Take a Trip Down the Sonic Highway
If you have never given the Foo Fighters a shot, this is your golden chance to start listening. I repeat, THIS IS YOUR GOLDEN CHANCE. Their upcoming album Sonic Highways features 8 tracks written and recorded in 8 cities across the country and is sure to melt your face off. It’s not just another Foo Fighters album, it’s the product of decades of work and evolution which has led to the completion of what will undoubtedly be a masterpiece in modern rock. Be sure to tune in to The Eargasm (Thursday at 8pm) with yours truly to experience this adventure together when it officially drops on November 10th.If you’re anything like me, your life semi-revolves around the day-to-day happenings of the Foo Fighters’ almighty frontman Dave Grohl. You have posters of him on your wall, pictures and music spanning generations of musical greatness on your phone, and secret candlelit shrines tucked away in the back of your closet. That’s why just two weeks ago, you almost lost consciousness out of pure fanboyism when Grohl and his rag tag group of middle-aged rockers dropped their first single “Something From Nothing” off their upcoming album Sonic Highways.
I remember sitting down in my room, preparing my ear drums to be penetrated by the Foo’s fresh, new song, hopeful yet cautious, being careful not to set my hopes too high. What I was greeted to was something completely different than anything I could have imagined. A soft guitar intro gave way to Grohl’s soft yet distinctly raw voice as instruments built around him, ultimately culminating in a guitar riff paying homage to the late Ronnie James Dio’s “Holy Diver”. Eventually after a long journey, I found myself comforted by the sweet lullaby of Grohl’s screaming vocals and Taylor Hawkins’ maniacal drum beats that comprised much of their previous album Wasting Light. After several listens, it began to sound like a trio of completely different songs mashed together to create something I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about.
Then, just a week later the true Foo bomb dropped with “The Feast and the Famine”, the second selected single off of Sonic Highways. Straight off the bat, the Foo’s second single proves that Sonic Highways is more than just merely a rehashed version of Wasting Light. Drawing back to classic Foo songs such as “Breakout” and “All My Life”, the latest single blasted me away with heavy, rich guitar tones, crunchy vocals, and unique rhythms. After my first listen I couldn’t help but sit at my computer in silence as a single tear of joy rolled slowly down my face, my finger slowly making its way towards the replay button.
Matt Sokol