- Rock band formed in 1995 from Alberta Canada. Members of the group are Chad Kroeger (lead vocals, lead guitar, lyrics), Ryan Peake (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Mike Kroeger (bass guitar). They have had 4 drummers, starting with the Kroeger brothers’ cousin Brandon – the drummer since 2005 is Daniel Adair. All of the members contribute to songwriting, with Chad Kroeger writing the lyrics.
- Brothers Chad and Mike Kroeger formed a grunge cover band in the early 90s, calling themselves Village Idiot. Mike also had a job at Starbucks, and he frequently would give change to customers, saying “here’s your nickel back.” Of course, this led to their name change to Nickelback.
- In 1996, Chad Kroeger convinced his step father to give them $4,000 so that they could record a demo – a 7 track EP that they called Hesher. The demo cost $2,000, and they spent the other half on magic mushrooms. Later that year, they self released their debut studio full length album, Curb. Over time, they refined their sound, focusing on a post grunge sound of gruff vocals and distorted guitars with radio-friendly hooks. They managed themselves, with Chad working publicity with radio stations, Mike handling distribution, and Peake maintaining their website. Their second album, called The State, was released in 1998 – it also was self released. Finally in 1999, they were signed to a record label, and The State was re-released. Singles from the album began to get attention on the radio – Leader of Men and Breathe landed in the top 10 of the Mainsteam Rock chart. They were recognized with a Juno award (awarded by the Canadian music industry) in early 2001, for Best New Group of the Year.
- Their breakthrough came with their third album, Silver Side Up, released in 2001. The album sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and was certified 6x platinum in the U.S. The single How You Remind Me topped the Hot 100, and it was the most played song on U.S. radio for the decade of the 00s. It is their signature song. Two other singles from the album reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart – Too Bad and Never Again.
- Their next album, The Long Road, was released in 2003. It was certified 3x platinum, and the single Someday peaked at #7 on the Hot 100. In 2005, their highest selling album was released. All The Right Reasons was certified diamond, with the single Photograph reaching #2 on the Hot 100, and Animals and Far Away reaching the top of the Mainstream Rock chart.
- Nickelback’s final album of the decade was released in 2008. Dark Horse continued their string of multi-platinum albums, with 2 songs breaking into the top 20 of the Hot 100 – Gotta Be Somebody and If Today Was Your Last Day. They ended the decade ranked the most successful rock band of the decade by Billboard, and ranked #7 of all artists.
- In the 10s, they released 3 albums, with 3 singles landing in the top 10 of the Mainstream Rock chart – Bottom’s Up, This Means War and Edge of a Revolution.
- While the band has been wildly successful, with popular concert tours and record sales, they also have been labeled as one of the most hated artists in music. Largely due to how big How You Remind Me was, and the fact that all of their hits have a very similar sound to them, the critics turned on them, and then music lovers turned on them too (except for their rabid fans). As recently as March of 2019, during a debate on an issue in the U.S. Congress, a congressman compared a provision in a proposed law that had little support to “the percent of people who think that Nickelback is their favorite band.” Personally, I think this is totally unfair – while I’m not necessarily a rabid fan, I like their sound and enjoy how they rock. How You Remind Me really is a great song in my opinion – go ahead, mock me if you dare! Here’s the video!