Nickelback - Get Rollin' (Album Review)

 

Artist: Nickelback

Album: Get Rollin'

Release Date: November 18, 2022

If you look back five years ago, your life was probably very different.  The world itself was different in many ways as well. If you're older, maybe you got married and had kids. If you're younger maybe you're in college now and away from home.  Five years is also the last time Nickelback released a studio album and is the longest gap between releases in the band's history.  It's hard to believe it, but these guys aren't young anymore. Chief songwriter Chad Kroeger turned 48 just three days before this album hit the shelves. How has it changed this band? Not very much... and I think that's a good thing in NB's case.

In an ever-changing world, its good to have some constants to keep us sane. The sun rises. The coffee is hot. Tom Brady is playing on Sunday and Nickelback is releasing catchy hard rockers alongside some heartfelt sappy ballads. All is right.

My first plays of "Get Rollin'" were in the car. Nickelback, for me, has been reliable car music over the years. When All The Right Reasons came out in 2005, my dad enjoyed it so much as well that it was regularly played in our truck. A couple of years later this CD was a common choice when me and a close friend would make trips up to Boston. When Dark Horse came out, I remember being with another friend and that album was again a car album.

Of course, Nickelback can't be mentioned without the backlash of Nickelback. Needless to say, despite being a fan since I first heard "How You Remind Me" back when I was 13 years old in 2001, they weren't always a popular choice to listen to in car rides or request at parties, so while those old friends from high school went off and did their own things, Nickelback almost became sort of a guilty pleasure band for me.  Not that I was ashamed to be a fan, but I wouldn't tell my underground metalhead friends "hey, Lullaby is a pretty sweet ballad, huh?" more so just to avoid an argument about the band.

This was until I met my future wife, who I wouldn't know was a big Nickelback fan until years after we met for the same reasons I wouldn't bring up this band in mixed musical company -- out of fear of having to argue about them.  We both bonded over Creed, who experienced a very similar backlash that Nickelback did, and naturally, Nickelback would come up as well. From thereon, Nickelback would find its way back in the car. The Dark Horse album we picked up at a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri has been played from the midwest to New England many times since.  When we grew tired of that, we reminisced over All The Right Reasons. Going through an old box of CD's I found my friend's old copy of Silver Side Up -- scratched to hell and missing the jewel case, but it worked!

So, it seemed only fitting that with a day trip planned that had us going from the border of Rhode Island up north to Middlesex county, Massachusetts to play this new release in the car.  I have the deluxe version that features four acoustic versions of some of the songs at the end of the disc.

"Portals" - Kirk Hammett (Metallica) Solo Debut EP Review

 

Kirk Hammett

Portals

2022

The solo debut of Metallica's lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, entitled "Portals" is here. Despite Kirk showing interest a doing a solo album, as far back as 2006 as far as I can remember from interviews with Guitar World, this came as a surprise to many.  I believe your most ardent Metallica fans have a basic idea as to what to expect and your internet meme'ers who have reduced Hammett's great playing to just "guy who uses a lot of wah-wah" probably expected something entirely different.  Either way, whatever your preconceived notions of what this album would be, chances are you were surprised upon first listen and reviews from fans have been very positive.

Portals reunited Kirk with long-time producer Bob Rock who worked closely with Metallica from 1991's "Black Album" through 2003's St. Anger LP as a co-mixer alongside Hammett. Despite Metallica moving on from Bob, they never really had a falling out so it was nice to see this reunion of sorts after it being almost 20 years since they have worked together. 

Yes. St. Anger came out almost 20 years ago. Put into perspective... Metallica's first album was 20 years old the same time St. Anger was released. Jesus...

Like most of you, I expected the album to be metal-ish but not exactly like Metallica's style.  Most know Kirk is a bit of an eclectic, free thinkin', go-with-the-flow, old school Southern California type guy.  Never one wants to be boxed into one singular category.  This EP delivers a symphonic prog-rock blend grown from the soil of Kirk's metal roots. 4 instrumental tracks with almost a film score type feel to them. Maybe not the type of album you'd play in your car, but certainly something nice to have on while chilling at home or while working from home.  Upon first listen, my wife was in the room. She asked "this is pretty good, who is this?" so, it passed the wife test, too. 

If you know Kirk, then I'm sure you were already sold on this album if anything out of mere curiosity alone, but if you only know him from the wah-wah memes, then I suggest you give this album your full attention. You get an unfiltered version of Kirk. His playing. His vision. All laid out there with no questions left unanswered. It's melodic and its heavy. Its progressive and then it's straightforward. There are hints of all of his influences. Sometimes Spanish overtones on an acoustic guitar. Then stomping his Ghoul Screamer for a Load-esque era double-stop blues passage.  It is truly a solo album in the sense that it is everything about the artist's personality and influences in song from start to finish.

As for the wah thing... I have to go off a bit on that. Kirk has taken these wah-wah jokes in stride, which, great, I admire him for that, but often times fans who may not be very familiar with Kirk's work tend to take the joke too far and simply reduce him to a wah pedal or "guy that uses too much wah". The funny thing is there are players, legendary guitarists, who have used wah as much or more than Kirk, yet it is never joked about. Jerry Cantrell. Zakk Wylde. Slash. Jimi Hendrix!!! Why is it suddenly such a problem when Kirk uses it?  It's not like he does all the time and when he does use it, it works.  Like, have you ever played the Wherever I May Roam solo without wah? It doesn't sound as good. At the same time, some of Kirk's best and most critically acclaimed solos don't even feature wah usage. "One", "The Unforgiven", "Fade To Black", "Fuel", "The God That Failed". Some of Kirk's finest solos and no wah at all. Whatever. I know I'm ranting about something stupid that started out as a cute joke, but it seems like the joke has been around so long that people just accept it was a fact that all Kirk is is some standard guitar player that hides behind a wah pedal to get through a solo.  If that is how you feel, this album should put those concerns to rest.


In short, I'll give this EP an 8.5/10 which seems fair to me. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it for you to check out as well.  I'm not sure what the future hold for Kirk as a solo artist since his full-time gig is still with Metallica, but if this was a one-off release then it was worth it and he did it right. Often times guys from bands put out solo albums and they are mere vanity projects and also don't stray too far from their main band's style.  Also... they usually aren't that good and are typically just standard songs. There's one thing I can objectively say about the tracks on this album, they are not standard tracks and you will be surprised and want to hear what is next as you continue to listen through Portals 

Also, I recommend you go to Metallica's website and read the track-by-track breakdown from Kirk Hammett himself.  Click this link below. If you missed out on the Record Store Day exclusive release of this album, you can still pre-order it through Metallica's website.

https://www.metallica.com/store/kirk-hammett-portals-ep-digital-download/KHPORTALSDD.html