Nickelback may seem like an overnight success story in the world of rock, but this Canadian quartet earned their fame through years of hard work. Front man Chad Kroeger and his brother Mike Kroeger formed the band in the early 1990s, playing covers of their favorite rockers in the bars of their home town, Hanna, Alberta. With moderate local success, they decided to take their music career to Vancouver, where Chad began writing his own songs. Chad continued singing and playing lead guitar, Mike played bass, and they were joined by Ryan Vikedal on drums and Ryan Peake on guitar.

While in Vancouver, they started to gain more widespread recognition when they released two albums in 1996. Hesher and Curb were greeted well by rock fans in the area, and soon, rockers all over were recognizing the new talent. Nickelback started touring furiously to promote the albums, doing shows in the US and Canada. Though the tour was considered a success, Nickelback was still not part of the mainstream rock genre. By 2000 they had produced a third record, titled The State, which received significant radio play in their native Canada. Soon the record started to migrate into the US due to frequent touring of the band and news spreading through fans by word-of-mouth. The State was soon released on a major label in America. The album produced two top 10 singles. Both 'Breathe' and 'Leader of Men' received radio play in the US and Canada and started to get the band noticed by rock fans everywhere.