“Brian Johnson said that when they released Back In Black, AC/DC were the most hated band on the planet”

Chad Kroeger, the head of Nickelbackclaims that Brian Johnson, lead singer ofAC DCtold him one day that the group of Rock beloved Aussie were “the most hated band on the planet” when Back In Black was released.

Nickelback is arguably America’s (and Europe’s?) most hated rock band.Metal.

People’s dislike of the band is often hard to justify, as the band has never done anything unforgivable in the public eye.

When Metal Global’s Jorge Botas asked Kroeger in a new interview if he understood how Nickelback had come to be hated by so many, the musician replied: “I think I know where things went wrong for us.”

He explained : “We write so much different music, that between 2000 and 2010, if you listened to the radio, it was impossible to miss us. If you didn’t want to hear us and you changed radio stations, you probably heard us there too, etc. It was really hard to avoid us. And it’s not my fault [rires]. We just write songs that way. And so with that comes the backlash.”

“And then what happens is comedians start making jokes, and then it’s on TV, and then in movies, and stuff like that. And then it turns into this wave of the genre, it’s fun to make fun of them and it’s an easy joke. And I understand…”

Later in the interview, he added: “It’s funny because we were at the American Music Awards, and we presented an award to Def Leppard. And when we went backstage, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen turned to me, and they were like, ‘Man, thank you very much’. I asked them: ‘For what?’. And they said to me, ‘For taking over. We’re going to pass you the torch of the most hated band in the world. And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. Because that’s what I want…’.”

And that’s when Kroeger spoke about Johnson, adding: “And it’s funny – we went to dinner with AC/DC in Chicago years ago. And this whole story has been brought up. And Brian Johnson said when they released Back In Black, they were the most hated band on the planet. So I feel like we’re in good company [rires].”

Despite all the “hate” it receives, Nickelback has enjoyed and still enjoys great commercial success. The Canadian group will even soon be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Nickelback’s new album, Get Rollin’, is out Friday (November 18) via BMG.

Chad Kroeger’s interview with Metal Global’s Jorge Botas: