Dark Horse

About

As one might expect for a band that was essentially managing itself during its rise to fame, Nickelback's independent streak runs deep. And through their group's journey to becoming one of the most commercially successful rock acts of the 2000, Chad Kroeger and his bandmates steadfastly developed their own creative vision rather than allowing any outsiders to impose their own. Maybe that's why it's so exciting to hear Nickelback's sound get reconfigured and reinvigorated as a result of the band's first matchup with a superstar producer, one who has more than a few sonic trademarks of his own. The Alberta post-grunge band's sixth album, <i>Dark Horse</i>, was recorded with Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the rock legend whose credits include such game-changing albums as AC/DC's <i>Back in Black</i> and Def Leppard's <i>Pyromania</i>. Lange's forte for high-impact, high-density hard rock would be fully evident here even if Chad Kroeger didn't let loose with a Joe Elliott-worthy "c'mon!" like the one in "Something In Your Mouth." But for all the explosive energy of songs such as "Burn It to the Ground," the collaboration also bears fruit in "Gotta Be Somebody," the kind of supersized heartland rocker that Lange provided for Bryan Adams in the '90. The song that elicits Kroeger's most impassioned vocal performance here, "Never Gonna Be Alone" is cut from the same hardy cloth. .

via Apple Music

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