In the latest chapter of rock’s newest and most unexpected friendship, Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger made a surprise guest appearance at Sammy Hagar‘s annual Birthday Bash in Cabo San Lucas on Monday. He took the stage at the Cabo Wabo Cantina to perform a powerful rendition of the Metallica classic “Enter Sandman,” backed by Hagar‘s powerhouse solo band featuring fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Michael Anthony. You can watch the performance down below.
The live collaboration is the first public performance from the pair since Hagar recently confirmed that he will be a guest on the next Nickelback album, a project that came together in a uniquely modern way.
In a recent interview, Hagar explained that Kroeger had written a song specifically to “channel” his positive style. To test the concept, Kroeger used artificial intelligence to place Hagar‘s voice on the demo.
“He said, ‘So just for fun, I sang it and I put A.I. your voice on it,’” Hagar recounted. “And he goes, ‘And you sing it so much different, it blew my mind.’ And he goes, ‘So would you sing on it?’”
Hagar found the result both impressive and humorous. “I listened to the a A.I. version and I’m going, ‘Why don’t you just use that?’ ‘That guy’s singing better than me.’ It was good. It had all my inflections,” he said.
The successful demo led to a real-life studio session that was teased on social media and also involved Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. While this sparked rumors of a new supergroup, Hagar was quick to clarify the nature of the collaboration.
“I probably shouldn’t be talking about it that much, but it’s not like a project. I’m just gonna co-sing a song on on Nickelback‘s next record,” he confirmed. “But no, there’s not a project between all of us. I would love it, though.”
His respect for his new collaborator is clear. “This next Nickelback record, from what I heard — oh my God. This guy’s an amazing songwriter, and an amazing singer,” Hagar said of Kroeger.
