From the underground to Glastonbury: Charting the winding arc of Dave Grohl in five records

Posted On January 14, 2025January 14, 2025

A grunge survivor and arguably the last rock star in the classic sense, Dave Grohl has led a life and career of truly epic proportions. He’s played in some of the world’s most influential bands, reached the absolute heights of commercial success, and endured the devastating lows that come with fame.

To say that Grohl’s career has been a winding one would be an understatement. While many of his peers have either retired or become creatively stagnant, Grohl has continued to push forward, taking on a diverse array of projects. His unwavering support for up-and-coming bands has only bolstered his reputation, making him the kind of ally that every band dreams of having in their corner. Even if some critics argue that the Foo Fighters aren’t the same band they were at the turn of the Millennium, Grohl’s status as a rock icon and advocate for the music community remains unshaken.

Grohl’s 2021 memoir, The Storyteller, outlined in detail just how miraculous the American musician’s life has been and added colour to some of his most legendary experiences and relationships. From being the missing piece of the puzzle for Nirvana to playing with his heroes such as Paul McCartney, for many aspiring musicians, Grohl lives the absolute dream, and his lifestory is full of valuable lessons, such as his punk-fuelled approach.

Given the astounding and significant arc of the Foo Fighters leader, we’re tracing his career in musical and extra-musical terms. These albums have been the lynchpin of his success and rise as a modern rock icon.

Dave Grohl’s life in five albums:

Scream – No More Censorship (1988)

While Grohl had been honing his skills as a drummer for years prior, when he was hired to replace Kent Stax in hardcore pioneers Scream, it changed his life. He lied about his age when auditioning, and he blew the band away with his elemental talent. This meant he was able to drop out of school at 17 and tour the world, improving as a musician and developing intensely as a human being. 

It was a different time, and if a prominent band took a 17-year-old on tour these days, questions may be raised. Furthermore, many of his age would likely have folded under the duress of playing intense hardcore shows every night and being on the road, but not Grohl. He took to it like a fish to water. 

Grohl joined Scream in 1986, and his first album with them, No More Censorship, arrived two years later. Not only does it contain flecks of the nascent post-hardcore – showing just how ahead of their time they were – but it proved to be a formative record for the young drummer. He left the band two years later when they split and was quickly hired by Nirvana, a group to whom he was introduced by Buzz Osborne, the Melvins leader with whom he had become friends during his time on the road with Scream. 

Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)

This is the most famous title in Dave Grohl’s back catalogue, and for good reason. Not only did it kick off the grunge tidal wave of the early 1990s and make guitar music the zeitgeist again, but it also made overnight stars of Nirvana members Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Grohl. They all came from a punk background and naturally hated the machinations of the big music industry and mass media.

However, their musical revolution was supplemented by their punk ethos, which spread the gospel of being down to earth, challenging racism, bigotry and sexism wherever it may be, making Nirvana legends in an extra-musical way that only a handful of artists have really achieved.

A pivotal moment in cultural history, it’s remarkable to think that this was Grohl’s first album with the band; the man clearly has the Midas touch.

Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape (1997)

Following Cobain’s tragic death in 1994, Grohl and Novoselic—like everyone close to the late Nirvana leader—were broken. Grohl even considered quitting music until one fateful day, when roaming rural Ireland, he picked up a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere wearing a Nirvana T-shirt. That’s when he realised the cultural behemoth was unescapable, and he returned to America to get his life and career back on track.

He then wrote and recorded what became the self-titled Foo Fighters debut in 1995. After passing around the demo, it was quickly picked up, and off the back of tracks like ‘I’ll Stick Around’, he proved his talent as a songwriter in his own right. This then led to the group’s magnum opus two years later, The Colour and the Shape, and with it, Grohl confirmed his status as a legend. 

An alternative classic that boasted influential modern rock hits such as ‘Everlong’, ‘My Hero’, and ‘Monkey Wrench’, this was the release that saw the former Nirvana man put the recent past behind him and emphatically display that he was here to stay. One of the best-selling releases of 1997 and 1998, it confirmed Foo Fighters as one of the biggest acts on earth, and since then, neither he nor the band have looked back, scoring numerous hits, 15 Grammys and earning a Glastonbury headline set. 

Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (2002)

Foo Fighters enjoyed a stellar turn of the Millennium. After The Colour and the Shape, they went on a stellar run and produced the classics that are 1999’s There Is Nothing Left To Lose – which saw Grohl leave Los Angeles and get back to his humble roots on the East Coast – and 2002’s One by One, which bolstered their accolade-winning status in the music world. During this period, Grohl also got behind the kit once more and helped old friend Josh Homme bring to life Queens of the Stone Age’s (QOTSA) third album and masterpiece, Songs for the Deaf, which arrived in 2002.

This was a genuinely fruitful period for Grohl. It had been a long time since he’d written anything as plainly a drummer, and his thunderous rhythms and dexterity are felt across the inventive stoner rock concept album. Grohl bringing his star power to the record allowed the band to amp up their heavy moments while also bringing the nouse to allow them to experiment with their sonic scope and move into other realms, so there’s no surprise that this was the moment Homme’s outfit became world-beaters. It just wouldn’t have been the same without Grohl; the fill-in ‘No One Knows’ is an absolute classic for drummers worldwide. 

Foo Fighters – But Here We Are (2023)

Following Songs for the Deaf, Grohl got back with Foo Fighters, and in 2005, they released their accomplished double album, In Your Honor, featuring one side of rock songs and another of mostly acoustic numbers. After a decade of existence, this diverse release marked a maturing juncture for the band, as they appealed to even greater numbers of listeners thanks to the ubiquitous single ‘Best of You’. From then on, they were a global leviathan.

Since then, Grohl has also played with the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, alongside Homme and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones, linked back up with QOTSA for …Like Clockwork, worked with Tenacious D, and even released the disco album Hail Satin with the Dee Gees, the disco side project of Foo Fighters which covered songs by members of the Gibb family.

It’s been a stellar career, but one that’s also produced tragedy in the form of the unexpected death of long-time Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. A heartbreaking moment, it plunged the future of the band into considerable doubt, but then, against the odds, the band triumphantly returned in 2023 with But Here We Are, their 11th studio album. Featuring drum tracks performed and recorded by Grohl, it confirmed what we already knew, that he’s one of the most resolute men in music history. 

With Josh Freese now the band’s drummer, fans eagerly await what else unfolds in the post-Hawkins era.

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