Behold the butt-rock renaissance: celebrate the genre's return in 5 songs

With rock's heavy decline on radio airwaves over the last 15 years, it's easy to forget how steeped the 2000s still were in that culture. By that time, pop punk and emo had found their way into the mainstream, and the dirty, DIY grunge of the '90s gave way to a softer-edged and wider-appealing post-grunge genre. 

From the angst of the era emerged the heroes we needed: men sporting blue jeans, tight shirts and soul patches, rasping over power chords about how difficult women are and how much they love getting laid. 

This toxic alt-rock machismo gifted us an entire sub-genre that has (un)affectionately come to be known as butt rock, a style of music that manages to be as popular as it is hated.

Despite its shallowness, butt rock has come full circle to being the internet's current fixation — to the point where Canadian influencers including KallMeKris have collaborated with famed Canadian butt rockers Nickelback. Floridian butt rockers Creed have become so popular again that they're on a North America-wide tour.

In honour of the newfound love this subgenre is receiving, here are five of the biggest butt-rock songs from Canadian bands.

'Not Meant to Be,' Theory of a Deadman 

Theory of a Deadman dominated alt-rock radio airwaves in 2008 with its third album, Scars & Souvenirs, which produced four of the band's most commercially successful singles to date: "Bad Girlfriend," "All or Nothing," "Hate My Life" and "Not Meant to Be." 

Unlike "Hate My Life," which features lyrics that will offend everyone at karaoke, "Not Meant to Be" follows the butt-rock playbook of melodrama. Singer Tyler Connolly reminisces about a significant other who seems to be "always mad" no matter what he does. 

The North Delta, B.C., band was the first to sign with Chad Kroeger's 604 Records — which also represents Carly Rae Jepsen and Marianas Trench — and the influence clearly shines through. With your eyes closed, Theory of a Deadman sounds very similar to Nickelback.

The band released its seventh LP, Say Nothing, in January 2020 and was slated to go on tour with Breaking Benjamin, Bush and Saint Asonia, but COVID forced everyone to cancel. In October 2022, the quartet released the single "Dinosaur," which marked a return to its hard-rock sound.

'Never Too Late,' Three Days Grace

Now based in Toronto, the Norwood, Ont., group was thrust into the limelight very early in its career. Three Days Grace's first three albums — Three Days Grace (2003), One-X (2006) and Life Starts Now (2009) — have been certified platinum, three-times platinum and two-times platinum in Canada, respectively. 

Written during a dark time in singer Adam Gontier's life, the lyrics on "Never Too Late," the third single from One-X, deals with hopelessness, suicidal ideation and depression, making it a quick favourite of every lonely, sad, and angry teen of the time. The music video is particularly harrowing, showing a girl who ends up suffering a mental breakdown in adulthood.

Singles "Never Too Late" and "Riot" helped Three Days Grace become the No. 1 rock artist by radio airplay in Canada and the U.S. in 2007, and Billboard even named the band rock artist of the year. 

Three Days Grace fans collectively celebrated when Gontier announced his return as co-lead singer in October 2024, after stepping away for over a decade. With Gontier back at the co-helm, the band released a new single, "Mayday," on Nov. 22, 2024.

'Somewhere Out There,' Our Lady Peace 

While Our Lady Peace isn't technically known as a butt-rock band, "Somewhere Out There," the lead single from its commercially successful but critically divisive fifth album, Gravity, veers into that territory.

Lead singer Raine Maida's pained vocals croon about the well trodden topic of "what could have been" in a failed relationship. Lyrics like "Hope you remember me/ when you're homesick and need a change," play into the vague and familiar sentiment of someone leaving you to chase a better life. 

The song reached No. 1 on the Canadian singles chart and reached No. 44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single from Gravity, "Innocent," reached No. 2 on the Canadian singles chart. "Somewhere Out There" became the ninth most-played song on Canadian radio airwaves in 2002.

The band released its 10th LP, Spiritual Machines 2, in 2021. Despite being one of the best-selling Canadian bands of all time, Our Lady Peace has yet to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. 

'Paralyzer,' Finger Eleven

The signature chorus on "Paralyzer," the lead single from Finger Eleven's 2008 album, Them vs. You vs. Me, plays into the same horny tropes you've heard in a number of butt-rock anthems. Its verses, though, detail singer Scott Anderson's weirdly strong obsession with how much he despises the particular club he's currently in — to the point where he wishes it would close down. (Save our local venues, Scott!) 

The accompanying music video cuts between clips of the band playing on an undisclosed rooftop, and a well-dressed group of people performing an interpretive dance in the middle of the street. If this seems strange to you, just remember that So You Think You Can Dance was at peak popularity in the late 2000s.

"Paralyzer" hit No. 1 on the Canadian and U.S. rock charts. The song also cracked the top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 25. Them vs. You vs. Me also won the 2008 Juno Award for rock album of the year.

Finger Eleven released a greatest hits album in 2023, and in summer 2024 the band released new music for the first time in a decade. Its eighth LP, Adrenaline, is set to be released sometime in 2025. Another of the country's best-selling bands, Finger Eleven also has yet to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. 

'Someday,' Nickelback 

With lyrics longing for a doomed relationship to work out, accompanied by a music video that seems to hinge entirely on its M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist, Nickelback mastered the art of writing melodramatic alt-rock with the ballad "Someday."

The single was included on the band's 2003 album, The Long Road, and reached No. 1 on the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nickelback's first single to see mainstream success, 2001's "How You Remind Me," reached No. 1 on both the Canadian charts and the U.S. mainstream rock chart.

The widespread attention for "Someday" laid the groundwork for the Hanna, Alta., band's subsequent 2005 album, All the Right Reasons, which spawned mega-hits "Photograph" and "Rockstar," propelling the band into a new stratosphere of fame.

After a five-year hiatus, Nickelback released its 10th LP, Get Rollin', in 2022, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2023.