Review Summary: The album might have hooks, but it can't over shadow the mediocrity of the record and, therefore, the band.
Nickelback has made a career of mediocrity . Their constant recycle of cliche filled vocals, cliche filled guitar riffs, and a rhythm section that would be cliche filled if it wasn't for the fact that the rhythm section is basically inaudible, and if you could hear it, it would be as dull as it is inaudible.
Ahhh but as with many dull bands, there is always moments, sometimes entire albums where it works enough to please the hook laden section of the ear. With Nickelback, they make a handful of moments work on their breakthrough record,
Silver Side Up. The most enjoyable, and therefore important part of the record is, of course, the hook factor. The band certainly has a niche for cooking up catchy hooks, and it is obvious in the lead off single,
How you Remind Me. The crunchy guitar work flows well with the aforementioned hook laden part of the ear. Rhythm guitarist and lead singer Chad Kroeger might sing half heartedly in terms of the emotional aspect goes, his gravely voice is a good addition to the already well rounded, but pretentious song.
Too Bad is another section of lacking lyrical potency, but it does leave a slight emotional touch that's lacking in almost all of the other tracks. The cheesy guitar solo might take away a little bit of the touch, but compared to what follows, little is to be explained.
But of course, the catchy aspect of the record does a bad job of overshadowing the band's obvious lack of lyrical chops. Chad Kroeger obviously has inspiration for his "angst-ridden" songs, but the overall turnout is very dull. With lines like, "
My hopes just fell, and I can't see The reason why, why there is blood on my sleeve", it's obvious the bad teenage poetry is still rubbing off on the band's work.
Little hope is left elsewhere. We see ourselves watching the band churning out a track called
Hollywood, a very sad attempt at lyrical inspiration, but comes out as a totally uninspiring track, with an a couple of equally dull guitar lines. The closing "ballad",
Good Times Gone actually gives a country rockesque feel, which might seem like a welcome change from the incredibly dull outcome of the rest record, but it actually is part of the incredibly dull outcome of the album.
So we've seen the best of Nickelback in the full blown picture, and it comes out to be average at it's best. Hooks are plentiful, but they can't overshadow the overall dull aspects of the record, such as the lyrics. If any Nickelback interest might ensue, look here but look no further.
