"Side of a Bullet" is

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian 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 Adair. It wen ...

's seventh and final single from the album ''

All the Right Reasons ''All the Right Reasons'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005, on Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in Ja ...

''. The song was released only to U.S. rock stations. "Side of a Bullet" charted on the U.S.

Mainstream Rock Chart Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched i ...

, peaking at number 7, giving Nickelback their fourth top-ten hit on the chart from ''All the Right Reasons''.

Background

The song is a tribute to

Dimebag Darrell Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside hi ...

who was shot and killed on stage while performing in Columbus, Ohio, with

Damageplan Damageplan was an American heavy metal band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 2003. Following the demise of their previous group Pantera, brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott wanted to start a new band. The pair recruited former Diesel ...

. It features aggressive guitars and double bass drumming. The lyrics for "Side of a Bullet" focus on the murder of Darrell, the anger at the perpetrator Nathan Gale and the aftermath thereof. The guitar solo combines outtakes by Darrell originally meant to be used on the Pantera albums '' Vulgar Display of Power'' and ''

Far Beyond Driven ''Far Beyond Driven'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on March 22, 1994 by East West Records. Pantera's fastest-selling album, it peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Platinum ...

''. Darrell's girlfriend Rita Haney and his brother

Vinnie Paul Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, 'Dimebag' Darrell ...

gave Nickelback permission to use the outtakes. At first Nickelback wanted to have

playing on the track but he declined by stating that Nickelback's drummer Daniel Adair performed just as well as he could.

Track listing

Personnel

;Nickelback *

Chad Kroeger Chad Robert Kroeger ( Turton; born November 15, 1974) is a Canadian musician who is the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Nickelback. In addition to his work with Nickelback, Kroeger has been involved with a variety of collaboratio ...

– lead vocals,

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

Ryan Peake Ryan Anthony Peake (born March 1, 1973) is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter who is best known as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the Canadian rock band Nickelback. He has been with the band since their incepti ...

– rhythm guitar,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Mike Kroeger – bass, backing vocals * Daniel Adair – drums, backing vocals ;Musicians *

– guitar solo (sample) on "Side of a Bullet" ;Technical * Ryan Andersen – digital editing * Richard Beland –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

* Zach Blackstone – mixing assistance * Kevin Estrada – photography *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering *

Joey Moi Joey Moi is a Canadian record producer, audio engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his work with the rock groups Nickelback and My Darkest Days, and country music acts Chris Lane, Dallas Smith, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Ow ...

– production,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, digital editing *

Randy Staub Randy Staub is a Canadian recording engineer. He has been nominated for the Juno Awards' " Recording Engineer of the Year" award 12 times. He won in 2002 for the songs " How You Remind Me" and "Too Bad" by Nickelback.Peebles, Frank (April 4, 2008 ...

– mixing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 songs 2007 singles Nickelback songs Songs written by Chad Kroeger Songs written by Daniel Adair Songs written by Mike Kroeger Songs written by Dimebag Darrell Commemoration songs Pantera Heavy metal songs Roadrunner Records singles