You read right. I'm covering a Nickelback record this week. *gasp* Yeah, yeah. I know. How dare I. In case you have all forgotten though, a decade or so ago Nickelback was one of the hottest commodities on the planet. This hot streak reached its climax (giggidy) with the release of their 2008 smash hit album Dark Horse. It featured a plethora of immensely popular songs (as did its predecessor, 2005's All the Right Reasons) and made the band a permanent staple in rock.
Dark Horse has plenty of darker heavier moments, but much of the focus musically is put on the more pop rock elements that got them as popular as they were (and arguably still are despite the stupid trend of hating on them even though we all actually love them). Honestly, this album gets everything just right because it has all of the best parts of Nickelback and in all of the right proportions.
"Burn it to the Ground" I remember was an instant favorite for me when the album first came out. The whole song while being a straight-up rocker still provides this kind of dark, maniacal, intense, yet at the same time fun as hell atmosphere that just resonated with me and still does to this day. It swings, it crunches (in that special way that only a seven string guitar can), and at the same time has just the right amount of melody in the vocals to boot.
"This Afternoon" has to be my absolute favorite song on the entire record. It is an acoustic driven rock song, but I love the fun, laid back atmosphere of it. It makes me feel like I'm just cracking open a cold one with the boys at a summer bonfire or something. The song talks about having a great time in life even though you're broke and are barely getting by - even going so far as to say that it's because of that that they are having more fun. I can sort of vibe with that.
Honestly, if you're willing to get your head out of your ass and get off the Nickelback hate train, you might actually find yourself enjoying Dark Horse. I know I still do on the occasion that I pop it in, and not entirely for nostalgia's sake either. There are plenty of songs on there that even to this day I still love and crank every once in a while. I'm pretty willing to bet that a lot of you feel the same way, but just won't admit it.
Dark Horse, by Nickelback receives 3.75/5 stars.
Track List:
1. Something in Your Mouth
2. Burn it to the Ground
3. Gotta Be Somebody
4. I'd Come For You
5. Next Round
6. Just to Get By
7. Never Gonna Be Alone
8. Shakin' Hands
9. S.E.X.
10. If Today Was Your Last Day
11. This Afternoon
Buy the album on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Horse-Nickelback/dp/B001KQKC0Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530242991&sr=8-1&keywords=nickelback+dark+horse+cd
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