Rock legend Sammy Hagar has confirmed that he’ll be appearing on a track from NICKELBACK’s next studio album — following recent speculation after photos and videos surfaced of the Red Rocker in the studio with Chad Kroeger, Tommy Lee, and Charlie Benante.
The buzz began on September 22, when Hagar posted a lighthearted video featuring Kroeger and Lee, jokingly calling them “the three best singers in rock and roll.” Soon after, ANTHRAX and PANTERA drummer Charlie Benante shared his own photo from the same session, writing: “When you get a call to come over and play drums on a song that these 2 are doing… you drop whatever it is and go,” Charlie wrote. “What a spontaneous thing and so much fun. Thank you both #chadkroeger @sammyhagar @nickelback.”
In a new interview with Audacy Music, Hagar finally shed light on what the group was working on.
“We were all a place at the same time. I went to a studio with Chad Kroeger. He wrote a great, great song for the new NICKELBACK [album],” Sammy said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “He’s got a bunch of great [songs]. I mean, this next NICKELBACK record, from what I heard — oh my God. This guy’s an amazing songwriter, and an amazing singer, I gotta tell you. But his songwriting abilities are crazy. So he said, ‘Man, I wanted to channel you. You’re always writing all these really positive songs, ‘Dreams’, about making people feel good and lifting their spirits up.’ And he said, ‘You’re like the king of that.’ And he goes, ‘And I said, ‘I’m gonna channel Sammy, and I’m gonna write a song like that.’ So he writes this song, and it’s very uplifting; it’s really awesome. And he said, ‘So just for fun, I sang it and I put A.I. your voice on it.’ And he goes, ‘And you sing it so much different, it blew my mind.’ And he goes, ‘So would you sing on it?’ And I listened to the a A.I. version and I’m going, ‘Why don’t you just use that?’ [Laughs] ‘That guy’s singing better than me.’ It was good. It had all my inflections. I’m not an A.I. guy at all, but this impressed me. Not that I would use it, but it impressed me. But anyway, long story short. So I went in to do it. And the guy from PANTERA was there. And it’s a studio complex. And Tommy comes pulling up, and Chad goes, ‘Hey man, maybe you wanna play on this song Sammy just sang on.'”
“I don’t even know what’s gonna happen with this stuff,” he continued. “I probably shouldn’t be talking about it that much, but it’s not like a project. I’m just gonna co-sing a song on on NICKELBACK‘s next record. And Tommy, he’s always fun. I’ve known Tommy for a hundred years. And somebody was there with a camera — somebody that works for NICKELBACK — and I said, ‘Are you rolling?’ And he said ‘Yeah.’ And I just said what I said. ‘Hey, here we are. I guess you wonder what we’re doing. Well, so do we,’ or whatever I said. It was totally off the cuff. And then the guy sent it to me. He said, ‘This is pretty cool. Can we post it?’ I said, ‘Sure’. I posted it before them. And yeah, it just blew up.
“But no, there’s not a project between all of us,” Sammy added. “I would love it, though. I mean, the first thing I thought of was, ‘Wow, how cool would that be? Here we go.’ Two lead singers. Projects are always about a guitar player and a singer and a drummer and a bass player and maybe a keyboard player, but having two singers, it’d be great. But NICKELBACK‘s got a new record they’re working on and it’s gonna be amazing. And I’m honored tobe a part of one song.”
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.