Leader of Men is just classic driving hard rock. It's about getting high, but its also about making choices. When Nickelback says, "I'm not a leader of men since I prefer to follow", it's obvious the group fears peer pressure driving a person to drugs.

The opening song on the CD really clicked for me. Lead singer Chad Kroeger says half the song is about Stalin and Churchill walking together and the other half is about a deteriorating relationship. The question why he would mix those topics together comes up to the listener. After a few listens though, it starts to fit together. The song rocks too hard to bother with the lyrics anyway. Most of the album is like that. From the opening Breathe to the closing songs, Not Leavin' Yet and Hold Out Your Hand, Nickelback pumps adrenaline back into music.

While not quite Springsteen or even Ozzy Osborne lyrically, Chad Kroeger does offer some insights into The State- of everything that goes on in the listener's life. As I leave for college, the lyric from Breathe, "If I could pack my life, I wanna know do you want me to go?" is one that really touches me. The opening line of "Leader of Men" also touches me, "Tell your friends not to think out loud until they swallow."

In all Nickelback created a canvass with this album that contains so many images from all people's lives. It's for you to discover, buy this album.


This Album Grows on You...   July 12, 2004
 19 out of 22 found this review helpful

This is a very good album, overall. The progression of Nickelback from Hesher to Curb to the State to Silver Side Up and to The Long Road is fairly straightforward. The guitar plaing becomes more complicated and the singing becomes smoother. The latter is not necessarily a good thing, however. The singing on this album is wonderful, it is rough, and gritty and fits the tone of the album beautifully. Lead singer and frontman Chad Kroeger loses this roughness in his later albums, yet his voice is too rough in earlier albums. To me, his voice is perfect on the State.

Breathe - To me, Breathe is a very remorseful song. The lyrics seem to be coming out of the mouth of someone who is bored of the life they are living. "Who wins /Well who cares/It always ends up the same." The singing is rough, of course, and the guitar playing is at its best in this track. Truly one of the best songs on the album.

Cowboy Hat - Cowboy Hat is one of the best songs on the album. I dont really know what the meaning of the lyrics are, but Chad's voice is just perfect. The percussion is great, as is the guitar. The opening stanza is probably one of my favorites of alltime. Cowboy Hat is extremely catchy and I think would probably have made a better opening track than Breathe.

Leader of Men - Leader of Men, according to Chad Kroeger, is "a song about magic mushrooms." Before I heard that, I didnt pay much attention to the lyrics. But lines like "Tell your friends not to think aloud/Until they swallow/Whisper things into my brain/Your voice sounds so hollow" are a giveaway. This is an enjoyable song to listen to and I can see why its so popular. It is one of my favorites. Though the vocals are not fantastic on this track, the lyrics are outstanding. "I jumped in to save a girl/It was somebody's daughter" is one of my favorite lines in any song.

Old Enough - This is an interesting song. I'm not crazy about it, though it appears to be very popular. The vocals are very good, as is the guitar, but there is something in the overall presentation of this song, perhaps the combination of the vocals and the guitar playing, that doesnt draw me in. The song is a bit strange, and the lyrics are open to interpretation. This is a good song, though its one of my least favorites on the album.

Worthy to Say - Again, according to Chad Kroeger, this is a song "about marijuana." I like this song well enough. I think the song is about more than marijuana though. Nickelback seems to be discussing a growing crime-rate among youth. This track showcases Chad's vocals, and is really quite good, though personally I just cant seem to get into it.

Diggin' This - I dont really like this song. The vocals dont seem to work well with the percussion or the guitar playing. I dont dislike this song so much that I would skip it, and I do sing along with it. The lyrics are very aggressive, and dont really fit the mood of the song: "Did I ask for your input?/
How's the taste of your own foot?"

Deep - I'm not crazy about this song either. The lyrics seem somewhat childish, or at least, very immature. "who will be the big men giving some" is just one example. The vocals dont stand out very well, and the whole song is kind of soft and doesnt fit with the rest of the album.

One Last Run - I'm conflicted over this track. I strongly dislike the lyrics, but the vocals and guitar playing are very good. When this song comes on, I tend to ignore what Chad is actually saying, and just listen to his voice, and the sound of the music around him.

Not Leaving Yet - I like this song very much. There are a number of references to Jesus, and christianity, most very obvious such as "Come lie next to me Jesus Christ." The singing is good, Chad is at his best here, and the guitar is perfect, and balances very well with the other instruments. This is a fine song, and one of the best on the album.

Hold Out Your Hand - The lyrics to this song are actually very short, but send a tough message. The song starts out by mentioning the army, and ends with mentioning childless mothers. The connection here shouldnt be too hard to make. This is a very good song, and I really enjoy listening to it.

Leader of Men (Acoustic) - Nickelback is one of the few bands who may be better live then on album. While the acoustic version may not have the harder ending that the album version did, the vocals are rougher and just fantastsic. The guitar playing is perfect and just went perfectly with the vocals.

Overall, this is an excellent album. It loses speed in the middle, but only for a couple of tracks. Nickelback is one of my favorites, and so is the State. I highly recommend this album to anyone.


One Of My 2 Favorite Bands EVER   February 17, 2001
 16 out of 20 found this review helpful

I have Ownewd this cd for a month or so now and i was recently reading through the reveiws on this great site and i was happy to see how 99% of the people felt. They all loved this cd. Then there was 1% of the people who said they hated it. And saying things like "are we all listening to the same cd." I didnt understand that and that is why im writing this review. I will addmit that when my friend first told me of this group Nickelback I went home from school and downloaded some of there music and HATED it. I almost agreed with the one star people. Just for fun I downloaded more and more songs from them. I stared to like them ALOT more. Well ill get to the point. I went to my local music store and i bought the cd. At the time i bought it i was a big fan. I listend through the cd and i thought it was good. I listened to it again and again and everytime i hear something new that i really like and it makes me want to listen to it again. Somedays i listen to this cd 2-4 times. This normally isnt my kind of music. Yeah i like creed and some rock bands but im a bigger fan of music such as godsmack, system of a down and that type. But i have to say that Nickelback is eithier my first or second favorie band of all time.

You want this cd it is GREAT..BUY BUY BUY....Im sure you wont regret it. It if you read my entire reveiw thank you. I know i drug it out and its kinda long. Please make sure you say if it was helpful or not. Id like to see if people agree with me.


Nickelback's Debut.....   February 16, 2005
 15 out of 18 found this review helpful

I started off as a fan of Nickelback after their Curb CD. Realising that they had a debut album I decided to buy this one and whilst many of the songs were listenable they were to me flat sounding. Nickelback was relatively knew on the music world stage and it took them sometime to get their footing and become well known. It was only ever going to be a matter of time.

This CD is not going to be for everybody, however it is a introduction to how Nickelback sounded at the beginning and their musical evolution over a matter of time. I wish the band all the luck in the future and they have certainly improved 10 fold over the last few years.


Stop What you are doing and buy this CD!   April 5, 2000
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I've had this CD for two weeks now and it hasn't left my CD player yet. It is AWESOME! By far the best album of the year! If you like Creed and Bush, you'll love this album! One listen to this CD and you'll use your Creed and Bush CD's for coasters it's that good!