“One last thing before I quit…”
When I heard the drummer from Nirvana erupt in the heavy bridge of new single ‘Monkey Wrench’ I knew this was a freakin' great vocalist. Dave Grohl’s ability to turn on a dime and go from powerhouse rock, to sweet croon, to a full bellied roar is an unmissable skill. Even with their ascent to stadium rockers and pop producers, there’s still plenty of occasions when the Foos let rip.
Grohl’s punk card was well established even before he joined Nirvana but his love of metal and harder rock look a little longer to surface. But make no mistake the dude knows his shit, sporting Sepultura beanies in photo shoots before Foo Fighters were even formed. It’s a love that has been on show in both his Probot and Dream Widow projects but let’s never forget that he has done that ‘Monkey Wrench’ scream on nearly every album. You'll have to read our review of new one But Here We Are to find out if the streak continues. Hopefully we get some of the following tunes on their just announced Australia and New Zealand Tour. (Get all the info here.)
Here’s 20 tracks that aren’t ‘Everlong’ and show the band's metal chops. Spotify and Apple Music Playlists after the liner notes.
‘In Your Honour’
It’s a feedback-drenched intro to the rock disc of the In Your Honor double album with Grohl shouting the verses before unleashing his howl.
‘Bridge Burning’
In the lead up to Wasting Light, Grohl promised a heavy Foos album. ‘Bridges Burning’ opens it with a full throttle rib rattle and scream before getting into a clean sung groove.
‘All My Life’
The riff causes a scream from the crowd when it drops in concert, often without much prelude. An ode to cunnilingus, the “… onto the next one” breakdown lit by the red background is iconic.
‘Enough Space’
Per the Back & Forth documentary, Grohl wrote this riff to match the bounce of a mosh pit. Nails it.
‘Breakout’
The best scream caught on tape. You know the one.
‘My Poor Brain’
One of the great underrated tracks from The Colour and the Shape. It’s pretty standard with that sweet croon but then, just when the melody is in your brain, it detonates.
‘Low’
Not so much for the vocals but the riff is gnarly and the video hilarious.
‘DOA’
Straight up hard Rockin’ Foo Fighters is a great comfort listen.
‘La Dee Da’
You wouldn’t know it from the title but this seriously rocks hard with a higher tempo and a swagger strip club riff. And there’s saxophone.
‘Let It Die’
Following the double album split into soft and rock, the band combined sensibilities on Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. The result bears fruit on the epic ‘Let It Die’, which builds to a satisfyingly heavy climax.
‘No Son of Mine’
Medicine at Midnight is probably the least rocking of any Foo Fighters album but this one packs a sick riff and pissed off vocal delivery that overcomes the weird backing vocals.
‘Arrows’
Picks up the tempo for the chorus and Dave screams “fire away!”
‘White Limo’
The heaviest thing they’ve ever done note for note. It’s QOTSA groove with Nirvana’s spirit and Motörhead’s attitude. Even the clean vocals are distorted.
‘Walk’
It’s mostly a typical Foo melodic rock ballad with inspirational lyrics but the delivery of “I NEVER WANNA DIE” hits me in the feels whenever I scream along.
‘The Feast and the Famine’
Inspired by the DC punk scene, this Sonic Highways jam packs the history of Dave’s musical upbringing into a rambunctious three and a half minutes.
‘Run’
Fans who were worried about FF teaming with Adele’s producer Greg Kurstin were relieved when ‘Run’ dropped as the first single. Mainly because it juxtaposes death metal growls with a massive chorus.
‘Winnebago’
Brimming with punk rock energy, B-side ‘Winnebago’ makes this playlist because the riffing is killer and it leads nicely into…
‘The One’
Another rarity since ‘The One’ only appears on the Orange County soundtrack. It’s another punk rocker with a glorious chorus.
‘The Pretender’
It’s a classic show opener with the slow section giving way to Taylor’s snare smashing while Chris Shiflett keeps a melodic lead going through the verse. Enormous chorus that Grohl puts everything into through the closing “who are you?!” Clearly they enjoyed the song structure because they’re repeated it on similar songs since.
‘Monkey Wrench’
A 90s rock radio staple that hasn’t left rotation since 1997. Radio edit cuts out the best bit when Grohl screams defiantly: “Since I was always caged and now I’m freeeeeeeeeeee!”
‘I’ll Stick Around (live)’
A rattle gun snare kicks off this classic from when the Foo Fighters were just Dave playing everything. The album version still sounds lo-fi in that 90s nostalgic way but live it’s a barn burner. Here is it live last week with Taylor Hawkins' son Shane on drums!
https://youtu.be/vAQd4DRhu3I?t=73
Did I miss anything? Let me know!
Compiled by KJ Draven (Twitter and Instagram). Apple Music playlist here.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4WvQia1VRSnr9lBlkSDUMq?si=32d55475ecd14b39
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