Foo Fighters

Best HARD ROCK in NATIONAL

 

It’s time to give some love to Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters. Sure, they received the corporate baptism of two Grammys earlier this year, but we’re talking about real love: respect fully earned, and a place in the pantheon. Grohl has been pumping out the pumped-up power-pop for 13 years now: the band’s latest — Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Roswell) — may have one of the windiest album titles ever, but it keeps to the Foo hit-rate of at least two killer tracks per record. “Long Road to Ruin” is a charming excursion into winsome, buckskinned Cali-rock, whereas “The Pretender” is a pocket punk opera, with nearly as many movements as Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams.” Where does Grohl find the energy?

And in a related question: who will he play drums for next? When he gets behind a kit, Grohl is the John Bonham of alterna-rock, a player of genre-quaking heaviness, and his contributions have already given extraordinary boosts to Killing Joke and Queens of the Stone Age. Which faltering or temporarily drum-less act will next avail itself of his services? It just came to me: Jessica Sierra. That’s it! Pull the girl out of rehab, give her another song as good as “Unbroken,” and sit Dave on the drum throne. Victory is assured.

— James Parker

Runners-up
1_Nine Inch Nails
2_Queens of the Stone Age
3_Killswitch Engage