Dark Horse

by Nickelback

Overview

Nickelback are not known for their insight, but Chad Kroeger's caterwauling claim that "we got no class, no taste" on "Burn It to the Ground," the second song on their sixth album, Dark Horse, is a slice of perceptive, precise self-examination. They work with legendary producer Robert "Mutt" Lange (the sonic architect behind Back in Black and Pyromania, two of hard rock's towering monuments) here, and Lange decides to give the band a production caught somewhere between the two extremes of AC/DC and Def Leppard, pumping up some muscle on Nickelback's heaviest rockers and adding some color to their power ballads, suggesting some heretofore verboten suggestions of modernity in the form of electronic rhythms, even taking it to the extreme of adding drum loops to the surefire crossover hit "Gotta Be Somebody." Lyrically, Kroeger trots out a parade of dirty little ladies in pretty pink thongs, porn stars, strippers, and sluts, all of whom are desired and despised for showing too much skin; he's either had his heart broken by those loose women, or he's singing to the good girl left at home while he's out on the town. Nickelback do manage to shed their leathery rock skin a couple of times, first with an arena-rocking "Burn It to the Ground" and then echoing Toby Keith's "Let's Talk About Us" on the white-boy rap pre-chorus for "Something in Your Mouth," but these are mere glimpses of something unpredictable; Dark Horse was constructed entirely from the group's standard power ballad and hard rock templates. The mood only lightens at the end of the record, when Kroeger and company take a break from carousing to kick back with bros and a bong for "This Afternoon" -- its strum-along choruses are a relief but so is its mellowness, as Kroeger seems calmer, relaxed, even friendly. Maybe it's because there were no women in the picture. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/10/2017
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0081227933760
Rank:	16993

Tracks

1. Something in Your Mouth
2. Burn It to the Ground
3. Gotta Be Somebody
4. I'd Come for You
5. Next Go Round
6. Just to Get High
7. Never Gonna Be Alone
8. Shakin' Hands
9. S.E.X.
10. If Today Was Your Last Day
11. This Afternoon

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nickelback   Primary Artist,Vocals
Chad Kroeger   Guitar,Vocals
Ryan Peake   Guitar,Vocals
Daniel Adair   Drums,Vocals
Mike Kroeger   Guitar (Bass)
Matthew Amos   Director
Nigel Dick   Director

Technical Credits

Ted Jensen   Mastering,Remastering,Mastering Engineer
Chad Kroeger   Composer,Lyricist
Joe Moi   Mixing,Audio Production
Robert John "Mutt" Lange   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
Ryan Peake   Composer
Randy Staub   Mixing,Arranger
Keith Armstrong   Assistant
Olle Romo   Editing,Engineer,Audio Engineer
Mike Shipley   Mixing
Bryan Coleman   Management
Chris Lord-Alge   Mixing
Daniel Adair   Composer
Mike Kroeger   Composer
Nickelback   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
Zach Blackstone   Assistant
Nik Karpen   Assistant
Mike Shirley   Mixing
Chapman Baehler   Photography
Jeff Chenault   Design,Art Direction
John Nguyen   Producer
Keith B. Armstrong   Assistant
Bernie Gudvi   Management
Melly Cook   Producer
Nina Dluhy   Producer
Brian Wohlgemuth   Assistant
Ron Burman   A&R
Scott Cooke   Editing,Engineer,Audio Engineer
Bradlee Kind   Studio Arrangements
Torry Courte   Web Design
Joey Moi   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Lewis Weinstein   Producer
Michael Shipley   Mixing