Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed back in 1995 that has been the punchline in a lot of jokes and Twitter memes for years. There is a harsh criticism against the rock band with many music fans claiming them to be one of the worst bands to hit the music scene despite having a successful music career with various multi-platinum releases. Yes, Nickleback keeps carrying on, continuously proving those haters wrong even throwing some punches back. 

The backlash isn’t just from music fans but also fellow musicians. Devin Townsend, a fellow Canadian musician and founder of  Strapping Young Lad, was very vocal about his disdain over Nickelback and frontman Chad Kroeger. Townsend piled on the negative bandwagon throughout the years, but in a series of tweets, Townsend is finally able to admit he was wrong. Early this morning, Townsend posted on his official Twitter page his thoughts about his growing friendship with Kroeger and the respect he grew to have over his fellow musician.

“For years I was critical of Nickelback for a number of reasons, not the least of which [was] jealousy and falling into the negative public sentiment.” Townsend continues by saying that there was speculation that Kroeger was himself critical of him. Though the two eventually, met and became friends. “He’s exceptionally talented at what he does, and he’s above all a good dude who helped me when I needed help. He gets a ton of shit, but I have immense respect for the guy now. In fact, I’ve met very few brilliant people in this industry, but he’s one of them”

As a long time Nickelback fan despite the hate, it is uplifting to read Townsend’s comments and the direct honesty he demonstrates in his tweets is rare.

Scroll down below to read Townsend’s tweets.

As you progress in any field, eventually the ‘lifers’ in a profession find they have a lot more in common than they may have anticipated. For years I was critical of Nickleback for a number of reasons, not the least of which jealousy and falling into the negative public sentiment

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

In part, I had heard through the grapevine that the singer (who came up in the same scene I did) was critical of me as well, so when he and I unexpectedly became friends, I took some time to reflect on my thoughts on his band. I saw them play a few years back and it was great

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

Over the past few months him and I have spent some good times together, hanging out, playing guitar, and talking. He became a big help to me in that there’s no competition between us, and a lot of things I was struggling with professionally theres no real resource for advice

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

Chad is a real person. He’s exceptionally talented at what he does and he’s above all a good dude who helped me when I needed help. He gets a ton of shit, but I have immense respect for the guy now. In fact, Ive met very few brilliant people in this industry, but he’s one of them

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

We tried writing together a bit but it seems we’re on very different planets from each other musically, same passion, but it’s coming from a different place. Regardless, Whatever anyone may think of the guy he’s not full of shit in my opinion and I’m glad to know him. Respect.

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

Empath recording starts tomorrow. It’s been a journey this process… it’s a very complicated statement, but the point I hope it makes is worth the effort. It’s not particularly easy listening I’m afraid…

— Devin Townsend (@dvntownsend) August 27, 2018

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat