The new album from Foo Fighters is an indie-rock tour de force, combining blistering anthems and delicate acoustic tracks (there’s even a cameo from dinner-party doyen Norah Jones). According to drummer Taylor Hawkins, it may just be the band’s masterpiece.
Foo Fighters are the first band to be confirmed for the BudRising Summer festival - and Maximo Park are kicking the whole series off with a free, low-key gig!
It’s been a long, strange trip for David Grohl, from Nirvana drummer to Foo Fighters frontman, via Queens Of The Stone Age and Tenacious D. Now he’s back with a new Foo album, he’s buried the hatchet with Courtney Love and he’s still as rock’n’roll as ever
John Walshe previews the new Foo Fighters double-album, In Your Honor, which Dave Grohl describes as "by far the most ambitious project I have ever had anything to do with in my entire life."
Hard to believe it's been ten years since David Grohl first emerged from the ashes of Nirvana, raised his hand, and asked to be selected as the man to drive forward American rock music.
Even the most optimistic listener couldn’t have predicted the former drummer’s batch of demos would contain such anthems as ‘This Is A Call’, or that he’d be able to follow up Nirvana with another hugely successful outfit.
Yet despite all their accomplishments, the Foo Fighters still have great deal to prove. For all their platinum discs, anthemic singles and sold out tours, they’ve yet to release an album of any real consistence. Grohl could have been speaking about any of the Foo’s previous LPs when he recently said of 2002’s One By One that “Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life.”
"The Foos rock out royally, the reverberations from the kick drum dislodging confetti from the ceiling": Hannah Hamilton - and hotpress.com's three prizewinning guest reviewers - report from the Point's front line
The MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 may have been a bit of a damp squib, but an electrifying Foo Fighters, a boards-sweeping Eminem and a nekkid Christina Aguilera prevented it from being a total washout.
Fresh from supporting Foo Fighters in the States, Supergrass roll into Dublin for a brace of low-key gigs in preparation for their Cois Fharraige headline slot.
Recorded last August over three sold-out nights in Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre, Skin And Bones is a superb snapshot of the band’s first ever tour with its expanded eight piece line-up.
Another band who have taken a seemingly overlong break, it’s been four years since the FKOS debut album. They return though in confident form, less hectic than before maybe but more substantial with the kind of mid-paced rocker that hasn’t done the Foo Fighters any harm.
Currently making all the right noises in the North, Machine Parts is a confident step forward for FWW. They’re starting to sound like a big time rock band, albeit one with a healthy Foo Fighters fixation, and that has to be half the battle. The other half will be finding their own unique place in things. For now, this is definitely going in the right direction.
Currently making all the right noises in the North, 'Machine Parts' is a confident step forward for FWW. They’re starting to sound like a big time rock band, albeit one with a healthy Foo Fighters fixation, and that has to be half the battle. The other half will be finding their own unique place in things. For now, this is definitely going in the right direction.
‘Pain’ has a slightly harder edge than anything from Jimmy Eat World’s eponymous breakthrough album, which could be as much down to the presence of Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies) behind the production desk as to any masterplan to outgrow the teeny-rocker tag they’ve been unfairly lumbered with on this side of the Atlantic.
Featuring former Angels Of Mons man Stephen Robinson, the track ‘Highs And Lows’ has travelled with him in a re-recorded form. The racing refrain, which Foo Fighters fans would just scream like little girls for, will be familiar as the snippet used in the Discover Ireland ad. With the full song, you’re not missing much – the line “All these highs and lows” is repeated no less than 22 times in its two minutes, leaving room for little else.
Dave Grohl looks back on 20 years of playing music and talks about the birth of his daughter, the trapped Beaconsfield Miners and why Neil Young is his hero.
In fitting tribute to the biggest gig of the year, we've dug out classic interviews with the headline acts: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age. Rock on!
Stack dead actors, stacked to the rafters/Line up the bastards all I want is the truth/hey hey now can you take it?/And we cry when they all die blonde?"
Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album is a transitional rather than definitive piece of work, but one that sees them growing older with 'patience and grace'.
Grunge is back, apparently. And the hotbed for the revival is the English city of Leeds, where Dinosaur Pile-Up are among the newcomer acts leading the charge.
Foo Fighters return to Ireland for a Point date in celebration of new album One By One, about which Dave Grohl is not half excited. "This is the best album we've ever made," he informs us. "Now it's time to give it everything that we have"
Foo Fighters return to Ireland for a Point date in celebration of new album One By One, about which Dave Grohl is not half excited. "This is the best album we've ever made," he informs us. "Now it's time to give it everything that we have"
In Case Of Fire are one of a clutch of NI bands that are helping to spearhead a new alternative Ulster. With a string of high profile festival dates on the cards, they talk about their plans for world domination.
They’re named after a saucy Playboy model – well, sort of. As their debut album hits the streets, irascible punk-popsters SUPERJIMINEZ discuss their unconventional moniker and tell us why, recession or not, they’re determined to bring their feel-good party music to the masses.
Blood, parties, testosterone, gonzoid lyrics – that nice ANDREW WK has a little something for just about everyone. "Hell, I don't even mind if your other favourite artist’s Enya," he tells STUART CK
When Graham Hopkins found himself on the other side of Warner Music Ireland’s door, by rights it should have signalled a downturn in the drummer-turned-singer’s fortunes. Not so.
Since the release of their debut album Head On, Halite have also morphed, Foo Fighters stylee, from the singular vision of one multi-instrumentalist to a more ensemble effort.
After saying they will and then saying they won't, Nine Inch Nails have finally have been re-announced as the Foo Fighters' main support at Marlay Park, Dublin.
Yes that's right - those with a coveted ticket for the Foo Fighters will be pleased to learn that the up'n'coming band are in support in their hometown of Dublin.
Doubtless buoyed by their success in the Hot Press Readers' Poll, The Killers have confirmed a Main Stage appearance at Oxegen, which takes place on July 9 and 10 in Punchestown.
Like what you see in Hot Press? Ace HP snapper Roger Woolman's set up his own website, so you can check out the finest in pop photography - and buy stuff for your very ownio - at the click of a mouse
How Katie Jane Garside left Daisy Chainsaw, got lost in nature and found her way back to music with a new attitude and a new name queen adrenna. By Colm O'Hare
The all-day extravaganza that's taking place at Marlay Park on 22 August may have Kaiser Chiefs headlining, but the supporting bill alone is worth the ticket price.
...cos Feeder - of monster-huge 2003 single 'Just The Way I'm Feeling'
- have just been added to the bill for Slane. Tickets (pay attention now) go
on sale tomorrow morning at 8
In one of the starriest line-ups we've seen since Live 8, celebs and artists led by U2 are rallying together to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. A special telethon will be aired on all six US networks as well as Sky One tonight.
...cos Feeder - of monster-huge 2003 single 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' - have just been added to the bill for Slane. Tickets (pay attention now) go on sale tomorrow morning at 8
...cos Feeder - of monster-huge 2003 single 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' - have just been added to the bill for Slane. Tickets (pay attention now) go on sale tomorrow morning at 8
We’re not sure whether it’s having one of the coolest names in music or boasting a killer live show that’s got Kilkenny four-piece Myp Et Jeep where they are today. But we certainly aim to find out.
Stop press: Witnness have just confirmed some of the leading lights of this year's festival. Mercury Rev, Badly Drawn Boy and Chemical Brothers sound good for starters? Read on
JOHN WALSHE catches up with K S CHOICE, the Belgian guitarslingers whose third album looks set to finally bring their perfectly crafted melodies to the world s attention.
We’re completely aware that it’s a ridiculous band name,” groans Organized Confusion singer Niall Doherty. “But we’ve come this far with it, so it might be a bad idea to get rid of it now."
