Dave Grohl has spoken about his “newfound love” of ’90s grunge legends Alice in Chains.
- READ MORE: Foo Fighters – ‘Your Favorite Toy’ review: back to brawny basics
The Foo Fighters frontman recently sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss the band’s new album ‘Your Favorite Toy’, which arrived last Friday (April 24), featuring previously-released singles ‘Caught In The Echo’, ‘Asking For A Friend’, and ‘Of All People’, as well as the record’s title track.
Alice in Chains cropped up in conversation when Grohl was discussing the many great vocalists of the grunge era, including his late Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain and late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, which prompted Lowe to bring up AIC frontman Layne Staley.
“Oh my God, dude, here’s the best thing about driving around with [my daughters] Violet and Harper in a car: I have this newfound love of Alice in Chains,” Grohl said. “It’s back. They’re like my favourite band now. They should have been 35 years ago, but now I’m like, ‘Wait, where was I on that one?’”
“Every song you hear becomes like a strand in your DNA, those lyrics and those songs become a part of you,” he added. “There’s a huge connectivity in the energy of music just as there is in the connectivity in the energy of everything.”
It comes after the Foos dropped a zombie apocalypse-style video for ‘Spit Shine’, which was written and directed by Grohl. Before sharing visuals for that single, the band dropped by Saturday Night Live UK last weekend to perform ‘Caught in the Echo‘ and ‘Child Actor’ live for the first time.
While in London to celebrate their album launch recently, Grohl and Pat Smear surprised fans attending an album listening party, walking into the event while one fan was midway through a karaoke rendition of their 1997 track ‘Monkey Wrench’.
NME gave the record three-and-a-half stars in a review which read: “Vocally, Grohl has rediscovered his roar, but lyricism has never been his strongest suit, and much of it here is throwaway; those looking for signs of where his head is at after his infidelity scandal two years ago will be largely disappointed.
“But a fascinating exception is ‘Child Actor’, on which Grohl – who’s come to relish the spotlight after 30 years as the Foos’ frontman – unflinchingly examines his need for validation; it is the sound of somebody who has knocked themselves off their own perch searching for answers in the mirror.
“‘Your Favorite Toy’ is a few more tracks of that depth away from being the most vital Foo Fighters record since 1997’s ‘The Colour and the Shape’. For now, at least, they have remembered that no-frills punk, played fast and loud, suits them much better than middle-of-the-road dad-rock.”
Foo Fighters will be heading out on a European stadium tour that is set to include two nights at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium at the end of June. They will also be playing a range of major European shows this summer, as well as a North American stadium tour for the summer, and they have also just announced an Australian and New Zealand tour for late 2026 and early 2027.
Any remaining tickets for all shows on the Foo Fighters’ US tour are available here and for UK and Europe shows, you can find tickets here.
In other news, Grohl recently recalled the time he accidentally insulted David Bowie, saying that he “backpedalled so fast”, and has revealed the boozy secret to keeping his vocal cords in a healthy condition.
Meanwhile, he has made a rare political statement about the “deeply divided” America, saying: “There needs to be change.”
