The rock icon Dave Grohl called “the master”
Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl lives and breathes rock ‘n’ roll, which has been the lifeblood of his existence for as long as he can remember.
Few people have an opinion that holds more weight in the rock space than Grohl, who has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on two occasions with both Foo Fighters and Nirvana. He’s been consistently operating at the top of the game for four decades, and there’s only a handful of other acts that can compete with that longevity.
One band that has been around for even longer than Grohl and still packs out stadiums is Metallica. It was 1983 when Grohl was introduced to their dark sounds for the first time, which invited him into a new world that he was unaware existed. Even before hearing a note of music, Grohl was besotted by the band and what they represented.
The description alone in a magazine was enough for Grohl to purchase their album, Kill Em All. The Foo Fighters frontman later recalled to Q: “I bought this mail order from some catalogue based purely on the description of the album. It said ‘thrash metal’, which I’d never heard before. It came, and I couldn’t believe it. I’d heard Motörhead and some punk but not a band as fast and tight and as metal.”
Since that introduction almost 40 years ago, the band have been a constant part of his record collection. Their singer, James Hetfield, has been a particular source of inspiration for Grohl, who thinks he created the blueprint for vocalists in rock. This is a belief that dates back before Grohl became a frontman himself, and all these years later, it’s a stance that has only intensified.
Grohl told Kerrang in 2002: “I’ve always loved Metallica, and James Hetfield is just the master. I’ve never seen any frontman who can command a crowd like he can. Back in the Nirvana days, I considered Hetfield the ultimate frontman, and, if anything, he’s just got more intense over the years. He’s written the occasional good riff too, of course.”
He also reflected on being exposed to Metallica for the first time in 2015 when he was appointed as the Record Store Day ambassador. Grohl shared how seeing the description “thrash metal” was enough to seduce him, which kick-started a lifelong love affair with the pioneering rock group.
He told Creative Loafing, I didn’t even know what that meant. I had listened to tons of punk rock music, and I loved Motörhead, but thrash metal? That sounded scary and cool. So I sent them my $6 or $7 and a couple weeks later I get this tape in the mail. It was Kill ‘Em All and it blew my fucking mind. I will be a diehard Metallica fan until the day I die because of that experience. It was like someone had sent me the Holy Grail. I was like, ‘Ahhh! This is so killer!’
Decades after becoming a Metallica superfan, Foo Fighters and Metallica came together for the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium. As the line-up included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, Madonna, Beastie Boys and many more, Grohl later told EW that “we just assumed that we would be at the bottom of the bill”.
However, much to his surprise, they were billed to take to the stage just before Madonna’s headline set. The realisation that Metallica, a band that means everything to him, were technically a support act for Foo Fighters was a pinch-yourself moment that didn’t sink in.
Although it was a charity fundraiser rather than a tour show, it still seemed inconceivable to Grohl for Foo Fighters to be in that position. While he’s a rock legend in his own right, Grohl will never be able to shake off the excitement he felt when he first sent off for a Metallica album in the post as a kid, which continues to place them on an immovable pedestal in his mind.
