Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger shares he thought he would ‘retire’ during the pandemic

Chad Kroeger, lead vocalist and guitarist in Nickelback, shared that he went through a big identity crisis during the pandemic.

In an interview with People Magazine, the rocker reflected on his time during lockdown wondering if he was going to be “unemployed” or “retired” now.

“So much of my identity revolves around [the band], because I'm not a husband, and I'm not a father," he told the outlet.

“I'm just really the singer in this band, and it comprises so much of my identity. So, when I don't have that, I turn into Derek Zoolander: 'Who am I?’”

Nickelback’s ninth studio album, Feed the Machine, was released five years ago, and before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the band was set to go on tour.

"We were supposed to be going on tour, and then the giant pause button was hit for all of us," Kroeger explained. "Then we were in limbo, and we just didn't really know what was going on. We thought, 'This isn't going to last long.' Then it just kept lasting longer and longer and longer."

To cope with his situation, Kroeger shared that he "pretty much tried to be drunk through the entire pandemic."

"I was going to sober up when it ended, and that's not healthy," he admitted "Then I just found moments of creativity amongst that. It was just really bizarre. I was beholden to no one, and I had no responsibility. There wasn't a person in my life that could say 'no' to me."

When asked whether his girlfriend eventually became that person for him, Kroeger said bluntly, "I conned my band members into recording a demo and two indie records that were not very successful, so if I can con those guys into staying in this band until we found some success, I think I can talk my girlfriend into drinking on a Tuesday."

However, when the lockdown began to ease up, Kroeger found renewed inspiration to work with the band in the recording studio.

Nickelback released their tenth studio album, Get Rollin’, on November 18, 2022. Their single San Quentin was released back in September followed by Those Days in October, 2022.