Are we having fun yet? Nickelback's 'Silver Side Up' turns 20

Nickelback in 2001; Martin Philbey/Redferns

This is how we remind you that Nickelback's Silver Side Up is now 20 years old.

The Canadian rockers' breakout album was first released September 11, 2001. It hit a then-career-high number two on the Billboard 200, and has since been certified six-times Platinum by the RIAA.

The massive success of Silver Side Up surprised many, very much including the members of Nickelback themselves.

"I was living in a trailer," bassist Mike Kroeger tells ABC Audio. "I was completely flat broke when we recorded Silver Side Up."

Kroeger recalls being particularly stunned by the huge support for lead single "How You Remind Me," which became Nickelback's first and only number-one Hot 100 hit to date.

"I thought it was good," Kroeger says of "How You Remind Me." "I thought it was not particularly much better than any of the other songs on the record, really. I thought it was strong enough to go on an album."

Kroeger's perception started to change, though, when he saw how other people reacted to "How You Remind Me." He remembers a particular instance when he played a demo of the song for a friend.

"He said, 'That has got millions written all over it,'" Kroeger shares. "I was, like, 'You really think so?...And he goes, 'I hear a hit there.' And I was, like, 'Hm. OK. Cool. Yeah, wow, that's really encouraging.'"

He adds, "My wife, she mentions that the first time she heard it she got goosebumps."

Nickelback has since released six more studio albums, including the Diamond-certified All the Right Reasons. The band's most recent record is 2017's Feed the Machine.

Thursday, September 9, 2021 at 6:00AM by Josh Johnson Permalink