''Sonic Highways'' is the eighth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

, released on November 10, 2014, through Roswell and

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. Similar to their previous album, ''

Wasting Light ''Wasting Light'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on April 12, 2011, through Roswell and RCA Records. Wanting to capture the essence of their earlier work and avoid the artificiality of digital recording, ...

'' (2011), it was produced by the band with

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...

. In writing the album's eight songs, singer and guitarist

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

traveled to eight cities across the United States to conduct interviews with musicians, recording engineers, record producers, and other individuals discussing each city's musical history, which he used as inspiration for the songs' lyrics. The band and Vig then traveled to a different recording location in each city to record the songs.Foo Fighters Announce 'Sonic Highways' Track List, Share Artwork
billboard.com. Retrieved August 11, 2014. Each track features contributions from one or more musicians with ties to that city's musical history. The process was filmed for a companion television series, '' Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways'', which was broadcast on

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in the months surrounding the album's release.

Background and writing

Despite initially announcing a break after supporting ''

'', Grohl later stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album. On February 20, 2013, at the Brit Awards, Grohl said he was flying back to America the following day to start work on the next album. In an August 2013 interview with

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

, Grohl announced that their next album was slated for a 2014 release, saying:

"Well, I’ll tell you, we have been in our studio writing and in the past few weeks we’ve written an album and we are going to make this album in a way that no-one’s ever done before and we’re pretty excited about it... It’s a little ways off – it’s not ready to happen right now – but I think next year is going to be a really big year for the Foo Fighters, without question."

According to lead guitarist

Chris Shiflett Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( ; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, which he joined in 1999 following the release of the band's third album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose'' (1999 ...

, Grohl would finish the lyrics just before recording his vocals, the last part of each song. This time the compositions would drift away from "love letters and confused relationships" to deal with the feelings Grohl had regarding each city during production.

Recording

On September 6, 2013, lead guitarist

posted a photo to his

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account that indicated 13 songs were being recorded for the album. Keyboardist

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. He has contributed to seven of the band's studio albums, and for ...

recorded parts for three songs, one of which is entitled "In the Way."

, who produced the band's prior album, ''Wasting Light'', confirmed he produced ''Sonic Highways'' as well. On July 30, 2014, Vig revealed that the band had finished recording and mixing the new album and that it was slated to be released a month after the ''Sonic Highways'' TV series. In an August 2014 press release, Grohl spoke about the album, saying: "This album is instantly recognizable as a Foo Fighters record, but there's something deeper and more musical to it. I think that these cities and these people influenced us to stretch out and explore new territory, without losing our ‘sound’."

Packaging

The album artwork by Stephan Martiniere has a cityscape amalgamating landmarks of every town used for production – Seattle's

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a List of Seattle landmarks, Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen An ...

, the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles – and a recurring motif of the number eight, marking both the Foo Fighters' eighth album and

infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

(∞). The vinyl pressings of the album are packaged in nine different covers, depicting each of the eight cities and the "Forever" building shaped like the infinity symbol. Most retailers would not guarantee which cover the purchaser would receive, and album art is "randomly selected" for orders from the band's official website.

Promotion

On January 16, 2014, a picture was posted to the Foo Fighters

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page with several master tapes, some labeled "LP 8". On May 15, 2014, it was announced that the band's eighth album would be released in November 2014 and that the Foo Fighters would commemorate the album and their 20th anniversary with an

TV series directed by Dave Grohl entitled '' Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways''. On August 11, 2014, it was announced that the album would be titled ''Sonic Highways'' and released on November 10, 2014.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 31 reviews indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

says the album "celebrates not the coiled fury of underground rock exploding into the mainstream, the way the '90s-happy ''Wasting Light'' did, but rather the classic rock that unites the U.S. from coast to coast." Philip Cosores at ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' stated "the album plays out more like a bonus feature, something that can enhance the series’ enjoyment or simply further inform the experience". Patrick Doyle from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted that some of the album's songs are among "the band's most ambitious moments yet". Stuart Berman of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' was more critical of the album, stating "Foo Fighters completely demystify their own creative process, effectively turning the ''Sonic Highways'' project into a glorified homework assignment—educational, perhaps, but laboriously procedural."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, with sales of 190,000 copies in the United States. As of September 2015, it has sold 490,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Band *

– lead and backing vocals, guitar; acoustic guitar, cymbals, and

EBow The EBow is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It was invented by the American guitarist Greg Heet in 1969 and introduced in 1976. The EBow uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to ...

on "Subterranean", producer *

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He was the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles–based punk band The Germs and a rhythm guitarist for grunge band Nirvana ...

