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Where did Nickelback go?

A&E mourns the loss of exceptional rock band

We want Nickelback back. Where into the dark, foggy depths of the 2000s have they disappeared to? The band’s last studio album, “Here and Now,” was released in 2011, but no one has heard from them since.

Their latest album was exactly like the preceding six: fantastic! The group is often criticized for producing material identical to every other song they release, but when you’ve got a good thing going, why change it?

Those overdramatic, mind-numbing guitar riffs really get the crowd going during live performances. Acoustic guitar is added to the mix when lead singer Chad Kroeger delves into incredibly deep lyricism. And the monotonous drums clanging metallically in the background are enough to make audiences scream with joy.

Kroeger himself makes me scream with joy, both for his appearance and vocal timbre. He rocks a vintage hairstyle reminiscent of the spiky frosted-tips trend of the late ’90s. The brooding stare he wears in publicity photos and album covers is super mysterious and sensual. The gravelly, heart-wrenching notes he belts out in every single song the band has ever produced are enough to make any girl swoon. He’s any girl’s old-school heartthrob!

Another aspect of Nickelback’s supreme style is the murky, obscure lyrics that lend them such a mysterious air. With amp feedback clouding the sound waves and phlegm clogging up Kroeger’s pipes, no one can really understand the words that he and bandmates croon to adoring fans in tank tops and cutoff jeans across the nation. This aspect of the band’s performance abilities leads to the idea that we should all make an effort to listen to one another instead of just dancing through life.

That is a very valuable lesson, and Nickelback is all the more dreamy for forcing us to take a moment, or a month, and try to understand exactly what he’s struggling to say.

Fans miss the constant buzzy sounds Nickelback consistently produces, as well as the beautifully broken voice of frontman Chad Kroeger and the potent life instructions their music provides to listeners around the world. We can only hope that the group will decide to release a new album sooner rather than later.

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