Foo Fighters have announced their as-yet-untitled eighth studio album will be released in November through Roswell/RCA. In an interview, frontman Dave Grohl revealed more about the ambitious record, which saw the band travel to and record songs in eight different US cities.
The album will be accompanied by a HBO mini series, Sonic Highways, which will document the recording progress. Dave Grohl operates as director on the project, following his 2013 Sound City documentary.
Grohl told The Hollywood Reporter that although the album has just eight songs, it is longer than anything the Foos have previously released. “Like, I couldn’t just write a three-and-a-half-minute long KROQ jingle and film it for the finale of an episode about the history of music in New Orleans, you know? We really had to step up what we do. The music is a progression or an evolution for sure, but it’s a Foo Fighters record.”
Grohl said each city inspired the feel of the track recorded there. “Once the music and the theme of each city was set, we traveled to each place and spent a week there,” Grohl told THR. “We’d get there, start recording and I would just run around town filming and interviewing as many people as I can. I did over 100 interviews.”
“At the end of the week, I’d take all of my transcripts, put them on the floor, sit there with a pen and my journal and I reduce all of these stories into a song,” he continued. “I take from peoples’ backgrounds, anecdotes, the environment — it’s like reporting. It’s musical bungee jumping. It’s just fucking crazy.”
Speaking about the “cinematic” sound of the album, Grohl continued, “You’ll recognise Foo Fighters in this record but you’ll also be surprised by us. We’re doing things that we’ve never done before.” He added, “honestly, there are sections of songs that will really take you by surprise.”
True to Dave Grohl’s overachieving style, the frontman also said he’s already come up with a “fucking crazy” idea for the album after this one. “I already know what we’re doing for the next Foo Fighters record and that’s even fucking crazier. I came up with this idea a month and a half ago. The guys were, like, ‘Dude, we have to finish this first.’ I know, fuck!”