"Feed the Machine" is a song by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adai ...

for their ninth studio album of the same name (2017). The band co-produced the track with Chris Baseford. "Feed the Machine" was released to digital retailers February 1, 2017, through

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its ...

as the album's lead single and impacted American rock radio on February 7.

Content

"Feed the Machine" is a "defiant

anthem" with prominent

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

-influenced "

djent Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal characterised by its use of off-beat and complex rhythm patterns. Its distinctive sound is that of high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, down-tuned strings. The name "djent" is an onomatopoeia of this s ...

y" guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s and "timely" lyrics about resisting an all-powerful government. Critics have noted the song's style as being both a return to the "heavier" rock sound of their early works and a change of pace from the formulaic music for which they have drawn criticism.

Critical reception

Mike Wass of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' gave the single a mixed review, writing that "Feed the Machine" is "honestly not that bad" and "something of a change of pace" for the group. Sam Law of lifestyle blog ''The Edge'' rated the song three stars out of five. He praised the song's "surprisingly catchy" guitar work but wrote that ultimately, "the most compelling thing about Nickelback's latest single is that it's not as awful as the rest of their work."

Chart performance

In Canada, "Feed the Machine" failed to enter the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

chart, but did reach number 39 on the

Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...

component chart dated February 25, 2017. The song entered the

Canada Rock The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

airplay chart at number 32 for the week of February 18, 2017, and has since reached a peak position of 1 on the chart dated March 25, 2017. In the United States, "Feed the Machine" debuted at number 42 on the

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

chart dated February 18, 2017. It reached a peak position of 17 on the chart dated February 25, 2017. The song has also peaked at 34 on the

Rock Airplay The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart and at 14 on the format-specific

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart.

Music video

The music video was released on April 19, 2017. Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future where machines have imprisoned humans. The music video sees Kroeger and his bandmates depicted as freedom-fighting revolutionaries who free the enslaved humans from their machine captors.

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles Nickelback songs Songs written by Chad Kroeger Songs written by Ryan Peake Songs written by Mike Kroeger Songs written by Daniel Adair Songs about Donald Trump