Slash on why Foo Fighters are “one of the greatest of the last 15 years”
The name Slash alone evokes a visceral reaction, but his reputation didn’t materialise out of thin air. The guitar virtuoso became one of the most recognisable figures on the planet, not only because of his distinctive image but also due to his world-class talent and the searing sounds of his guitar. His mastery had every aspiring musician reaching for a Gibson Les Paul, cementing his place in rock history.
While Slash emerged in the late 1980s and quickly established himself as a forerunner in the rock and hair metal spaces, his technical aptitude seemed much more reminiscent of times gone by, which undoubtedly added to his allure among many in the arena at the time. This wasn’t a guitarist who looked to reinvent the wheel; instead, he took what had already been done and lit a new path ablaze.
Even more interesting is the fact that most of Slash’s personal influences seem to oscillate between glam rock, guitar music, punk rock, stadium rock, and metal. For instance, while he once admitted to being influenced by the likes of Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Billy Gibbons, when it came to Les Pauls, it was Led Zeppelin that he came to associate most strongly with its sound after discovering ‘Whole Lotta Love’.
While many of his contemporaries claim that rock, and by extension rock ‘n’ roll, has lost everything it worked hard to become thanks to the influx of alternative bands over the years, Slash maintains endeared to one group in particular that had its roots in the 1990s grunge movement and rose from the ashes of Nirvana following the tragic passing of its frontman, Kurt Cobain.
Like many others, Slash regards Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters to be nothing if not modern luminaries, so much that no one else has ever come close for at least 15 years. Discussing the current landscape on The Howard Stern Show, the guitarist admitted he didn’t “have a lot of positive things to say” about contemporary rock ‘n’ roll because, to him, it seems “as far removed from the genuine article” as it has ever been.
However, he deemed Foo Fighters an exception despite being a group he didn’t particularly “think much of” back in the beginning. Recognising their longevity, he explained: “They’re one of the only bands around that have any inkling of that kind of rock ‘n’ roll attitude.”
Adding: “Foo Fighters are great, [they are] one of the greatest bands that’s come out in the last 15 years.”
While he managed to catch a live performance of Foo Fighters in the beginning not long after Cobain died and deemed Grohl “a great songwriter”, the main reason why he has been consistently captivated by the band is their ability to harken back to the traditional rock ‘n’ roll ethos where music and its accompanying attitude had a more understated type of aggression, delivering a more robust example of what it means to be a defining figure of the genre as a whole.
