So what’s new in the camp of Mr. Radio-Friendly? Nickelback is back, boys and girls! And this time they once again have something special with theirs latest studio effort. It’s a diverse rock album with sound ranging from classic rock ballads to tight sounding modern metal with inclusion of great stuff inbetween.
It’s first album for the band’s new drummer. And what could be a better way to introduce him to the listener than let him speak for himself? The album starts with a cool beat with double bass drum, and the moment the guitars come in you know you are in for a good and enjoyable ride, just to Follow You Home. It’s the song about unrequited love, never-dying hope for a better end. Main hero keeps struggling for his love, not caring about any obstacles on his way. Good rhymes and sing-along chorus make it a memorable piece of lyrics. There’s a plenty of solo guitar in it, most cool being a country-like arranged bridge after second chorus. By the way it’s the first guest appeareance on the album. Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top’s guitarist, lent his fretboard skill for the solo, and have sung himself the third verse.
Fight For All The Wrong Reasons carries on developing a theme of unhappy relationship. After all we all have reasons to fight for, right? So be strong, take a look back, and see what’s wrong with your life. Music is reminiscent of Do This Anymore off the last album but with addition of some heavier parts. I’m sure you will like all the smooth transitions throughout the song, that will take you from strong sounding chorus to the more spacious verses with plenty of room for guitar and bass to shine in and finally to the more modern and heavy sounding bridge in the middle of the song. All in all the thing is very groovy and gives a very satisfactory listening.
Next song is much welcomed addition to the album. Photograph was an excellent choice to be the first single and video. Being the spiritual successor, so to say, of How You Remind Me and Someday, this song really captures your attention and definitely is going to be a trademark sound of the group for a radio-listener of today. It’s just like Nickelback gets better and better in creating wonderful rock-ballads with every album they make. With its beautiful vocal line, excellent arrangement, very good use of back vocals and just really life-like story behind its lyrics, telling about a memories of a native of small town, it’s for sure one of the best songs of the year, and just a very strong song overall.
Animals, being a straight rocker, has a cool vibe, you just want to sing along with the song. The problem with this track is that lyrics may sound abusive to some people. The song is about a bad-bad boy and a goody-good girl relationship. It’s twisted, it’s complicated, and they never gonna quit it. So if you are not pissed off with the lyrics, you are going to enjoy better than ever perfomance from Chad Kroeger. A very intensely performed song, Chad’s very good at pointing out crucial parts of the plot.
Next we have two good ballads. And I mean that they are really good. Saving Me is very nicely arranged piece of music. Telling a sad story of taking a wrong turn in life, it’s full of remorse and doubts. What’s in future, what can I be? Am I worth of saving? These are the questions that the song raise. Far Away, the same moment being in a sad key, is a song with a deep faith in power of love, no doubt about it: “'Cause with you, I'd withstand All of hell to hold your hand”. What more can I say? Love is the Power, so keep it well. Music nicely complements this beautiful song. And I must say that echoed Enya-like drums are simply gorgeous, adding a lot to the character of the song.
After slowdown of pace, next track is like a transition point to the heaviest stuff on the album – Side Of The Bullet. Next Contestant is a mid-tempo rocker about abusive admirers of a girlfriend. There’s some good use of effect pedals in this song to make sound more interesting. Once again here we have nice chorus and riffy verse. A little bit aggressive lines of lyrics just show: life’s a tough thing.
Side Of The Bullet is not just one more soulless heaviness to headbang to. It’s a very honest and brutally sounding song. Telling about the last day of friend of the band, notorious Dimebag Darrel, who was killed onstage, it is an absolute reflection of his personality music-wise. It could have easily been another late-age Panthera song. Here we have huge riffs, damn heavy and still melodic. It is symbolic that solo is actual playing of Dimebag Darrel. Studio outtakes, recorded by Dimebag himself, were used in this track. Yeah, lyrics are about the specific person, but the song just asks where are we going? What’s going on with our society? What can force a man to kill other men?
If Everyone Cared is another softer song of the album. Initial doubts of musicians about including piano on a rock album were groundless. It’s good sometimes to be a little bit cliché-less. Lyrics are reflections on theme of what the world could be if we were able to change ourselves, be better in every way. And thought is even deeper, we must be grateful for what we already have, the very feeling of ourselves, that we’re alive. It’s all the simple things in fact that bring us happiness. Life’s good! Take a view around yourself. Can you see the beauty of the stars shining far away? Just look up!
Someone That You're With – rockest song of the album! And I mean it really is. It just has so strong classic rock infuences: all these guitar riffs and drum parts and light-minded lyrics with truly rock feel and spirit about them, that you are likely to say: “Oh yeah! Rock’n’Roll!”.  The lines of the first verse:
“I reside in 209, you're in 208
You moved in last Friday night, 
and I just couldn't wait
So I tried to call across the hall,
to ask you out someday
But a lineup formed outside your door, and I was way too late”
ideally characterize theme of the song. Hotel love affair may be fun, but only if you are that someone she’s with. I really hope that you’ll love this song as much as I do.
Rockstar. Is it stereotyped occupation? OH, YEAH! Lyrics are gonna make you laugh, for sure. Either hysterically, with thoughts in your head – I urgently need to take guitar lessons and, damn it, where’s the nearest barber’s shop, or just appreciating funny and inventive exaggerations of a supposed rockstar lifestyle. Amount of fun, hidden in song, is just mad. Music’s also not going to disappoint. Acoustic verses change into riffy chorus, all done with a true rock style. Much’s going on in background: starting from voice work of, once again, Billy Gibbons, enquering for example about current plans of a future rockstar, to ambient samples playing along the appropriate lines of lyrics. All these create quite an atmosphere on the song.
So, after getting familiar with the album, I must say I haven’t found any openly weak song. Of course we all have different tastes and music preferences, but at the glance every song is a finished product of labour and love. Every one delivers a message to the listener, gives food for thought. Just listen closely to the lyrics, associate them with your own life, reflect on theme of the song. And doing so let’s decide ourselves what our right reasons are and keep them in mind while making important decisions. Or in case of you aren’t in a mood to ponder on such things, you are going to have good amount of fun listening to the album anyway. After all it’s a rock record. Listen to it driving your car, in a Walkman being on a stroll, or just relaxing in a cosy sofa, Nickelback’s gonna make your day a little bit better. Just push “play”...

By StarRover 2005