Nickelback Demos Evolve Into The Group's Heaviest Album Yet

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — After selling some 9 million copies worldwide of Silver Side Up, Nickelback could have hired the best producers in the business for the follow-up.

Instead, the Vancouver foursome produced The Long Road themselves, with the help of engineer Joey Moi.

"We couldn't get their phone numbers actually," guitarist Ryan Peake joked. "We tried to look up Rick Rubin and there's a lot of Rubins in L.A."

Actually, the truth is Nickelback started recording demos in singer Chad Kroeger's home studio and just never stopped.

"We had a list of producers in mind but everything was going so smooth ... we just went with what we had," drummer Ryan Vikedal explained, celebrating the album's release Tuesday with an afternoon of interviews at a Sunset Strip hotel.

"We kind of had to do it," Peake added. "We had a ton of ideas and stuff in our heads that we had to get out and exercise."

Without a bigwig overseeing the album, Nickelback felt free to explore every idea each bandmember had.

"I don't know if producers would be that conducive to some of the songs because I think a lot of producers would think in a more thematic kind of way. They’d want the album to sound cohesive or similar and this one's kind of all over the map," bassist Mike Kroeger said. "It's kind of schizophrenic in a way."

The Long Road certainly features crossover anthems in the vein of "How You Remind Me," but it also happens to be Nickelback's heaviest album to date.

"If cranking things up to 12 on the amps and just screaming was what we felt like doing, we could do that," Chad said. "There was no one sitting there saying you guys can't do that, it's too heavy."

As for the lyrics on the new album, Chad has been telling reporters the songs are far less introspective than past material, even though almost every song is written in first-person (as in, "I ...") (see "First Song From Nickelback's Long Road Paved With Apologies").

"I don't necessarily think that all those songs are autobiographic," the singer said. "On Silver Side Up, there were a lot of topics I needed to get off my chest. And it turns out a lot of people can identify with that. But I think if we tried to recreate that again it wouldn't be authentic, so we tried to take these songs and go in a different direction."

One of the most unique tracks is "Believe It or Not," which does not have a single "I" in the lyrics.

"It has a very global thing, you know? Believe it or not, everyone feels such and such a thing," Chad said. "Even though there are so many differences in the cultures, I believe everyone can agree on so many things. I bet you that there are people in Southeast Asia that have the same kind of dreams that I do ... everyone has dreams, everyone has beliefs, everyone needs to feel loved. It's a proven fact that if a baby doesn't receive love it will actually die. These are common themes throughout the entire world."

Chad further explores the latter belief in a song called "Throw Yourself Away," which is based on the true story of a girl who delivered a baby at her high school prom and left it in the garbage so she could go back to the dance.

"That kind of emotional detachment is horrifying for me, how can someone be that callous?" Chad said. "When you define a human being, it's almost like you have to leave a couple of lines open when you're describing a person like that. And that sort of strange uncomfortable feeling definitely inspires me to write songs."

Nickelback likened "Throw Yourself Away" to one of the band's oldest songs, "Window Shopper."

"In a city not far from where we all grew up, there was a girl that got thrown down on the ground and raped right in front of a restaurant," Chad explained. "Instead of anyone calling 9-1-1, they all sat in the restaurant and cheered ... I feel no one's gonna scream about it long enough, I feel like I have to scream."

Chad will likely be screaming both "Believe It or Not" and "Throw Yourself Away" on the band's upcoming tour, although he said the set list will be adjusted as the shows go on.

"After a couple of shows you listen to people screaming and they really voice their opinion, so you get a sense of songs that you need to be sticking in the set if they aren't there," he said.

Nickelback are planning on touring for about 16 months, although only the first month is booked so far. The trek will kick off October 14 in Lubbock, Texas (see "Nickelback Offer No False Promises To Fans On Upcoming Tour").