STACK #122 Dec 2015

MUSIC

COVER FEATURE

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Nickelback return with a new album, No FixedAddress , and an upcomingAustralian tour.

Canadian equivalent of the Grammies). Nickelback was formed in the early ’90s, initially as a cover band called The Village Idiots. The nucleus of the band was Chad Kroeger and his brothers Mike and Brandon, who shared a mutual love of Led Zeppelin and Metallica. They re-named themselves Nickelback when they released their Hesher EP, the name coming from Mike Kroeger’s job at Starbucks where he was often heard to say, “here’s your nickel back” when giving customers their change. if [the critics] had stopped writing all this stuff about us, there would be no controversy . . .

T o this day, The Beatles have sold more records in America than any other band not originally from those shores. But, who’s second? Led Zeppelin? Pink Floyd? AC/ DC? … um, Adele? Nope, none of the above. The answer? It’s not from Europe or down here in Australia, but closer to the USA. The second biggest non-American selling band in American recording industry history just hopped over the border and got amongst it – no, it’s not Bryan Adams... it’s Nickelback. Yep, the Canadian poster boys of post-grunge arena rock – loved and hated in equal measure – broke America wide open some time ago. No matter what anyone thinks of them, the facts remain: nine Grammy Award nominations, three American Music Awards, a World Music Award, a People’s Choice Award, and 12 Juno Awards (the

The band’s new album, No Fixed Address , comes over a year after Chad Kroeger’s marriage to pop star Avril Lavigne, and arrives just in time for him to turn 40. And while there’s growly vocals, big-as-a-house power chords, and plenty of lighter-waving rock choruses on offer, there are some new directions afoot in the world of Nickelback, no doubt about it. While Nickelback fans will swoop on the new album, and their Australian dates for next year (see below), it’s hard to ignore the jibes that have been levelled at the band, sometimes from fellow musicians. When Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney attacked them in 2012 – telling Rolling Stone that “rock ’n’ roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world” – the band simply tweeted a ‘thanks’.

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au/music

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