TORONTO - Nickelback isn't losing any sleep over their rock legacy these days.
Once derided by some music fans as being among the most-hated bands of all time, the Alberta act has survived many sucker punches from critics and the din of negativity from naysayers on social media.
But with an upcoming 春色直播 Music Hall of Fame induction, a headlining spot at the Boots and Hearts festival next summer, and a brand new studio album out this month, the conversation around Nickelback is shifting from a point of ridicule to one that recognizes their contributions to pop culture.
Several years ago, a clip from their "Photograph" music video featuring lead singer Chad Kroeger gripping a picture frame became one of the internet's favourite memes. While the image was used to at times mock Nickelback, it also made them omnipresent in a new corner of online conversation.
And streaming data shows that no matter how much people knock them, they're still listening to Nickelback's hits enough to rank them among the top 500 artists on Spotify.
Asked about the divide between the hate and the plays, guitarist Ryan Peake offers a balanced take.
"We don鈥檛 think about that," he insisted in a recent interview. "There's always room for more listeners, for us. We鈥檙e happy to see the numbers."
"Get Rollin'," their first full-length album in five years, suggests Nickelback might be thinking a little deeper than they let on.
The record effectively resets the band's sound to its familiar state after a few unusual turns that saw them collaborate with rapper Flo Rida in 2014 and a few years later release an album that some received as a soggy criticism of politics in the Donald Trump presidency.
Instead of taking unpredictable detours, "Get Rollin'" is a throwback to Nickelback's glory days of the early aughts when they were inescapable on the radio and the punchline of music snobs.
Roaring album opener 鈥淪an Quentin,鈥 inspired by a real-life prison warden, could鈥檝e been recorded by Metallica a couple of decades ago, while 鈥淭hose Days鈥 features Kroeger performing what's effectively a sequel to "Photograph" where he runs off a list of generation X cultural touchstones, from date nights watching 鈥淎 Nightmare on Elm Street鈥 to punching in *69 on a landline.
Smack in the middle of the album there's the melodic, mid-tempo rock ballad 鈥淭idal Wave," which opens with the sound of shoreline waves as Kroeger delivers verse after verse of aquatic metaphors. He compares love to surfing a disastrous force of nature, or as he describes it in the interview, a romance that鈥檚 鈥渄angerously exciting, but we all know how it鈥檚 going to end.鈥
鈥淭idal Wave鈥 is as catchy as it is goofy, leaving it up to the listener to decide whether the band is in on the joke. Other tracks titled 鈥淪kinny Little Missy鈥 and 鈥淪teel Still Rusts鈥 suggest maybe they are.
Taken as a whole, "Get Rollin'" could be the closest Nickelback ever comes to a concept album, if you accept that its theme is built around a few buddies in their 40s cracking open beers to reflect on the good old days.
But Peake and Kroeger are quick to stamp down any suggestion Nickelback came to the table with a cohesive idea for the project, saying their creative process is too scattered.
鈥淲e鈥檇 make a really terrible concept album,鈥 Peake said.
Even if Nickelback doesn鈥檛 co-sign the theory of a grander vision, it鈥檚 clear they鈥檝e put some thought into recalculating their direction after 2017 album "Feed the Machine" was met with a tepid response from listeners and critics.
Released during the Trump presidency, the album's cover showed a faceless autocrat standing before an adoring crowd with robotic wires tethered to his back, which some took as a half-hearted attempt at a political statement that never played out beyond the title track.
Peake disputes the notion that Nickelback was ever trying to skewer Trump in the first place.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like people looking at clouds in the sky,鈥 he said of drawing any sort of meaning from the concept.
鈥淪ome people just need to see something. I get that.鈥
However they meant it to be received, "Feed the Machine" found mixed success. While it marked Nickelback's highest chart debut in the United Kingdom, it was less popular in the United States, slumping to their lowest first-week sales since their breakthrough 鈥淪ilver Side Up鈥 in 2001.
"I think at that point in time, politics was so blurred with showbiz that it was hard to discern what was what for a while," Kroeger said. "And it felt like that was the thing that we all wanted to say: For better or for worse, regardless of whatever side you鈥檙e on, it doesn鈥檛 matter, because we don鈥檛 like to alienate."
They don鈥檛 write songs "for the left or the right," Kroeger added.
鈥淲e make songs for human beings and we鈥檙e all part of that race, I鈥檇 like to think.鈥
The topic strikes up a debate between the two bandmates as they consider the merits of political commentary in rock music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really selfish when a band or artist wants to tell you so aggressively where they stand," Kroeger suggested.
"Music is supposed to be about enjoyment or escapism. It鈥檚 not supposed to be鈥"
鈥淲ell, Bob Dylan,鈥 Peake counters.
鈥淵eah. Someone else,鈥 Kroeger adds. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have that type of agenda. Our agenda is to go in, make music we enjoy, and hopefully our fans enjoy .... That鈥檚 it, really.鈥
"Get Rollin'" keeps it as simple as that.
All 11 tracks sound like they're ready to be released as singles, blasted on a car stereo or belted out at a live show.
Peake hopes that will be enough to draw audiences back when Nickelback announces plans for a major tour in the near future. Their summer dates will include the stop at Boots and Hearts in Oro-Medonte, Ont., on Aug. 11.
Until then, he's keeping his expectations in check.
"The climate around our band name changes back and forth," he said.
"The noise of social media, the noise of whatever is in the news at the time, popular opinion, blah, blah, blah."
He added: "But there鈥檚 a lot of unabashed enjoyment of the music, which is why we鈥檙e here .... We want people to come and sing the songs. We want them to sing to us and to each other. That鈥檚 the most fun."
This report by 春色直播was first published Nov. 21, 2022.