The girls and the boys say that No Doubt - as well as Ian Brown and Green Day - are the latest additions to the bill for Witnness '02. And we've got a hunch that Primal Scream, Badly Drawn Boy, the Chemical Brothers, A and Gomez (just to name a few) shall also be getting a look in. Read on
There is many a haven for shunners of the Christmas Cheer like myself. Lots of lovely bands, singers, comedians and even hynotherapists are at hand to entertain the life out of us, and distract Santa while we throttle him. Right up to the New Year there’s so much going on you needn’t come home till Easter.
For a city so often celebrated in song, it was inevitable that the horrific events in new york would be felt as keenly in the music world as in any other section of society. STUART CLARK reports on the industry response and compiles a broad selection of individual reactions to the attack
Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley impressed a lot of people here last year with the quirky guitar pop of her debut solo album Grey Will Fade. hotpress catches up with her as she wows the masses at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival.
Festival season again, and, as if on cue, the debut album from Kilkenny's Wilt arrives in a squall of seamless, subtext-free grunge pop and three-minute mosh-o-ramas readymade for summer location broadcasts on MTV.
Grunge titans Alice in Chains are back after a 14 year hiatus. They talk about the tragic death of vocalist Layne Staley, working with Elton John and keeping the spirit of the early ‘90s alive.
Marshall specialises in layering multiple harmony and counterpoint voices, the overall effect being both fascinating and distinctive, marking her out as the kind of artist who will soon grow beyond a cultish following to something stronger.
New Order will play this summer's Oxegen festival and there is a strong possibility that Queens Of The Stone Age and the Cocteau Twins will also be added to the bill
Music directors at two local radio stations have said they would not include international artists who’ve recorded here as part of their required Irish music output.
The Like are three nearly-out-of-teenage girls who have discovered pop-punk, but instead of taking it down some grotty toilet in Brixton or Brooklyn, they’re going to shake it in the stadiums of the world. That’s the plan anyway, and it could easily work, given the girls’ ability to blend candy-coated tunes with a snappy chord-driven, dirty guitar sound.
Mission: Impossible 2 opens with a bit of a damp squib - Limp Bizkit's 'Take A Look Around', in which Fred Durst ruins Lalo Schifrin's original Mission Impossible theme with the addition of a lacklustre rap and the occasional burst of noise.
New Nirvana best-of, including the previously unreleased 'You Know You're Right', to hit the shelves before Christmas, says Courtney Love. News to us, say Universal Records
Peter Murphy considers Nirvana’s legacy and wonders will we ever hear their like again. Producer Butch Vig and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age help him with his enquiries
THERAPY? are back. ANDY CAIRNS talks to Peter Murphy about losing (and re-finding) the plot, hardcore, and the new album s resonances with the Northern peace process.
There is enough merit in the energetic power-chord rock of these ‘Nordic rock crusaders’ (their description) to make you refrain from putting them down as just another piece of spam in the already crowded inbox of retro-rock clichés.
Having dominated the charts here for the past ten years, Ash are gearing up for a full-scale invasion of America. Stuart Clark dons his hard hat as Tim, Mark, Rick and Charlotte tell him about their new record of mass destruction Meltdown, and the A-list celebrity company they’ve been keeping in the city of angels.
With over twenty-one years experience in pro audio, Richard Dowling is the man responsible for making Interpol, Foo Fighters, The Undertones and countless others sound good!
Our annual HP-7 summit brings together some of the pre-eminent movers and shakers in irish music to reflect on everything from backstage catering to the end of war, pestilence and famine. Your host: Stuart Clark.
Damien Rice and Snow Patrol have both been confirmed for the London leg of Al Gore’s Live Earth extravaganza, which takes place in multiple locations on July 7.
The mainman in Tenacious D and scene-stealer in High Fidelity, Jack Black is now at the heart of a box-office phenomenon in School of Rock. But who does he really want to be – Laurence Olivier or Ronnie James Dio? Tara Brady asks the tough questions.
