Dark Horse CD Review

Nickelback is back, and ready to party in their brand new release "Dark Horse." Although the record has already been panned and dragged through the mud like all other Nickelback albums, Nickelback will be laughing all the way to the bank as usual. Preppy know-it-all music "experts" might hate it, but us regular folks eat this stuff up. I purchased my copy of Dark Horse the day it came out, and this is by far the most rockin', livin' it up, straight sexed-up CD Nickelback has ever done. This album makes the song "Animals" off of their last album sound like a bedtime story.
The album opener, "Something In Your Mouth," is pretty damn much designed for strip clubs. Hell, its about an exotic dancer. The beat during the pre-chorus is definitely a sound that Nickelback has never done before, and it sounds downright AWESOME! The song that follows, "Burn It To The Ground," is about nothing but getting shit-faced and getting "bat shit crazy" and "all in, balls out." Another up-tempo song, you just can't help but bop your head along to the tune. The perfect party song, Burn It to the Ground will most likely never be released as a single, but it will remain a hidden gem on the album.

The third track, "Gotta Be Somebody" was the debut single off the album, and has a very mainstream sound to it. A song about waiting for the right person in life to come along to live the rest of your life with, the lyrics will strike a chord with any single person. The song itself doesn't sound like anything Nickelback has done before; it's a mid-tempo song that comes out great.

The first ballad on the album, "I'd Come For You," is pretty much a straight-up love song, much in the same vein as "Far Away" from their previous release. Probably a future single, it's a well-done ballad that will appeal to most music listeners.

The next song, "Next Go 'Round," is a delightfully dirty song about staying home and doing the dirty all day. The music itself sounds dirty, and even though most people will say they don't like it, deep inside....they're gonna eat it up. A song more descriptive than "Animals," Next Go 'Round is already receiving airplay in bars and clubs, to much fanfare.

The sixth song, "Just To Get High" is a sad tale of a friend of Chad Kroeger that fell into substance abuse. A surprisingly up-tempo song during the chorus, the song draws you in with its story, and combined with some spectacular drum and guitar fills, this song is worth a listen or two....or a few hundred more.

The next song could be considered the low point of the album. A ballad, titled "Never Gonna Be Alone," seems too forced at a mainstream audience. Probably another future single that will do well on radio, it isn't indicative of the rest of the album.

"Shakin' Hands," a song about a girl using more than her business skills to get to the top, is another little dirty diddy. "She didn't make this far by just shakin' hands," goes the chorus. You can imagine the rest.

The 9th track...finally comes out and tells what the entire album is pretty much about. "S.E.X."
"S is for the simple need, E is for the ecstasy, X is just to mark the spot, cuz that's the one you really want," tells Kroeger. Another fantastic song musically, it's another song like "Next Go 'Round" that won't receive mainstream attention, but will remain an underground fan favorite.

Next comes the best ballad on the entire album. "If Today Was Your Last Day," a song about not taking life for granted, is pure radio gold. I cannot wait for this song to hit radio, because I seriously think this song has the potential to become Nickelback's biggest radio hit. A nice slow ride, "If Today Was Your Last Day" isn't forced like "Never Gonna Be Alone," but flows naturally and sounds great.

The album closer, "This Afternoon," is just about a brotherly pow-wow, sitting around doing nothing but shooting the bull, drinking some beer, and having a good time. The rock equivalent of Alan Jackson's "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere," its a nice break from the normal rock music fare.

Overall, Nickelback, if anything, shows their wild side on this album. Showing no signs of slowing down, Nickelback is back and back BIG!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.