Kurt is turning in his grave :( 1 mark because they chose an amazing band to imitate badly. Shocking. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I originally gave it an 8, but because of the criminal underrating this album received, I'll give it a ten. Easily the groups best work so far. I'm loving the fact that they tried something different.

Nickleback delivers yet again. The disk is exactly what you expect. The first two songs are in your face and blow your doors off. It is sometimes comicle sometimes touching and always fun. These guys rock!!!

Horrible album. I've never liked nickelback. If you want to listen to real music, listen to Tool or Breaking Benjamin. Most mainstream sucks. And Nickelback is no exception. If you're going to make a "new album", at least change some of the lyrics up...a big disgrace to rock...

It's either a searing parody of Nickelback's previous albums, or the worst collection of songs ever written. I'm betting on the latter.

Not a masterpiece, but surely a great album to put on while on the road or.. simply during doing some house cleanups. way to go Nickelback, proud to be canadian!

This album is genuinely terrible. Their last album was bad, but redeemable because of some good songs. Any middle school droput could write this. The riffs are repetitive, and while this wouldn't be a bad thing if the riffs or melodies or anything were actually good, but as it is, they are terrible. There is absolutely no originality in the band or between the songs; they all have the same feel, the same sound, the same instrumentation. I'll admit that it's not as bad as a lot of what's out there, but that doesn't make it good. There is always the consistent drone of distorted guitar and heavy drums, the chords don't follow any pattern or make any sense, and this is even more bombastic and melody-less than any of their previous releases. Also, the system they use for averaging critics ratings on this site doesn't work with the AllMusic guide ratings, because the lowest rating on there is a 1/5, not a 0/5. Just thought I'd throw that in there.… Expand

Right i know, i know why do i give Nickelback the most hatest band in the world a 9 for this album. Well i'll tell you now i aint a fan, i work for the music industary and have no interest in this band. but when I heard this album it was like where's the party? I think people just give bad reviews for this band cos they are so successful. The song are very catchy and i did watch a DVD of a live performace and yes they do talk dirty but from an adults point of view with out a child they were very funny and the music and the pyro were very good. like i said I don't like the band but this is a great album!… Expand

Its a bit cruel of some ppl 2 say that the new album is total shit,cuz it defiently have some worthy singles to listen 2,but as a huge fan of nickelback i must confess that their new style is a bit unexpectable.

When are they going to stop letting horny 8th graders write the lyrics? All their songs sound the same.

I think everyone is finally waking up from their deep haze to realize that Nickleback SUCK BALLS! Hello?? They make their music for 12 year old masturbating boys.....There is more talent in Pearl Jam's shit then there is in Nickleback's best moments! Come on everyone! Remember Bush? Thats right, you don't....because Nickleback stepped in and took over the duty of making post grunge wanna be bullshit! Do yourselves a favor and GRADUATE to some better music.....Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and STP for starters......listen to these TRUE musicians and realize who shitty Nickleback and Bush pathetically tried to copy.… Expand

Is there anything left to say? Nope.

I believe myself that this is one of Nickelback's greatest albums yet. It may have what you guys say recycled music but its still great and has some amazing songs.. I myself do not hear any recycled music in this album just like i don't when I heard a different album that a so called professional critic said was recycled junk.

Perfect album for fans, radiolisteners, and for critics to get their teeth into.

Crap from a band who could do much better. I saw them in concert in harford and made the mistake of taking my 12 yr old. It was the biggest porno show (dildos,filthy talk etc attempt at stand up comedy i ever saw...But at least they played 7 or 8 songs....just so disappointed.

This truly is a fantastic album, I honestly cant understand why the so called "critics" would give this record a bad rep. It's everything Nickelback is; the sound, the lyrics, the sex... its all here. If you never liked Nickelback to begin with then this album is not for you; but I can honestly say without question this is an album the fans will not be disappointed with. Think "All the Right Reasons" if you have to compare it to anything; and you'll know exactly what you're in for. 9/10… Expand

I used to be a fan. But they have become so completely unoriginal... It's just sad.

