"Side of a Bullet" is Nickelback's seventh and final single from the album All the Right Reasons. The song was released only to U.S. rock stations. "Side of a Bullet" charted on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart, peaking at number 7, giving Nickelback their fourth top-ten hit on the chart from All the Right Reasons.
Background
The song is a tribute to Dimebag Darrell who was shot and killed on stage while performing in Columbus, Ohio, with Damageplan. It features aggressive guitars and double bass drumming. The lyrics for "Side of a Bullet" focus on the murder of Darrell, the anger at the perpetrator Nathan Gale and the aftermath thereof. The guitar solo combines outtakes by Darrell originally meant to be used on the Pantera albums Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven. Darrell's girlfriend Rita Haney and his brother Vinnie Paul gave Nickelback permission to use the outtakes. At first Nickelback wanted to have Paul playing on the track but he declined by stating that Nickelback's drummer, Daniel Adair, performed just as well as he could.[1]
