Dave Grohl leads chaotic Bad Brains cover
The work ethic of Dave Grohl is impossible not to admire. His tireless schedule, composed largely of recording and touring with Foo Fighters, as well as occasionally creating a full-length horror film, is enough to wipe anybody out. Nevertheless, it seems as though the frontman still has free time to work on other things, the latest example of that being a chaotic cover of the Bad Brains track ‘The Regulator’.
Grohl performed the cover alongside Charlie Benante and Scott Ian of thrash metal icons Anthrax. This impromptu supergroup was dubbed GBI, in the spirit of the early punk outfit GBH. The cover was initially announced as a single for Record Store Day on April 20th, but it has now been followed up by a brand new music video to accompany the song.
Reportedly, the collaboration came about after Anthrax were recorded in Grohl’s 606 Studio in California. Ian recalled, “Dave had popped into the studio to hang and listen to what we were doing, and we’d gone over to hear the Foo’s rehearse.”
“I texted Dave the next morning and said: ‘Hey! Good to see ya the other day. Are you rehearsing today? I’ll be there doing guitars”, the Anthrax guitarist shared, “Wanna record a Minor Threat song? Bad Brains?’ He replied immediately with the Spotify link for ‘The Regulator.’ I said I’d be there at 12:30pm and he said, ‘See you at one.’ It was that simple.”
The song choice should come as no shock to anybody who is aware of either Anthrax or Dave Grohl. Both artists owe an incredible debt to the punk rock and hardcore scene, and Bad Brains are among the most iconic groups of the 1980s hardcore boom. Formed within the punk melting pot of Washington, D.C., they soon relocated to New York, where they would become a staple of the CBGB club.
GBI released the cover as an exclusive single-sided vinyl single for Record Store Day, complete with Bad Brains-esque artwork created by Benate. Proceeds from the single are set to go towards helping with SUNCT Syndrome, a rare form of intense headaches. Bad Brains frontman H.R. suffers from SUNCT, making it near impossible for him to perform anymore.
Watch the newly released music video for Grohl, Benante and Ian’s cover of ‘The Regulator’ below.
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