Nice to see them get away from all Ballads.

This is just as good as All the Right Reasons. If you like Nickelback, you'll like the album. If you don't like Nickelback, you won't like the album, it's that simple. For fans of the band this is what they want.

Maybe the most unoriginal, tackiest, and most boring bands out there? Definitely maybe.

Rolling Stone has officially jumped the shark.

I think the album is pretty good. Sure, it's different from all the right reasons but it's not BADDD... I love it, except for all the raunchy songs. However, I really think Nickleback should stick to ballads. They're raunchy songs sound really forced.

I think this is the best album Nickelback has put out. There's some different stuff on there and "I'd Come for You" is probably the sweetest song I've ever heard & I will have it at my wedding. "Just to Get High" is probably the strongest lyrically & musicaly. The message it portrays brought me to tears and could be eye opening to some of Nickelback's listeners.

More of the same from Nickelback. Some nice easy listening, balls out rock and roll. Why change it if it aint broke? Seriously, why do so many people want a band to reinvent the wheel? Look at Motorhead for another good example of a band that sticks to its guns and keeps giving the fans what they expect. If you're not a pretentious tool and you like a bit of good old fashioned rock, you'll like this!… Expand

I love Nickelback! Really. But the truth is it (Dark Horse) is an awful album. I know everyone's going green but recycled music is not included. Maybe it's time for Nickelback to let someone that still has passion to write their music for them. Clearly Chad has lost that passion. It's hard for me to say that but it's the truth.

Nickelback has never been original. But still, when I heard about their new album, I decided to give it a go. Heck, it was produced by the guy who brought is Back in Black! Maybe it Nickelback was finally being creative! Alas, what I got is Nickelback's worst album. Kroeger has NEVER been a good singer. But here he sounds like some pathetic drunk. And looking at the lyrical themes, that probably is what he is. To start off, lets look at the songs. Most revolve around sex and drinking (or both!). The other themes are cheesy ballads, rendered totally inscencere due to the other songs. These ballads are bound to become hits, and people are bound to rate this pile of crap 10/10 because of them [without even LISTENING to the rest], but for those of us (woe-fully) in the know, this is Nickelback posing as "softies" just to get their fans $$$. The songs about drinking and sex are horrible. You see, Nickelback has alway been vulgar. Nobody has ever noticed, either because the cheesy singels either drew them in, and they just bought the album just to listen to the singles, or because the singles told them all they needed to know. But Kroeger seems intent here to show how vulgar Nickelback really is. And while doing so, why not prove to critics that he really IS an idiot. There are so many bad lyrics, to list them all is to copy and paste all the lyrics from the album. Quite literally they ALL SUCK. (In S.E.X. "X is just to mark the spot"...and that is one of the WAY BETTER lyrics). The songs don't pack a punch, and like always, seem like previous recycled hits. In all truthfullness, to point out all the reasons that make this album bad would take forever. So I'll end it at this: If you thought that Nickelback couldn't get much worse, they do!… Expand

Absoulute crap. Nickelback has always been bad with ballads, and here, the best tracks are ballads. So you know what your getting into. The tracks are weak. Lyrics are so poor, they could pass of as an exagerrated parody of Nickelback. So exaggerated, in fact, that many would dismiss the lyrics saying "Nobody is so stupid as to wirte a lyric like that". Turns out, Kroeger really IS that stupid. Incredible. As for what Ashley C. said, dear, I surely do hope your weidding day is FAR FAR into the future, because that song is so incensere and cheesy, it is obviously only done for commercial reasons (do you really want a commercial generic song played at your wedding?). Also addressing another commenter, Stephanie S. epitomizes all the people who gave this album a good review. She stated that she loved the album except for a raunch, and gave the album a 8/10. But here is the problem, THE WHOLE ALBUM is raunch. So how can you love it? Obviously she only heard "Gotta Be Somebody" and mindlessly gave it a good score. And that goes for everyone who gives this a good score. Its not an opinion, this album is universally bad.… Expand

All I can say is that I feel raped. The lead singer has violated me and I want my computer space back because I obviously would never buy this crap so I pirated it. CANADA! I CAN DO THAT LEGALLY! My oh my. I would rather listen to Aqua as my wedding song than ever having to listen to this crap ever again.

