Nickelback The Long Road Lyrics

It's never easy following up a multi-platinum success, but Canada's Nickelback's latest seem sure to match the sales of the many-million-selling Silver Side Up. The formula remains pretty much the same--nothing fancy, just radio-friendly grunge that lends an appropriately dramatic backing to the powerful and increasingly confident voice of Chad Kroeger. Aside from the fast and punchy opener "Flat on the Floor," the tough, staccato "Because of You," and the Oasis-like "Figured You Out," the band deal exclusively in soft-rock anthems (soft, that is, by 2003’s pulverizing standards). The only real change here lies is in Kroeger's lyrical concerns. Where 2000's The State found him suffering the frustrations of small-town life, now he's tortured by a heavy touring schedule that promotes destructive drug abuse and strains relationships to breaking point. That said, you can't help feeling the ruthlessly analytical Kroeger would turn a visit to the supermarket into a riot of hatred and self-recrimination. For fans of Silver Side Up, Nickelback have delivered the goods once more. --Dominic Wills