Nickelback is probably the rock sensation of 2003. Over nine million copies of their second album “Silver Side Up” were sold world wide. “The Long Road” is their new album and is full of melodic and aggressive rock in typical Nickelback vain. Listening to the record you might even speak of a Nickelback style. Although it’s generally a good thing when a band has an own style, Nickelback seems to be stuck with it. Nearly all songs on this album sound alike. There is some small variation in the music, but most of the vocal melodies are identical.

Individually, most songs on “The Long Road” are strong (the sound on the album is incredible), but as a whole the album is simply to monotonous.

There are some exceptions; “Should’ve Listened”, “Throw yourself Away” and “See You At The Show” escape from the uniformity and are more than plain straight rockers.

Nickelback profiles itself as an established order with little room of experiment and alternation. Therefore my guess is that the fans will love the album. “The Long Road” is however totally unsuitable for the critical music listener. For them “The Long Road” is definitely too long.