The Black Keys: Nickelback killed rock

Los Angeles - The Black Keys think "Rock 'n' roll is dying" because of Nickelback.

The blues rockers blame the fact that a radio friendly commercial group like the Rockstar group have become so big, putting other bands off from trying to be authentic.

Drummer Patrick Carney told Rolling Stone magazine: "Rock 'n' roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world.

"So they became OK with the idea that the biggest rock band in the world is always going to be shit - therefore you should never try to be the biggest rock band in the world.

"Fuck that! Rock 'n' roll is the music I feel the most passionately about, and I don't like to see it fucking ruined and spoon-fed down our throats in this watered-down, post-grunge crap, horrendous shit. When people start lumping us into that kind of shit, it's like, 'Fuck you,' honestly."

'Selling out'

The duo - completed by singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach - have always tried to remain true to their roots since they formed in 2001, and previously admitted initially turning down large amounts of money to use their songs in TV adverts, as they didn't want to be seen as "selling out".

Patrick said: "The first offer we ever had to have a song in a commercial was from an English mayonnaise company, and they offered us a lot of money - crazy money. Especially at the time, it was insane."

Dan added: "We were scared. We were 23 years old. So we passed on it."