<*dv_0*>I was a bit of a metal fan when I was a kid, at least until Nirvana came along and saved me from growing my hair all long and silly. Nirvana also seemed to have saved Dave Grohl from the same fate. From this display its obvious that Grohl has a few metal skeletons in his closet; skeletons wearing denim and leather.
<*dv_3*> Theres been talk of this album for years but Grohl kept plugging away with the Foo Fighters, taking a break occasionally to bash the skins for bands like Killing Joke and Queens of the Stone Age. Then, last week, I saw Probot on the shelves and grabbed for it, only stopping to throw my money on the counter. Probot has arrived. The wait was over. I could finally listen toDave Grohls heavy metal side-project.
<*dv_2*> This album could have been terrible. I worship Dave Grohl, but even I approached with extreme caution. Its all good though, mainly due to two things: lots of knowledge and absolutely no irony. What you have here is eleven tracks of ear-splitting, heavy-as-a-bus-of-bricks metal music. And its a riot from start to finish. Grohl plays every instrument (barring the odd bass line or guitar solo), and assembles some of his favourite rock singers to provide the growling, screaming or, occasionally, singing. Ill be honest, I havent heard of most of these guys. But you have to agree with the sleeve notes when they say how amazing they are in their respective fields.
The album starts off with Centuries of Sin, featuring some geezer called Cronos. It has lots of Nordic Ooohhrrrrr bellowing and a furious riff. Sounds better than it looks on paper, believe me. Max Cavalera brings his guttural bellow to Red War next, before the albums highlight: Shake Your Blood featuring Lemmy. Lemmys been a legend for years and he turns in a solid shout along thrasher here. You can almost hear his warts wobbling in the background.
<*dv_1*> The fact that this is Grohls baby shows through constantly. Hes obviously taken time over the songs, and then taken even more time to match songs to singers. Also, all involved take what theyre doing deadly serious. Theres a distinct lack of irony; no sly winks to camera, no Foo Fighters japery, its all about loud guitars and screaming vocals. The album works better for it as well; this could have easily been a big love-in, a huge Spinal Tap-ish piss take.
Ultimately though, its not. Whether youre a fan of heavy metal or not (I reckon a passing knowledge will help - this aint an album for granny), I bet youll catch yourself tapping your foot a few times. If youre like me youll stomp around for three days playing air guitar while trying to grin and growl along at the same time (believe me, its harder than it sounds). You see, while theyre taking it all seriously, theyre still having a brilliant time doing it. This album is tremendous fun. At least as much fun as half an hour locked in a room with Holly Vallance and a can of squirty cream. It brings out the Beavis and Butthead lurking inside all of us. Go on, give a little devils horn salute to Probot, youll enjoy it.
|
