Track Listing

1. Breathe
2. Cowboy Hat
3. Leader Of Men
4. Old Enough
5. Worthy To Say
6. Diggin' This
7. Deep
8. One Last Run
9. Not Leavin' Yet
10. Hold Out Your Hand
11. Leader Of Men

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5623 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Prior to the release of The State, grungey Nickelback won a Juno Award--the Canadian equivalent of a BRIT Award--for Best New Band. Named after an expression often used by bassist Mike Kroeger when serving coffees for $1.95 each in Starbucks, Nickelback have toured alongside Creed and owe a similar debt to the anthemic rock and articulate soulfulness of Pearl Jam. The State is consciously dramatic, with sweet strums constantly overwhelmed by crashing waves of distorted guitar. Singer Chad Kroeger (Mike's brother) meaningfully croons and wails his tales of life in a small town, with its complex relationships, claustrophobic underground culture and uncomfortable struggle between easy comfort (staying) and invigorating adventure (leaving). Yet Nickelback are at their best when escaping the Pearl Jam influence, as with the heavy, ponderous Billy Squier-style riffing of "Deep", the dirty 70s grind of "Not Leavin' Yet" and the slightly more experimental "Worthy To Say", where a near-Oriental ambient guitar is suddenly hammered by a burst of big rock and Chad Kroeger delivers a bluesy rap recalling prime-time Paul Rodgers. Nickelback are good, but still growing. Once they achieve their own clearly identifiable sound, they may well be great. --Dominic Wills

CD Description
Those with a short cultural memory say that Canada's Nickelback is reminiscent of power-rockers Creed. To the rest of the world, this means that they're influenced by grunge stalwarts Pearl Jam, which also means they're indebted to vintagealt rock and to '70s hard rock. All these sonic touchstonesare readily apparent on THE STATE. The album ostensibly revolves around "Leader of Men", which garnered the most attention on the album's initial release, and which is reprised atthe end of the album in an acoustic version just to drive the point home.
Anyone drawn in by that cut will find moreto like here. The opening track "Breathe" finds Nickelback charging with full force straight out of the gate over a relentless rhythm section and jackhammer guitar riffs. "Deep" slows down the pace to an undulating grind, never releasing the hard-won tension for a moment. While Nickelback may show more of Creed's unrelenting attack than Pearl Jam's eclecticism, fans of either band should feel entirely comfortable inthe aural environs of THE STATE.

Customer Reviews

Is this the Year for Rock or what??????? Top Album
Well what can I say Excellent album. After hearing Leader of Men i was captivated and thought I have to get that album. I wasnt dissapointed at all. From the first song to the last excellent songs and they have a bush/silverchair sound to them. I don't know how they did it but they did. Excellent debut album just waiting in anticipation for the follow up. If they keep this up they will be up there with the greatest of the rock gods.

One of the best Rock Album ever....
The State is quite simply one of the best Rock/Nickelback Album I've ever listened to. I had listened to Silver Side Up before The State and then purchased this not very long after and although I was at first not so pleased with The State, my opinion soon changed.

The songs do tend to differ from the latest Nickelback hits and appear much more "rocky" and somewhat lively. Tracks such as Diggin' This and Old Enough are a prime example of this. However, the softer more melodic side to Nickelback is also present, with the hit, Leader of Men which is in my opinion the best song on the Album.

The Songs, Not Leavin' Yet and Hold Out Your Hand aren't Nickelback's greatest hits and I was at first put off by these but after recently listening to them again, I've realised that they're a good album filler and do show that Nickelback are capable of providing some variation in their songs. They're not by any means bad, but they don't come close to other songs on the album such as Breathe, Leader of Men and One Last Run.

In comparison to the latest albums, Silver Side Up and The Long Road, The State is quite different and this may put you off if you're really into their latest stuff (which rocks just as much as this does)

If you like Rock music in general, then this is most definately an essential purchase. If your Nickelback fan then I'm left with the question, why don't you already own this album?

One of the best albums I've bought this year
A good mix of tracks and good quality rock music. Like so many bands these days, Nickelback have not been drawn into the trap of being cliche. The lyrics are meaningfull, and the music is dynamic. I was encouraged to buy this album after hearing 'Leader of men' and was not disappointed to find this track appear twice on the album. The accustic version really gives the track a more personal touch. Although the album may be objectional to some because of it's religious undertones, you only have to look at Creeds success to realise that it is these elements of the song writers personality that completes a song.