ARTIST

Nickelback

If anyone thought mainstream rock went out of style, apparently they failed to hear Nickelback, the Canadian quartet that took the world by storm in 2002 with the omnipresent anthem, "How You Remind Me."

Although it may have seemed that Nickelback was an overnight success, nothing could be further from the truth. The band, fronted by singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger and his bass-playing brother, Mike, started in the mid-'90s as a cover band in the small town of Hanna, Alberta. By 1996, the band relocated to Vancouver, and Kroeger had begun writing his own songs. Once in the big city, the band, which also includes drummer Ryan Vikedal and guitarist Ryan Peake, hit the recording studio with a vengeance. In that year alone, Nickelback churned out the Hesher EP and its debut long-player, Curb.

Following years of road work, the band re-emerged in 2000 with The State, which garnered airplay in their native Canada, partially due to Canadian content laws that require broadcasters to play a certain number of homegrown recordings. With the band's star rising due to frequent touring and airplay seeping into the U.S., The State was picked up for release in America, where it proved to be a modest success.

The stage was set for Nickelback's big breakthrough and the band did not fail to deliver when Silver Side Up was released in the fall of 2001. The album featured "How You Remind Me," which first hit rock stations, topping both the Modern and Mainstream charts before crossing over to the Top 40 and ending up at the summit of the Hot 100. When all was said and done, "How You Remind Me" was the most-played song of 2002 across all radio formats, according to Billboard's Airplay Monitor. Fueled by the airplay, Silver Side Up went on to sell more than 9 million copies worldwide.

Perhaps to prove his talent wasn't limited to Nickelback, Chad Kroeger cut a duet with Saliva singer Josey Scott for the Spider-Man soundtrack. The track, called "Hero," became another monster hit. He also turned up on Santana's Shaman, although he prevented the guitarist's label from releasing the track as a single, and produced Theory Of A Deadman, a Vancouver-based outfit that signed to his 604 Records imprint.

By the fall of 2003, however, Chad Kroeger was back in the Nickelback fold with the release of Long Road.

Written by Craig Rosen