NICKELBACK Bassist Sincerely Doubts That His Bandmates Would Want To Make A Heavy Metal Album

NICKELBACK bassist Mike Kroeger has clarified his comments about his desire to make a super-heavy album with his band one day.

This past January, Kroeger told Australia's Wall Of Sound that metal is "what I listen to without fail," adding that "if we could actually sink in and do a metal album, all four of us would love it. I know that we're all — on differing scales — metalheads at our core. We all know everything about the 'Big Four' — METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER. I would do a SLAYER cover album if I could. That's where my heart lies. There are just never enough hours in the day to do everything, but let's just say I wouldn't count it out."

But now Kroeger has offered a different take on the possibility of recording a SLAYER covers album, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader that he never said NICKELBACK as a band would partake in such a project.

"As a journalist yourself, you realize the importance of context and how context can be manipulated," Mike said. "I can't remember who I was talking to, but I know this got somewhat distorted, and then it was put on a wire and then everybody got it.

"I said this in an interview with somebody in, I think, Australia, and then it got regurgitated and switched around and then reformatted it into this clickbait form," he continued. "What I said was, 'I would like to make a SLAYER cover record or have a SLAYER cover band or make a metal album.' I didn't say [it involved] NICKELBACK … Like, 'Hey, everybody, be outraged because NICKELBACK wants to make a heavy metal album.'"

According to Mike, he still has a passion for the heavier forms of music and he often entertains the idea of dabbling in the more extreme styles than NICKELBACK is known for.

"I'm a metalhead, love metal music, love SLAYER in particular; they're one of my favorites," he said. "And I would love to play that music, but I couldn't speak for NICKELBACK in saying that we want to do a SLAYER cover band or make a death-metal record.

"I know that the drummer, Daniel [Adair], he's a big fan of metal. I don't know if he wants to be in a metal band. He might. I know Chad [Kroeger, guitar/vocals] and Ryan [Peake, rhythm guitar] both like heavy metal, but I don't know if they wanna make a record of it or play in a band that plays SLAYER covers. I sincerely doubt it."

Asked if SLAYER was the first metal band he really got into, Mike said: "I remember particular moments in my life when I heard a kind of music or a band for the first time, and I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. SLAYER's one of those. I was skateboarding with friends and we had a little boombox with us. And I remember one of the guys put on a cassette tape … [I] put on a cassette tape of the 'Reign In Blood' album. I just sat down and I was' like, 'What on earth is that? What, what is this? I need to know what this is.' And it just got me. That's one in particular that I remember distinctly socking me right between the eyes."

NICKELBACK is continuing to tour in support of its ninth album, "Feed The Machine", which was released in June 2017 via BMG.