From badass bunnies via political incorrectness to the mightiest drummer in rock ’n’ roll, it’s all in an interview’s work for Queens Of The Stone Age mainman Josh Homme.
They were the coolest band on the planet – until the backlash started. Now The Strokes have released their most ambitious album yet. Can they leave their past behind?
Renewing acquaintances with Hot Press, a chipper Noel Gallagher reveals how he helped Italy bag the World Cup, explains why Oasis are better than U2 – sort of – and tells us about the band’s new 'best of' collection.
With their new album, Gotta Go There To Come Back, in the bag, Stereophonics have chosen a very special gig at the Heineken Green Energy extravaganza in Dublin, to make their return to the stage. No wonder the boys are feeling bullish! Chris Martin, Ronnie Wood, Fran Healy, Rod Stewart, Noel Gallagher, U2 and the Rolling Stones – Kelly Jones has opinions on all of them! So who’s feeling the lash of the ‘phonics frontman’s verbal assault, then?
The tables have turned since Nirvana ripped off a Killing Joke song, and Dave Grohl now finds himself contributing to their new album (and possibly Dublin-bound)
While their post-Troublegum days have seen Therapy?’s commercial fortunes decline, fewer people than justice demands realise it’s at a rate that’s converse to the increase in quality [pushes glasses back up].
Spiritualised, The Redneck Manifesto, Redsettaz and Telepopmusic are merely a few of the latest additions to the delightfully overstuffed Witnness '02 bill
IT'S BEEN a bit grim up North since Ash became chart regulars. True, The Divine Comedy have made the top 30 a better, more decent place with their pop whimsy, but in terms of cheesegrater riffs there's been little to float one's boat.
As is often the case when bands have a whole host of new material they're itching to try out, the crowd become slightly restless midway through the evening. The Meltdown material sounds great, but there's no getting around the fact that we've come to hear the old favourites, and the band know it.
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
While other bands may have the right connections, the right influences or the right haircuts, Berkeley have been secreted away in the North West, quietly creating some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll on this island.
IN RESPONSE to the charge that his music was “predictable”, Ted Nugent once argued that the word could be applied to all the best things in life, namely eatin’, drinkin’ an’ ruttin’ – not to mention blasting small furry animals to blazes with a shotgun.
They have got it all going on: big beefy choruses, a rhythm section that don't lose their nerve at high speed or volume, a nice line in multi-tracked vocal melodies, and guitars like a gravel bath
Extreme heat can provoke strange reactions. People lose the ability to fret over pointless dilemmas. Such as: do I watch New Order or the Super Furry Animals? Or, when are Audioslave on and is there time to visit the loo first?
For connoisseurs of indie music, the Hot Press New Band Stage will provide a weekend-long bonanza. Here, Patrick Freyne selects 10 acts who will grace the stage that are essential viewing.
In the first installment of Hot Press' Oxegen coverage, Phil Udell, Steve Cummins and John Walshe pick out their personal favourites of the weekend. This Thursday's Hot Press will feature extended coverage from Kim Porcelli & Ed Power as well as more exclusive photos from Liam Sweeney, Graham Keogh & Andrew Duffy - PLUS the Phantom reports from backstage!
Online Gallery Of Live Shots Here
We go retro in 2002 with special collectors editions featuring Elvis and Rory Gallagher (not together, you understand). And we've covers with The White Stripes, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and more.
The highly-anticipated collaboration from the rock supergroup made up of drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Probot), vocalist/guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal), and bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) will be released on November 16 in Ireland and the UK.
Think you've got them all right? Or maybe you fancy a sneaky peak (you're only cheating yourself you know!). Either way, you've got the questions – we've got the answers....
30,000 people, loads of A-list stars, four stages on Fairyhouse Racecourse. Yes, we're talking about WITNNESS. KIM PORCELLI reviews the biggest festival of the summer.
