Nickelback Release New Single 'Leave Me Behind' From Everything Under the Sun

Nickelback have released “Leave Me Behind”, the third song unveiled from their upcoming 11th studio album Everything Under the Sun, due October 30, 2026 through Virgin Music Group.

The new track follows “Rattle The Cage,” featuring John 5, and “Bones For The Crows”, giving listeners another side of an album that Nickelback have described as encompassing the different styles the band has developed across more than three decades.

While “Rattle The Cage” introduced the record with heavier guitars and an aggressive approach, “Leave Me Behind” moves toward a more melodic and emotionally reflective side of Nickelback.

The song was released digitally on August 21 together with an official visualizer.

At the center of “Leave Me Behind” is the idea of supporting someone dealing with experiences that have damaged or overwhelmed them while also confronting the fear that helping that person move forward could mean being left behind.

Frontman Chad Kroeger described that emotional contradiction when discussing the new song.

“There’s a lot of weight in this song, but there’s also a lot of hope,” Kroeger said.

He explained that the song is about standing beside someone when they are trying to recover from difficult experiences, helping carry some of that burden and reminding them that they do not have to face it alone.

At the same time, the narrator carries his own vulnerability: the desire to help someone leave their pain behind without becoming something they also leave behind in the process.

That tension between support, recovery and fear of separation gives the song its central emotional idea and distinguishes it from the harder approach heard on “Rattle The Cage.”

Everything Under the Sun will be Nickelback’s first studio album since Get Rollin’, released in 2022.

When the album was announced in July, Kroeger said it was designed to represent multiple sides of the band rather than remain within one particular sound.

The frontman described songs that are among the hardest material Nickelback have recorded, others where the group takes musical chances and others that reconnect with the elements that have kept the musicians working together for decades.

That approach is already visible in the first three songs connected to the album.

“Bones For The Crows” returned Nickelback to a heavier guitar-based sound and became a major Canadian rock radio success.

“Rattle The Cage” pushed further in that direction with a guest appearance by John 5, guitarist for Mötley Crüe and a musician whose previous work includes Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson.

“Leave Me Behind” now reveals a more melodic and vulnerable part of the record.

Together, the three tracks begin to explain the meaning behind the album title: Nickelback are not presenting Everything Under the Sun as a record built around one narrow variation of their sound.

Before the announcement of Everything Under the Sun, Nickelback released “Bones For The Crows” digitally in 2026.

The song had an unusual history before becoming part of the new album campaign.

It was originally created for the video game Dungeon Hunter 6 and later received a wider digital release when it was selected as the theme song for WrestleMania 42.

Its second life developed into a genuine chart success.

“Bones For The Crows” reached No. 1 on Billboard Canada’s Mainstream Rock chart and remained at the top for multiple weeks.

The track also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Rock Digital Song Sales chart, giving Nickelback their first chart-topper on that particular ranking.

By August, “Bones For The Crows” remained inside the upper reaches of the Canadian Mainstream Rock chart while “Rattle The Cage” had also entered the ranking.

Nickelback formally announced Everything Under the Sun in July with “Rattle The Cage”.

The track features John 5 and was presented as the first single directly introducing the new album.

Kroeger described the song as an appropriate way of opening the campaign because its energy reflected what Nickelback had been experiencing onstage.

Its heavier direction also established immediately that the new record would not be built entirely around the mid-tempo radio-rock approach often associated with some of Nickelback’s largest crossover singles.

“Leave Me Behind” arriving after it therefore provides an intentional contrast: the first song emphasizes force and guitar weight, while the latest release turns toward emotional vulnerability.

Everything Under the Sun also represents a business change for Nickelback.

The album is the group’s first release with Virgin Music Group, following their previous album cycle with BMG.

Virgin Music Group North America president Jacqueline Saturn publicly welcomed the partnership when the album was announced, pointing to Nickelback’s long-running international reach as the band entered the new phase of its recording career.

