Back with their first new music since 2022, Nickelback has shared the first single from their upcoming album, Everything Under The Sun. Bassist Mike Kroeger recently joined us to talk about the blistering new track, “Rattle The Cage,” crossing paths with Rock legends, and the misconceptions about the band that continue during an Audacy Check In.
LISTEN NOW: Audacy Check In with Nickelback
With nearly 60 million albums sold worldwide, Nickelback is ready to to launch a new chapter, with Everything Under the Sun scheduled for release on October 30. It starts with a statement, as "Rattle the Cage" sets a heavy tone for the new record.
Abe Kanan and Mike Kroeger discussed that there is a dichotomy between “casual” Nickelback fans and those who have been around through it all. Because of their crossover success, the band is often labeled as “Pop Rock,” but real ones know the true power they hold.
“We've been metalheads to one degree or another, all of us, the whole time,” Kroeger shares, “but it is peculiar when, every once in a while we get the criticism that, ‘oh, I don't listen to Nickelback cause it's all just radio songs.’ It's like, ‘well, you know that cause you're listening to the radio.’”
“If anybody actually gives a listen to one of our albums, listens beyond the singles they hear, there's a rock and roll DNA there that is pretty much undeniable.”
With that DNA comes respect, notably from heavy bands like Pantera, which Mike counts as good friends, despite some difference in lifestyle. Kroeger shared with Kanan a story about his one visit to the famed “clubhouse” owned by Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, which Mike quickly exited once he realized where he was.
Seeing the potential for catastrophe, he recounted his panicked decision to leave immediately to protect his marriage. “For me it was an experience because it was one of those moments… we're hanging with the boys after a show, and you know, they were feeding us the black tooth grins, getting us sloppy and rolling video to see if they could catch somebody projectile vomiting or making an ass of themselves.”
“We've come in the back door, it appears to be a nightclub, and I'm sort of like, ‘OK, I don't know where, where am I?’” he recalls. “I don't know what's going on, and then I'm sitting there and I'm going, ‘all these women are naked.’ I think I gotta go… I'm married. I wanna stay married.”
It worked out for Mike, who stayed married, and has kept Nickelback grinding as one of the most successful bands of the past 25 years. To hear more from Kroeger, check out the full Audacy Check In above.
Everything Under the Sun is available everywhere on October 30.
‘Everything Under The Sun’ is out everywhere on October 30
‘Everything Under The Sun’ is out everywhere on October 30
