The Long Road

iTunes Review

With its fourth album Nickelback attempted to eschew the "post grunge" tag with a heavier, metal-tinged, hard rock sound that benefited from stacking layers upon layers of beefy guitars over a sternum-rattling rhythm section. You can easily envision the veins pulsing and protruding from frontman Chad Kroeger's neck as he belts rageful inflections through clenched teeth on the pummeling opener "Flat On the Floor." The more melodic and simmered-down "Do This Anymore" still sounds angry but with a radio-airplay production. "Someday" is the album's first power ballad, where Kroeger sounds enraged and sentimental at the same time. There are scant vestiges of late-'90s grunge on the Alice In Chains inspired "Feelin Way Too Damn Good." Hard-panned, headphone-friendly, distorted chunks of hotwired guitars ignite "Throw Yourself Away," a powerful song that contrasts a punishing verse with a catchy chorus. Ending with "See You At The Show" was a bold risk since it stands out like the album's red headed stepchild with its southern rock flirtations.