What is wrong with the "professional" critics? Nickelback is not like your precious Radiohead! Nickelback is for us "normal" folk. They give us songs about hope, love, sex, and having faith in something that you dummies can't see right in front of your face. Mutt Lang did these guys justice on this album and you all can just bite it!

I think the real problem is, just sheer repetitive boring music. And i know im not the first to say it. But the themes they explore in this album like sex, and drugs and stuff have been explored by other and better bands and have been expressed with far greater artistic merit. I think Chad and his band of meat head musicians need to pack it up and hang their guitars up for the sake of humanity.

People should be ashamed to give this a high rating. Also, big LOL at the person saying Nickelback is for "normal" people. I'd like to think I'm a "normal" person, I just have the intelligence to discern utter crap from decent music. There's music I don't like and won't listen to, but can respect. This is just pure garbage, through and trhough. Every Nickelback song sounds exactly the same. It's even been proven on many websites by playing 2 different songs out of the left and right speaker. This band is one of the biggest plagues on music, and makes me utterly embarrassed to know they are Canadian as well. Do us all a favour and go back to Alberta and STAY THERE.… Expand

Ok, maybe not one of the best albums of all time, but hey given the mediocre post grunge/alt rock offerings in today's music market it's not that bad. Yes the songs are pretty repetitive, but look at bands like Slayer who have rehashed the same old crap since the mid 80's. Stop whining and take it for what it is!! Chad may be the king of cheese, yes he writes some irritatingly catchy tunes, but if you don't like it go check out some some o' that euro beat dance crap.… Expand

Best album they have put out....what amazes me is that so many people dis this, and every other cd, but never offer up a "real artist" to listen to so we can all have a stomping parade on them, mainly because their callow souls cannot take anyone dogging their musical taste, or "lack there-of". If a song sounds the same, they all complain. What do you want....a rock song followed by a piano song, followed by Celtic music, followed by a rap song? Shame on a band to "explore" topics such as sex, drugs, etc, I mean, all artists talk about it, but it is only bad if a mainstream artist does (rolling my eyes)! You would be hard pressed to find any musical act that has not at 1 point or time talked about sex and drugs, unless you are listening to Opera, Classical, Celtic, or Christian! Get a grip and come up with some better excuses to bash Nickelback! Name someone with a better singing voice than Kroger....Cobain, lol!!! I am a singer, and his range is hard to match, but it is pretty easy to sing the candy a$$ songs of so called "artists" that get rave reviews. The people that bash this cd are the same people that wear short sleeved shirts over long sleeved shirts over short sleeved shirts.......grow up and get out of high school!… Expand

Cookie cutter music fed to those that have no interest in hearing anything unlike they have heard a million times before. Nickelback defines a new category of Rock, Butt Rock, hopeless junk that is spewed without any thought at all given to it.

Yeah Rolling Stone, he comes off and writes music about as well as any regular guy with no pretensions to talent, how does that help matters at all?

great another nickleback album, these guys are like the weak zebra in the herd that the lions pick off, and after they taste it they leave it for the vultures

Melodramatic lyrics that any highschooler could write. Repetative riffs and melodies that reek of uncreativity. The question is not if it's bad, it's what is there to like?

Gur, we are do not listen to Nickelback! We no like boring, unoriginal music, gurr.

Awesome driving music. If you are looking for lovey dovey songs like Far Away, this is not for you. Harder rock, better guitar, sexier lyrics. I love it.

One of their best. Not quite as good as Silver Side Up but much better than All The Right Reasons.

I think as NYT puts it the band does move a little away from their comfort zone, but I do enjoy the album, and Kroeger's lack of self gratification.