– guitar, producer *

Nate Mendel Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician who is the bass guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, as well as a former member of Sunny Day Real Estate. He has also worked with musical acts The Jealous Sound and ...

– bass guitar, producer *

Taylor Hawkins Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was the drummer and a vocalist of the rock band Foo Fighters, sharing vocals with Dave Grohl. He joined the band in 1997, and remained the band's drummer ...

– drums, backing vocals, producer *

– guitar, "devil pickin on "Congregation", backing vocals on "In the Clear", producer Additional musicians * Mark Braud – trumpet on "In the Clear" *

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the country Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown ...

– "devil pickin and backing vocals on "Congregation" *

Gary Clark, Jr. Gary Lee Clark Jr. (born February 15, 1984) is an American guitarist and singer who fuses blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. In 2011, Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released ''The Bright Lights'' EP. It was followed ...

– lead guitar on "What Did I Do?/God as My Witness" *Charlie Gabriel –

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

on "In the Clear" *

Ben Gibbard Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a membe ...

– backing vocals on "Subterranean" *

Chris Goss Chris Goss is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and desert rock genres. Goss is also the ...

– backing vocals on "Outside" *

Drew Hester Drew Hester (born August 26, 1969) is a drummer, percussionist, and record producer, winning two Grammy Awards with Foo Fighters. He has played with Joe Walsh (1999—2016) on drums, Stevie Nicks (2017–present) on drums, Beck (2014) on drums/pe ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

on "Congregation"; tambourine on "What Did I Do?/God as My Witness" and "I Am a River" *

Ben Jaffe Benjamin Jaffe (born January 26, 1971) is the creative director of Preservation Hall and plays tuba and double bass with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Early life and education He is the son of Preservation Hall's former managers, Allan Jaffe ...

– tuba on "In the Clear" *

–

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

;

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

;

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

; piano;

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

; backing vocals on "In the Clear"; "space keys" on "I Am a River" *Ronell Johnson – tuba and backing vocals on "In the Clear" *Barrett Jones – EBow on "Subterranean" *

Freddie Lonzo Fred Lonzo (born August 26, 1950), also known as Freddie Lonzo, is a jazz trombonist. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lonzo is one of the most highly regarded practitioners of "tailgate" style traditional jazz trombone. His style is distinctly ...

– trombone on "In the Clear" *Los Angeles Youth Orchestra – strings on "I Am a River" *Clint Maedgen – saxophone and backing vocals on "In the Clear" *

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including hi ...

–

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

on "Something From Nothing" *Jim Rota – backing vocals on "In the Clear" * Peter Stahl – backing vocals on "The Feast and the Famine" * Skeeter Thompson – backing vocals on "The Feast and the Famine" *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

– string arrangement on "I Am a River" *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

– lead guitar on "Outside" *

Kristeen Young Kristeen Young is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Young began playing piano as a child. She has released eleven studio albums. Young has also sung with several artists including David Bowie, Morrisse ...

– backing vocals on "I Am a River" Production *Justin Armstrong – studio assistance (Robert Lang Studios) *Brandon Bell – studio assistance (Southern Ground Studios) *Charlie Bolois – studio assistance (Studio 6A, Rancho De La Luna, and Preservation Hall) *Dakota Bowman – studio assistance (Atomic Sound) *James Brown –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

*Reuben Cohen – mastering *Marcel Fernandez – studio assistance (Robert Lang Studios) *Kabir Hermon – studio assistance (The Magic Shop) *John Lousteau – studio assistance (Atomic Sound, Studio 6A, and Preservation Hall); backing vocals on "In the Clear" *Gavin Lurssen – mastering *Matt Mangano – studio assistance (Southern Ground Studios) *Greg Norman – studio assistance (Electrical Audio) *Jon San Paolo – studio assistance (Electrical Audio) *Matthias Schneeberger – studio assistance (Rancho De La Luna) *Chris Shurtleff – studio assistance (The Magic Shop) *Ben Simoneti – studio assistance (Southern Ground Studios) *

– producer *

Don Zientara Don Zientara ( ) is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and variou ...

– studio assistance (Inner Ear Studios) *Gersh Gershunoff – drum tech ;Artwork *Stephan Martiniere – cover illustration *Ringo – photographs *Andrew Stuart – photographs *Morning Breath, Inc. – art direction and design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2014 albums Albums produced by Butch Vig Foo Fighters albums RCA Records albums 2010s concept albums