Nickelback - Dark Horse Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 11.19.2008

After the huge success of All The Right Reasons, Nickelback returns with their sixth album, Dark Horse. With producer Mutt Lange on board, can Nickelback follow-up of their previous album?

The Band

Chad Kroeger-Vocals, Guitar
Ryan Peake-Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mike Kroeger-Bass
Daniel Adair-Drums, Backing Vocals


The Track Listing

1. Something In Your Mouth-3:38
2. Burn It To The Ground-3:28
3. Gotta Be Somebody-4:13
4. I’d Come For You-4:22
5. Next Go Round-3:43
6. Just To Get High-4:02
7. Never Gonna Be Alone-3:47
8. Shakin’ Hands-3:39
9. S.E.X-3:53
10. If Today Was Your Last Day-4:08
11. This Afternoon-4:34





The Review

The past three years for Canadian rock band Nickelback has been one hit single after another, based off of All The Right Reasons. The album has gone 7x Platinum in the United States alone and the band has reached a level of success that most can only dream of. So how can a band top their biggest selling album? If you’re Nickelback, it’s by recruiting producer Mutt Lange, of Def Leppard and AC/DC fame, and cranking everything up a couple notches. The ballads are more emotional and the rockers have a clean sheen to them, helping to mask the male chauvinist viewpoints of Kroeger and company in the lyrics.

Dark Horse is the sound of a band taking their success and showing it off for the world to see, whether they want to take a gander or not. It’s hard to take the band seriously with titles like “S.E.X” and “Something In Your Mouth,” yet Kroeger spends the entire album trying to make the listener believe every word out of his mouth. It’s laughable at times; you can’t take a band seriously with choruses like “tease them all by sucking on your thumb; it’s so much cooler when you don’t pull it out, you look so much cuter with something in your mouth.” Maybe if this was the debut album of a new band, we could forgive them for being so naïve, but this is Nickelback; they should know better than being so juvenile and moronic on their sixth album.

Single “Something In Your Mouth” is a great opener, sans the lyrics and Chad’s weird rapping in the pre-chorus. Lange’s production lends an anthem rock quality to the music, and the band still knows how to write a catchy riff. Too bad they couldn’t support that with decent lyrics. “Burn It To The Ground” has a nice groove to it, with a Black Sabbath mixed with late 80’s Def Leppard vibe to it.

A lot of the album has a Def Leppard feeling to it, and Lange isn’t the only reason. Nickelback seems to be stuck in 80’s arena rock mode on Dark Horse, which actually benefits the bands in the instrument department. Guitarist Ryan Peake steps it up quite a bit, pulling out solid solos on the album, the highlight being his work on “Just To Get High.” Peake pulls out a very Richie Sambora-like bridge solo that also ends the song on a high note (no pun intended).

The other rockers on the album are hit-or-miss. “Next Go Round,” Dark Horse’s version of “Animals,” is fast and energetic, with a great solo to boot, but the constant macho attitude in the lyrics distracts from the song. “S.E.X” has a steady bass line and a slight industrial rock leaning to it, a different sound for Nickelback.

The ballads are a mix bag, as most Nickelback ballads seem to be. For every “I'd Come For You,” there’s a “This Afternoon.” The former actually sounds like a classic Nickelback tune, trading in the alcohol and orgies for regret and promises made to that special someone, while the latter is Nickelback going country on us, pulling out the good-old acoustic guitars and hitting the bong, with unnecessary background noise from a random bar to add what Nickelback calls “atmosphere” and everybody else calls pointless.

The main problem with Dark Horse is that it sounds dated. Most of these songs could have been outtakes from Def Leppard’s 1987 classic Hysteria. Musically, the band is on fire, upping the ante with above-average guitar work and a steady rhythm section. Lyrically, like I’ve stated earlier, the band takes ten steps backwards, trading in sub-par angst-ridden drivel for boozing tough-guy crap. Personally, I liked the former side of Nickelback a bit better, when they were broken hearted and obsessed with the one that got away, not concerned about one-night stands with random drunk woman they pick up in the clubs. Nickelback has a huge following, meaning that Dark Horse will go #1 on the Billboard charts and sell millions of copies. Does Dark Horse deserve that much attention? Not at all; while a decent album, it definitely is a step in the wrong direction and a worrying sign of what the future may hold for the band.

The 411: I've always considered Nickelback to be a guilty pleasure, something you don't talk about with your metal buddies. I enjoyed All The Right Reasons, but the band took a big step back with Dark Horse. The album sounds forced, with the lackluster adult lyrical content and clichés left and right. Nickelback may have tried to make their own Back In Black, but in the end, they came out with Flick Of The Switch. Die-hard fans will find their favorite tracks; however, even they might be irked by the sudden change in Nickelback.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]