I think its their best album. Anyone claiming originality to be the problem need to go back about 70 years and/or get shot. Out of so many years of music, what the heck else are you going to right a song about? I think it beat All the Right Reasons, and that was a tough one for me too. Each album gets better, and yea, they're sound has changed over the years. That's what keeps them at the top of charts people. Not sounding the same every time.… Expand

People need to stop slagging nickelback regardless of how bad they are. middle america needs something simple and predictable to listen to on their way to walmart and the burger king drive-thru. unfortunately radiohead happens to be a bit too heady for joe the plumber. it seems to me that most culturally aware and educated people are able avoid putting themselves in the path of nickelback's overexposure. if you still listen to rock radio, you've got nothing to complain about. most of that rubbish is just as bad as nickelback.… Expand

I've heard better musicianship from a deathcore band.

its a damn shame Nickelback are decent enough musicians, because they're using up perfectly good blue collar rock riffs to back up some of the most unoriginal, bland and just plain moronic lyrics anyone has ever written. dont get me wrong kids, sex and drugs are fun, but artists with street cred find ways express their lust for women and drugs in a somewhat intelligent fashion. oh and by the way, the first guy on the list here wants bands that don't suck to offer up? Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, Pearl Jam, Sublime, Led Zeppelin. look em up, its what real music sounds like. better singing voice than chad kroger? Dallas Green, Arethra Franklin, Gord Downie, Mariah Carey, Chris Cornell.… Expand

A respectable album, I'll give it that. "Never Gonna Be Alone" and "Gotta Be Somebody" were my favorites, but "This Afternoon" is worth listening to as well. Problem is, many of the songs just don't feel like Nickelback. They've changed since "All The Right Reasons," that's for sure. But that doesn't mean "Dark Horse" isn't worth listening to. It's an album I enjoy, and would recommend to other Nickelback fans as well.… Expand

How cruel can these people be? obviously they are do not listen to Nickelback! This is their best album yet hands down!

I liked it, but it does have almost predictable rythm and lyrics at times so for that I gave it a 9. But I really am enjoying listening to it. I did notice some repetitiveness that may get more annoying the more I listen to it. But like all CD's I will end up with a handful of gems that I listen to all the time. Good stuf.

You can tell Kroeger is a high-school dropout (read the interview he did for playboy if you don't believe this). His lyrics are a joke, and so is the music. Please stop buying his stuff, people, so that he can stop making it!!

I give it one point just because the guitarist uses pinch harmonics in the first song. It surprises me they did those, I thought something like that would be too hard for them.

Nickleback has killed Rock. Only ONE song is catchy, but the rest is crap! WARRNING: Do not listen to this "rock album". This album should join in "The Worst Collection of Albums In History" with this album being No. 1

An album full of fun and relatability. It entertains right from the beginning, mixing up uplifting songs then toning back down to emotional expressions.

Nickelback rocks out to a powerful song, “If Today Was Your Last Day,â€� showcasing more than great band talent, but also a challenging message. Nickelback has musical roots that trace back to The Rolling Stones with 1960’s Rock. The songwriter, Chad Kroeger, creates the tone of the song to be hortatory, strongly encouraging the listener to think about his/her own life; for example, he writes, “Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behindâ€� (3). In the context of the song, “If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late / Could you say goodbye to yesterday?â€� (7-8), Kroeger asks us what we would do if today was our last day; “Would you live each moment like your last / Leave old pictures in the past / Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?â€� (9-11) He also compares using a metaphor, “He said each day’s a gift and not a given rightâ€� (2), causing us to think that each day is a gift that can be taken away, not a right like many of us think. The song definitely targets us at a personal level, causing us to look at our own life and reflect on how we are living. Kroeger writes, “So do whatever it takes / ‘Cause you can’t rewind a moment in this life / Let nothing stand in your way / ‘Cause the hands of time are never on your sideâ€� (38-41). Live your life and don’t let anything get in the way of who you want to be is the challenge given here. He also challenges us with “You know it’s never too late to shoot for the stars / Regardless of who you areâ€� (35-36). Here he talks about aiming for your biggest dreams and trying to succeed no matter who you are. On another personal level, Kroeger tells us “So live like your never living twice / Don’t take the free ride in your own lifeâ€� (17-18). Sometimes it can be easy to settle for less than your best, but in the song, Kroeger is telling you not to. Live your life like your not living twice, always doing your best, never settling for anything less. The song talks about the value of the mutant, a postmodernism idea, that values those that go against the rest of the crowd; “Against the grain should be a way of lifeâ€� (14). The theme of postmodernism continues with the emphasis of play and chance, “If today was your last day and tomorrow was too lateâ€� (7) where there is a sense that it could all suddenly end. But, Kroeger throws a theme from modernism into the song, the idea that truth is universal. “My best friend gave me the best advice / He said each day’s a gift and not a given rightâ€� (1-2). This shows that the friend is offering advice to him, and they both believe it, meaning it is not personal but universal. The overall message of the song is to live life to the fullest because you never know when your last day is going to be. The theme is summarized quite well in the middle of the song, “If today was your last day / Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart? / You know it’s never too late to shoot for the stars / Regardless of who you areâ€� (33-36). This song is a great challenge for us to think about how we want to live our lives everyday. Do you want to live it actively, participating in all that life has to offer, or passively, as if you are watching life pass by?… Expand

