Devin Townsend: Chad Kroeger from Nickelback is "so much more of a metalhead than I am"

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Though Nickelback spent the better part of two decades being the butt of many a metalhead's joke, it seems the Canadian rockers' standing in the heavy music community has improved drastically in recent times. Now, beloved prog-metal genius Devin Townsend has heaped praise on Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, even going as far as to suggest that The Chad is "so much more of a metalhead" than Devin himself is.

Speaking to Ultimate Guitar, Devin lifted the lid on his recent collaboration with Kroeger, who appeared on the former's recent album, Lightwork.

“Chad’s brilliant," gushes the former Strapping Young Lad frontman. "Chad is a phenomenally intelligent human being. But he’s a rockstar, too, on levels that you and I will never participate in. And so there’s gonna be a disconnect just based on that. You only have a few things in common, and then, after a while you run out of things to talk about.

“I think it was flattering for me at first, too. But again, guy’s got a very complex life, and I can’t understand a lot of it. How could I? It’s not within the realm of my world. But I think he’s exceptionally talented. I think he’s phenomenally intelligent."

Townsend then goes on to deduct himself some metal points before handing them directly to Kroeger, noting: "Even if I respect and care for people, after a certain amount of time, again, I have to tap out. I’m like, ‘Dude, I can’t hang with this.’ I’m in bed by nine, usually. I don’t want to listen to Pantera at four in the morning, you know?

“And that’s not a character flaw at all, it’s just a different frequency that folks like that exist on," he continues. "I’m not like that. But sometimes it takes experiences with folks like that to know that. Maybe you think you can hang, and then you get there.

“And I mean, with Chad, I remember being at his house a couple times, and just being, ‘Wow, this is so intense, man.’ He had a stage set up, and it’s metal all night. And I’m thinking like, ‘Man, you are so much more of a metalhead than I am.’ But I do care for him. And I think he’s brilliant.”

Nickelback recently released new studio album Get Rollin', their first for five years.

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Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.