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.


Awesome Vancouver Band   April 18, 2000
The Unknown (Vancouver B.C. Canada)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Nickelback is one of Canada's execllent examples of what comes out of the Great White North, The riffs and the sounds just make you want to go out and buy the CD when you hear the first song, they have another album before, Curb, it's a Canadian release only, it proves that there is talent in Canada


Great cd   January 12, 2002
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I don't know what's with all the 1 star reviews saying they're copying other rockers. That's ridiculous. All rock sounds about the same just like all pop sounds alike. Nickelback is a rock group. They might have similar voices as other bands, they use guitars (yeah if they didnt it wouldnt be rock), and awesome background vocals & cool melodies. Yes they happen to sound a little like Bush, but i cannot stand Bush mainly because of Gaven's voice. Don't say they are copying other bands when there really is no such thing. Rock is rock, pop is pop, rap is rap, its all practically the same thing. Nickelback has good music, a fine voice, & reasonable lyrics. If you don't want a rock album go buy Britney Spears. Anyways, this cd is awesome. Everyone has their own taste in music artists so i can't guarantee you would like it....but you should definitely give it a listen. Rock is rock...and this ROCKS


first time's a charm   September 7, 2005
RaisedOnSpitalfield ((South) Medford, Oregon 5-4-1)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

love em' or hate em', no one can deny that nickelback is one of the biggest modern rock acts on the face of the earth. for their debut, the state, nickelback brings all they have and places it into 10 unique and interesting cuts.

Breathe, Cowboy hat and Leader of men all sound like the nickelback we know and love, with catchy guitars, chad's signature vocals and sky high hooks.

Old enough is short but sweet, with a great chours and vocals.

Worthy to stay could go down as the most unique nickelback song of all, with a heavy bass effect and turntables! By far my favorite on the record.

Diggin' this, the sixth song, has some killer guitar riffs and one of the best solo's I've ever heard nickelback play (better than the one on "saturday night's alright"!).

Deep opens with a sludgy guitar intro and moves into another great song. Almost industrial sounding, if you can believe it.

One last run may take some time to grow on you, but when it does, it's killer.

Not leaving yet' left me speechless; this song has a wonderful intro and some of the best lyrics I've ever heard. The chorus sounds like something by audioslave or vertical horizon, very catchy but done at a perfect pace. All around great song.

Finally, Hold out your hand is one of the best closers I've ever heard. The songs just keeps building on itself, and towards the end it all comes together for a wonderful outro. Song construction at it's finest.

Overall, the more I listen the more I agree, this could be nickelback's best release to date. I still love "silver" and "road", but this is just a genius record. A must for any rock fan.

Ps. alot of people believe the 2002's re-issue of curb is nickelback's first record. It's not. It's actually a collection of b-sides and early recordings, and honestly, it kinda sucks. As a huge fan, who has the record, I wouldn't have felt bad about passing on it. So again, the state is nickelbacks first offical record, not curb. And what a record it is...


One Of My 2 Favorite Bands EVER   February 17, 2001
Kyle Daily (Stroudsburg, PA)
17 out of 21 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.