The much-maligned Canadian rock band's cover of 'Sad But True from 2008 recently went viral

Music fans have shared their surprise at the quality of a Metallica cover performed by Nickelback after an old video went viral.

The performance in question took place in 2008 but resurfaced online recently. It features the much-maligned Canadian rock band covering Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’.

“Fuck, now I actually have to say I like something nickelback has done,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Not that I like Nickelback but their cover of Metallica’s ‘Sad But True’ is damn good,” added another.

Another wrote: “sad but true …. better than Metallica does it? For real .. WOW …”

However, some fans were still swayed despite the cover. “Nice try Nickelback but you’re still dogshit, Metallica are eons ahead of you in longevity, lyrically, instrumentally,” one user said.

Another commented: “This reflects more poorly on Metallica than Nickelback.”

Meanwhile, last year Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan called Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger an “incredible songwriter” and compared the band to porn.

“Pop is predicated on satisfying,” he said. “I’ve said many times pop is porn. It’s porn, they want to get you off. It’s just how they’re going to get you off. I’m not that concerned with getting you off. I’m just not.”