Nickelback Member Is Fine With Comparison to 'Load'-Era Metallica

Nickelback bassist Mike Kroeger has responded to Phil Labonte's recent comments comparing the "How You Remind Me" hitmakers to Load and Reload-era Metallica. To be more precise, the Nickelback member said he viewed the All That Remains vocalist's remarks as something of a compliment.

Last month, Labonte appeared on the Breaking the Ice podcast and voiced his opinion that "Nickelback records are Metallica Load and Reload, sonically." He added, "Almost any of the Nickelback songs could go on Load or Reload, and almost any of the songs on Load or Reload could go on a Nickelback record."

At the time, the All That Remains frontman stressed that his analogy wasn't a criticism. His comparison mostly focused on production attributes, and the musician touted the "phenomenally crafted songs" from both acts. This month, Nickelback's bassist offered a response during an interview with Los Angeles' 95.5 KLOS.

Listen to the audio down toward the bottom of this post.

"You know, I read that," Kroeger replied. "I'm a fan of their band[s] — both [All That Remains and Metallica]. I guess it's a compliment. I don't think that's anything negative, really. I'll take that as a compliment for sure."

Speaking to radio host Marci Wiser, the Nickelback member also confronted some listeners' disdain for the Canadian rockers behind mid-2000s rock radio staples such as "Photograph" and "Rockstar." After all, a comical disrespect for the group has permeated as far as the U.S. House of Representatives.

"It just seems to be one of those cases where familiarity breeds contempt," Kroeger said. "People felt like they became so familiar with our band that they had to start throwing shade at it, I guess. Everybody from our time knows that this happened to Bon Jovi at the highest part of their career, it happened to Metallica at the highest point in their career. So I guess it's a good sign."

The bassist continued, "We've always had a more blue-collar way of looking at this whole thing, which is just do[ing] your work and don't worry about what everybody's saying. And just keep focused on the goal, whether it was getting on tour or making a record or whatever it was. And we never really listened to what people said, positive or negative."

Nickelback released their ninth studio album Feed the Machine in 2017. Last year, Kroeger explained that the band has no particular timeline set for when they'll complete a follow-up effort.

Nickelback's Mike Kroeger Talks to 95.5 KLOS - May 2020

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