This is in my opinion this is one of Nickelback's best CD yet, while they still have some lame tracks, it will still hold your attention if your into the band.

I've never been a huge fan, i like 'Someday' - but mostly had never taken much interest. Then my brother introduced me to this album. And wow, considering Nickleback have always played it quite safe this album really pushed the boat out. With sleezy tracks like 'Something in your Mouth', 'SEX' and 'Next Go Round' you can't help but like it ! It may be alittle unoriginal but if you play this album loud it simply blows your head off !! 'Burn it to the Ground' and 'Gotta Be Sombody' make you shout the lyrics when - for example - your driving your car to work or home after a night out, you look foward to hearing them again, it's truly an outstanding rock and roll album, nothing more, nothing less, it's noise at it's best.… Expand

I used to love and come up with excuses for why I loved Nickelback. Until Dark Horse came along; offensive, lazy, stupid and hypocritical (How do you go from a magnum opus like "Never Again" to garbage like "Something In your Mouth" and "Shakin Hands"?!), Dark Horse is a shoe in for worst Album of the new Millenna. Let me reitorate, I've seen Nickelback live and loved all of their albums until Dark Horse. Dark Horse has effectively ruined a band for both fans and die hard fans alike.… Expand

This album is a joke. With each song sounding the same as the next, it is clear that Nickelback ran out of ideas long ago (if they ever had any to begin with).

"Dark Horse" es un album revuelto, dificil de digerir y muy complicado en cuanto a su complejidad, sin alma ni sentido lirico ni de sonido en ninguna de las pistas, puedo decir que es el trabajo mas flojo de Nickelback en toda su larga carrera de vagos trabajos, no se sintio su innecesaria necesidad de innovar tanto como en este album puesto que suena como una serie de lados b desechados de anteriores malos o mixtos albumes de "Rock?" es el nombre del genero musical que merece este album.… Expand

Why is this band so popular?! All their songs are mediocre and on top of that a good amount of them are stolen. Their songs sound like crap and their just an unoriginal and boring band.

I'll start off by saing that, yes, I'm a longtime Nickelback fan. Right, now that 80% of the readers have left, let's get on with it. Dark Horse is a classic Nickelback album - there's no point in pretending that it's wildly different to their previous efforts, because it isn't. Although the instrumentation is less gritty than on the last few records, the basic lyrical themes and core musical elements remain largely unchanged. What were you expecting? Nickelback has always been relatively formulaic in their music, and they're not about to change. That's no reason to not like what they produce, and this is more polished than their previous albums, and with the possible exception of All the Right Reasons, their best effort so far. Don't expect musical inspiration from this record - but what it does, it does very well indeed.… Expand

nickleback are down and dirty with dark horse from loving when there's something in your mouth to hanging out this afternoon and everything in between easily one of there greatest albums