Well, we can’t say we saw this one coming. On Friday (16), Nickelback released their ninth album, Feed the Machine, which meant that the band made the press rounds. And since they’ve become a punching bag for critics, music fans and Canada-haters in general, frontman Chad Kroeger seems to have walked into an interview with a chip on his shoulder, asking a journalist at Sweden’s Metal Covenant last month if there were any bands as diverse as Nickelback. When that journalist offered Stone Sour, Kroeger didn’t take it that well:
“Yeah, ’cause they’re trying to be Nickelback.” He then took a swig from his beer and directed his comments at the Stone Sour singer: “Corey Taylor has said some really nasty things about me before in the press. He talks about how easy it is to write a hit song. Well, show me. Show me. Write one. I have yet to hear one. They’re okay. But they’re not as good as Nickelback. They sound like ‘Nickelback Lite.'”
While those are fighting words in and of themselves, he went on to disparage Slipknot as well:
“They had to put on masks and jump around. How good can your music be if you’ve gotta beat each other up on stage, throw up in your own masks every night…? I mean, music shouldn’t come with a gimmick; music should just be music. None of my favorite music comes with a gimmick. And he got tired of sitting behind a mask — he wanted people to know what he looks like — so he started Stone Sour.
While Taylor hasn’t weighed in yet, Kroeger is wrong on a couple levels. First of all, these remarks come to light as Stone Sour’s single “Song #3” has become the #1 song at rock radio, so if that’s what defines a “hit,” then the band has at least one. Secondly, Stone Sour was around before Slipknot, so the guy’s got his timeline mixed up. Taylor might take the high road here, but let’s face it, we’re just ready to make some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the war of words that might happen.
[photo via Blabbermouth]
