Dave Grohl on The B-52’s, guitar riffs, and metal’s heaviest moments: “It’s fucking tough”
Metal is as broad a genre as they come, with as many sub-genres as artists and a rich history dating back multiple decades. From the early influences of groups like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, metal has risen to become one of the most popular subgenres of rock out there, stretching from the black metal of Scandinavia to the United States thrash scene. Throughout it all, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has been a dedicated fan of the endearingly abrasive style.
He might have risen to prominence within the era of grunge as the drummer of Nirvana, but Grohl’s extensive music taste has always been broader than his own repertoire. Grohl has cited everybody from Little Richard to Kiss as a major influence on his musical journey, but metal seems particularly near and dear to the frontman’s heart. In fact, his appreciation for the style is so great that he once created a metal side project away from Foo Fighters called Probot.
Probot managed to encapsulate Grohl’s deeply-entrenched love for metal music, incorporating his vast range of influences which range from the old-school stylings of Iron Butterfly to a continued love for Metallica. For many, Metallica defined the American metal sound of the 1980s, spurred on by multiple colossal albums, such as Master of Puppets and even the band’s 1983 debut Kill ‘Em All.
Even though Grohl has been a devotee of Metallica for multiple years, there is one other band which, according to the frontman, eclipses their trailblazing metal sound. Not Black Sabbath, Motörhead, or Iron Maiden, but the new-wave masters of kitsch, The B-52’s. Forming in Athens, Georgia, back in 1976, The B-52’s were at the forefront of the new-wave scene, characterised by bright colours, innovative instrumentation and the inclusion of new influences like synthesisers. In other words, few people would consider the band ‘metal’ in any way.
Then again, Dave Grohl has always harboured a healthy appreciation for the Athens band, hailing their debut album as one of his all-time favourites. Going a step further, though, he also highlighted the 1979 album among his favourite metal records. “There are riffs on that album that are fucking heavier than Kill ‘Em All. It’s fucking tough,” he once said of the record, comparing it to Metallica’s debut.
Further still, Grohl heaped praise onto the album’s standout track, ‘Rock Lobster’. “The last half of ‘Rock Lobster’ might be one of the heaviest metal moments of all time,” he boldly declared. The heavy riff that drives forward the narrative of ‘Rock Lobster’ would certainly not be out of place on a metal album, but it is difficult to imagine the eccentric tones of Fred Schneider ever appearing on a Slayer album, that’s for sure.
Whether or not Grohl genuinely believes ‘Rock Lobster’ to be a metal song or was simply being deliberately contrarian remains unknown. Metal fans do have a habit of being very precious about the genre, often gatekeeping records from being classed as truly metal, and Grohl’s comments would likely upset that sect of the metal fanbase. Nevertheless, it is difficult to refute his love of The B-52’s, given their position as one of the most inventive and compelling groups of the new-wave period.
Metal or not, the riff of ‘Rock Lobster’, delivered expertly by Ricky Wilson, triumphs over much of the 1980s metal scene. The period was largely dominated by hair metal and corporate-focused rock, so the existence of groups like The B-52’s was refreshing regardless of their exact genre leanings. That being said, Metallica cannot be overly happy about being eclipsed by the Athens punks in the rankings of Dave Grohl.
