Dave Grohl: “The world doesn’t need another Stairway to Heaven”

Foo Fighters have officially cracked the code for their twelfth studio album, and according to frontman Dave Grohl, the secret was speed, volume, and a bit of “bratty” energy. In an exclusive interview with Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 6 Music, the band revealed that their forthcoming record, led by the high-octane title track “Your Favorite Toy,” was born from a desire to strip away the pretense of rock grandiosity. “The world doesn’t need another Stairway to Heaven, you know?” Grohl remarked. “We could just like blast these like really fast, fun songs.”

The creative process for the album, which is set for release on April 24th, was uncharacteristically rapid. Grohl explained that after experimenting in his home office studio, the band coalesced around a sound that felt entirely fresh. “The album happened in maybe like, it feels like three or four weeks. It happened pretty quickly,” he said. This “controlled chaos” approach was so intense that the band was still tracking new material the morning of their massive show at the Forum.

This urgency extended to the business side of the release as well. When told that a January master would typically result in a June release, Grohl balked. “I’m like, ‘what? That’s six months from now. There’s no way. We have to be able to—like—we’re going to finish this and it has to come out quickly,’” he insisted. The result is a turnaround that reflects the “bratty” spirit of the music itself—a genre keyboardist Rami Jaffee is happy to claim.

The record also features a heartwarming family connection, with Grohl’s daughter Harper providing backing vocals. “I ran downstairs, I’m like, ‘you guys, come upstairs really quick. I just need you do one thing really—all you have to do is ‘nah, nah, nah,’ and that’s it,’” Grohl shared. Though he originally wanted to title the album For Good, a certain blockbuster film got in the way. “That Wicked movie came out that’s called For Good, and I’m like ‘grrr they stole my title!’”