The move comes after Get Rollin’, Nickelback’s tenth studio album, which arrived in 2022.

With the new partnership, the October release begins another label chapter in a recording career that dates back to Nickelback’s independent beginnings in Alberta during the 1990s.

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN — TRACKLIST

01. Rattle The Cage (feat. John 5)
02. Bones For The Crows
03. I Already Know
04. Leave Me Behind
05. If I Don’t Go
06. Make Me Love You
07. Chasin’ Famous
08. Simple Song
09. Technicolor Steamboat
10. Lift Somebody Up
11. Bottled Dreams
12. Last Night Was Fun

EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN PHYSICAL FORMATS

The album will also receive a physical release on October 30.

Nickelback’s official album store lists a standard CD and standard 140-gram gatefold LP, alongside direct-to-consumer editions.

The campaign has also included an exclusive cassette and alternate-cover editions.

A signed direct to consumer Helios Azure vinyl edition included a signed 12-by-24-inch lyric book, exclusive poster, die-cut gatefold jacket and foil numbering. That edition was listed as sold out at the time of publication.

An indie exclusive smoke colored vinyl edition with a poster has also been offered through participating independent retailers.

The arrival of another Nickelback studio album comes more than three decades after the Canadian band began its career.

The current lineup consists of Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair. Nickelback were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

Their commercial breakthrough came with Silver Side Up in 2001 and the single “How You Remind Me.”

That success was followed by albums including The Long Road, All The Right Reasons, Dark Horse, Here and Now, No Fixed Address, Feed the Machine and Get Rollin’.

Among them, All The Right Reasons has demonstrated particularly unusual longevity.

The 2005 album home to songs including “Photograph,” “Far Away,” “Savin’ Me,” “Rockstar” and “If Everyone Cared” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and accumulated 206 weeks on the chart through the end of Billboard’s 2000–2024 measurement period.

Billboard subsequently ranked All The Right Reasons at No. 9 among the biggest Billboard 200 albums of the 21st century, making it the highest-ranked Canadian album and highest-ranked rock album on that list.

Nickelback’s Silver Side Up and Dark Horse also appeared on Billboard’s century ranking, at Nos. 97 and 104 respectively.

That catalog history provides important context for Everything Under the Sun: Nickelback are releasing their 11th studio record while some of their albums from more than two decades ago continue to maintain measurable commercial visibility.

Nickelback’s catalog has often moved between harder rock material and melodic songs built for a broader audience.

That contrast existed long before Everything Under the Sun.

Songs such as “How You Remind Me,” “Too Bad,” “Never Again” and “Burn It to the Ground” represent the heavier side of the band’s mainstream catalog, while tracks including “Far Away,” “Photograph” and “Lullaby” demonstrated their ability to cross into more melodic territory.

The first three songs from Everything Under the Sun suggest Nickelback are intentionally using that range rather than limiting the album to a single direction.

“Leave Me Behind” is therefore not simply another standalone single in the campaign.

Its role is to establish the emotional side of a record that had initially been introduced through the much harder sound of “Rattle The Cage.”

“Leave Me Behind” expands the picture Nickelback are building around Everything Under the Sun.

“Bones For The Crows” returned the band to the top of Canadian mainstream rock radio. “Rattle The Cage” introduced the album formally with John 5 and an aggressive guitar-driven approach. “Leave Me Behind” now moves in another direction, focusing on loyalty, emotional recovery and the fear of losing someone while helping them move forward.

That contrast is important because Nickelback are presenting their 11th studio album as a record encompassing different parts of their musical identity.

With Everything Under the Sun arriving October 30 through Virgin Music Group, “Leave Me Behind” becomes the third piece of a campaign that is gradually revealing what Nickelback mean when they say the album contains every side of the band.

Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist

IMAGE CREDIT: -Paul Bergen

Watch Nickelback’s “Leave Me Behind” visualizer below: