The State (album)

The State is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback. "Leader of Men" was the lead single from this album followed by "Old Enough", "Breathe", and "Worthy to Say". The album held a peak position of number 130 on the Billboard 200. The album also held a peak position on Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums charts position number 3 in 2000. The album was the band's first album to be certified Gold in both Canada and in the United States. It later went Platinum in Canada in April 2002 and then went Platinum in 2008 in the United States.

The State
Studio album by Nickelback
Released	September 1, 1998 September 1999 (first re-release) March 7, 2000 (second re-release)
Recorded	January–February 1998; Burnaby, British Columbia
Genre	Post-grunge[1]
Length	38:50
Label	self-released EMI Music Canada (first and second reissues) Roadrunner (third reissue)
Producer	Dale Penner
Nickelback chronology
Curb (1996) The State (1998) Silver Side Up (2001)
Singles from The State
"Leader of Men" Released: March 4, 2000 "Old Enough" Released: October 2000 "Breathe" Released: November 20, 2000 "Worthy to Say" Released: December 2000
Alternate Cover
Original 1999 Cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]

Background

The State was recorded in 1998, with the band investing $30,000 into the record.[4] In September 1998, The State was released independently with a blue album cover. In September of the next year, it was reissued on EMI Canada, with a re-formatted version of the original cover (the words "Nickelback" and "The State" were originally in yellow, in the same size near the right edge of the cover, on the EMI reissue, the word "Nickelback" was made into a bigger font and "The State" rendered in white, at the top of the cover). In 2000, it was reissued again on EMI Canada, this time with different artwork featuring a young boy in a jail cell. This was also the artwork used on the American, European, and Australian releases on Roadrunner Records. In 2000, The State reached the Billboard 200 peaking 130. To support The State, Nickelback toured with Creed, Sevendust, 3 Doors Down, and Stone Temple Pilots. In early 2001, the band played its final dates with Everclear. In March 2001, Nickelback won its first Juno Award for Best New Group.

The album had four singles, "Leader of Men", "Breathe", "Old Enough", and "Worthy to Say".[5] "Leader of Men" and "Breathe" charted on the top 10 of the Mainstream Rock Tracks.[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Chad Kroeger; all music is composed by Nickelback.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Breathe"	3:58
2.	"Cowboy Hat"	3:54
3.	"Leader of Men"	3:29
4.	"Old Enough"	2:45
5.	"Worthy to Say"	4:05
6.	"Diggin' This"	3:01
7.	"Deep"	2:47
8.	"One Last Run"	3:28
9.	"Not Leavin' Yet"	3:44
10.	"Hold Out Your Hand"	4:08
11.	"Leader of Men (Acoustic)"	3:23
Total length:		38:50

Singles

Single information
"Leader of Men" Released: March 2000 Chart position: #8 (U.S. Main Rock) #21 (U.S. Modern Rock) #11 (CAN RPM Rock/Alternative)
"Old Enough" " Released: October 2000 Chart position: #24 (U.S. Main Rock) #12 (CAN RPM Rock/Alternative)
"Breathe" Released: October 2000 Chart position: #10 (U.S. Main Rock) #21 (U.S. Modern Rock) #16 (CAN RPM Rock/Alternative)

Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[7]

Nickelback Chad Kroeger – lead vocals, guitar Ryan Peake – guitar, backing vocals Mike Kroeger – bass Ryan Vikedal – drums (credited) Mitch Guindon – drums (not credited, but performed on the album)

Production Dale Penner – producer, engineer Nickelback — producer Dave Ashton — second engineer GGGarth Richardson — mixing Brett Zilahi — mastering Ken Grant — executive producer

Release history

Release	Date
Original	September 4, 1999 (1999-09-04)
Re-release	March 7, 2000 (2000-03-07)

Charts

Chart (2000-2001)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8]	57
UK Albums (OCC)[9]	128
US Billboard 200	130
US Top Independent Albums	6
US Top Heatseekers	3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[10]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[11]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[12]	Silver	60,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Appearances

• The song "Old Enough" was featured on the soundtrack to the film Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 in 2000.
• The song "Breathe" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Clockstoppers in 2002.

References

1. Griffith, JT. The State at AllMusic. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press.
3. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 584.
4. "It's not grunge!".
5. "Rock On The Net: Nickelback". www.rockonthenet.com.
6. "That Time Nickelback Sued and Ousted Its Drummer".
7. The State (booklet). Roadrunner. 2001.
8. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
9. "Nickelback | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
10. "Canadian album certifications – Nickleback – The State". Music Canada.
11. "American album certifications – Nickleback – The State". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
12. "British album certifications – Nickleback – The State". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The State in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.