10 Amazing Classic Rock Inspired Albums From The 21st Century

After Dave Grohl had experimented with different styles on the Foo Fighters earlier releases, he had finally hit upon a groove that seemed to make sense. With Pat Smear returning and giving the band a three-guitar attack, Grohl was ready for the band to go in a new direction for Wasting Light.

Up until that point, the band had the most cutting-edge technology at their disposal for recording, but Grohl wanted the new record to sound a bit warmer than usual. As a challenge for both himself and his bandmates, most of the record was cut on tape, which meant that the band had to give the best performances they could in order to create the best tracks. This resulted in songs that had much more of a presence to them like album opener "Bridge Burning" and the conquering single "Walk."

Make no mistake, it still sounded like Foo Fighters, but the delivery was much different than the down-and-dirty alt-rock of their early years. The nostalgia bug hit Grohl so much at the time that even guest stars like Husker Du's Bob Mould and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic made appearances on some of the tunes. This is one of the rare instances where the classic rock influence comes not just from the songwriting, but the actual sound of the songs being played.