be Somebody" has already been filling the top ten from the album "Dark Horse" (set to be released on the 18th November) and it did well to not disappoint [...]
More >
I realize that Chewing Gum For The Ears leans much more toward the indie/alternative side of music, but I still dig a good rock 'n' roll record every once in a while. Back in high school, I enjoyed Nickelback's first two U.S. releases The State and Silver Side Up despite the fact that both were big, dumb rock records. Since that time, I always give the new Nickelback album a listen, just fo...
More >
"Never Gonna Be Alone" is the fifth single lifted from Nickelback's latest album Dark Horse. I guess wishes really do come true (even when you forget that you had them)! Best video from this album so far.
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Canadian rockers Nickelback have announced a lengthy North American tour starting in February 2009. The tour, that will support their new album, Dark Horse, with kick off in Nashville on Feb. 25 and wrap in San Antonio on April 14. It's the band's relentless touring that helped their last album, All the Right Reasons, sell over [...]
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Something in Your Mouth |
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| 2 Burn It to the Ground |
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| 3 Gotta Be Somebody |
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| 4 I'd Come for You |
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| 5 Next Go Round |
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| 6 Just to Get High |
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| 7 Never Gonna Be Alone |
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| 8 Shakin' Hands |
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| 9 S.E.X. |
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| 10 If Today Was Your Last Day |
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| 11 This Afternoon |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Dark Horse")
