Album Review: Nickelback - Get Rollin’ · 3:16am Nov 21st, 2022
Wow, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve done one of these. Or… anything here, for that matter. If you’re worried about me, I’m fine. Life’s been treating me pretty good since I last posted anything here.
But with that out of the way, let’s get to what everyone’s here for
Five years after their latest (and greatest imo) album, Feed The Machine, Nickelback has returned with a new full studio album, Get Rollin’. I was honestly surprised when I saw this dropped, especially with their cover of The Devil Went Down to Georgia being a stand-alone single. Even when the first single was released, I thought would be another stand-alone. But alas, we’ve gotten the 10th studio album from everyone’s favorite Canadian punching bags, Nickelback.
If you remember any of my previous music posts, you should know that I really enjoy Nickelback but don’t always give them the benefit of the doubt. They’ve both made some of my favorite and least favorite songs. So I wanted to go into this album with a clear mind and try to judge it fairly.
That said, after hearing the second single from the album, I was a bit concerned
Track One
San Quentin
This was the lead single from the album , dropping back in September. In all honesty, I’m not sure how I feel about this song. Yeah, Chad’s delivery is solid, and the riffs are strong, but there’s just something a little off putting about this song. It definitely isn’t bad, but if this is meant to be the lead single, I’m not keeping my fingers crossed.
Track Two
Skinny Little Missy
Just looking at the title, I’m nervous. Feed The Machine and even No Fixed Address moved away from Nickelback’s sleazy side, but everything about this song screams “sleaze-ball.” The riffs are slow and weak, Chad’s delivery, while strong, is very repetitive. But the lyrics definitely show more of the old Nickelback of For All the Right Reasons. There is a little guitar solo, but it’s gone so quick, it may as well not even be there.
Track Three
Those Days
This is the single I was really concerned about. The acoustic comes out of nowhere, but sounds very familiar if you really listen to it. Chad is still giving a solid effort, but it really sounds like he’s straining his voice on this one. And when the chorus hits, you figure out why this song sounds so familiar: it’s “Photograph” part three. The lyrics are about contemplating the old days and wondering how your life would turn out different if you had made different choices. This is coming from someone who neither hates nor loves “Photograph,” but love or hate it, I think we can all agree that they need to stop falling back on the same trope. This song isn’t even bad, but it screams that they’re not putting in an effort anymore.
Track Four
High TIme
This is the third and final single to precede the album, and luckily, it does try something a bit different. Nickelback has always had a hint of country under the post-grunge, and they really try to capitalize on it here. This song… certainly exists. It’s nothing special, but it’s not something I’d mind hearing. I’m a little afraid this is gonna become a trope of the album: nothing new
Track Five
Vegas Bomb
The riffs are a lot stronger in this one at first, but almost immediately, everything slows to a halt. Five songs in, and the songs are starting to bleed together. The song screams “Texas Bar,” and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I was really hoping that they would have stopped making music to be played on the radio rather than songs they’d think people would legitimately enjoy.
Track Six
Tidal Wave
While the tempo is still pretty slow, the more pronounced guitars from Chad and Ryan are a very much welcome change after five tracks of pure chugga-chugga. That said, while this song does do a bit more to stand out from the others, lyrically and vocally, it’s about the same as the last couple tracks. And I see that the band has also reverted in terms of lyric writing
Lyrics to “Tidal Wave”
“Loving you is just like surfing on a tidal wave
Lost in one another, hoping never to be found
Loving you is just like surfing on a tidal wave
Rolled around forever until we both come crashing down
Loving you is just like surfing on a tidal wave
Coming up for air, we’re just about to drown”
This is Silver Side Up levels of song writing. A catchy riff can only take a song so far
Track Seven
Does Heaven Even Know You’re Missing?
Honestly, even though it’s clear Nickelback has also run out of steam when it comes to love songs, I’ll still take this over everything else so far. Chad’s vocals are a bit more high pitched and sound a bit better, and the acoustic riff sounds nice. But I’m really reaching at this point. I haven’t even heard something I haven’t liked yet, I was just hoping for more.
Track Eight
Steel Still Rusts
I swear, this opening riff sounds exactly like “Fire And Rain” by James Taylor. Kind of an ironic title, that’s what I’ve been comparing this album to so far: rust. And once again, we’re back to the “Texas Bar” style in terms of delivery and music. I’m not even gonna bother on the lyrics at this point because there’s nothing to focus or comment on. Nickelback has proved that they are capable of making great songs, but they actively choose to make generic, formulaic songs meant to get radio play.
Track Nine
Horizon
Just like before, this is a solid song opening, but I’m still a little hesitant. And sure enough, while the tempo is a bit faster than before, the guitars fade away into the background. They’re clearly going for a Coldplay style “come and go” form. And while this one does stand out a bit more, it still isn’t anything special. Once again, the clearer guitar work is welcome here.
Track Ten
Standing In The Dark
Finally, the tempo picks back up. It only took nine songs, but the speed has returned. The low-to-high vocals also work a lot more here too. Once again, this song isn’t anything too special, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, there’s only one more song here.
Track Eleven
Just One More
I won’t lie, when the opening riff started, I thought it was an ad. I can appreciate that they did put a little more effort into making this one stand out a bit more. All in all, it’s a somewhat decent song to close the album.
Yeesh, talk about wasted potential. The album started out with so much speed but it quickly got slower and slower, and Chad gave less and less of an effort in his delivery as the album went on. And it’s pretty clear that the old formula has come back.
There are fleeting moments of solid guitar work, but it really gets buried in the chugga-chugga and stale vocal work. The lyric writing, while not nearly as creepy or off putting as they at their worst, really just screams “Texas Bar,” to the point where I question whether the band really wanted to make a full studio album.
Overall, this was really disappointing. Given what’s already come out, I don’t think it would make my personal “Worst Album of the Year” list, I can see a lot of people putting it on theirs. Not only is it not reinventing the wheel, but at this point, Nickelback is just giving their haters ammunition
5/10
Songs to check out:
San Quentin
Standing Alone In The Dark
Yeah, overall this definitely wasn't Nickleback's best album. But considering how good Standing in the Dark and Just One More were I would say that it's still worth a listen.