Foo Fighters
Sonic Highways

P.S.: If you don't like track-by-track reviews, stop reading.

It's 2011 when Dave Grohl announces an indefinite hiatus for the Foo Fighters. A year later, the official website announces that a new album is in production and wouldn't be released before 2014. On November 10th of the same year, "Sonic Highways" finally hits the shelves, containing eight tracks, recorded across Chicago, Washington, Nashville, Austin, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and New York, and accompanied by a television series documenting the creation of the songs. The album opens with "Something From Nothing", which starts with a melancholic and sad guitar riff, then explodes during the remaining four and a half minutes: the ideal track to open a hard rock album. Listening continues with "The Feast And The Famine", a bombastic track typical of the Foo Fighters, characterized by Taylor Hawkins' punk rock drumming. The third song is "Congregation," catchy and heavily influenced by country, as stated by Grohl himself. After this, it's time for "What Did I Do/God As My Witness," a Beatles-style rock 'n' roll ballad deemed by Rolling Stones magazine as "extracted from 21st Century Breakdown" by Green Day. The fifth song is "Outside," the best on the entire album: it opens with a powerful bass line played by Nate Mendel and vocals by Dave Grohl, supported by an acoustic guitar and backing vocals that serve as a chorus."In The Clear" is the most radio-friendly piece of the album, advantaged by its epic hook-laden chorus. The penultimate is "Subterrenean," the most discussed track, as fans expected something akin to Nirvana, as stated by Dave Grohl while explaining the lyrics' meaning; instead, it's a very well-crafted acoustic ballad. The last song is "I Am A River," lasting 7 minutes and supported by the strings of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with a chorus sung by Dave Grohl's desperate scream: a great way to close a Foo Fighters album. Below are the individual song ratings:

Something From Nothing: 9.5

The Feast And The Famine: 9.5

Congregation: 9

What Did I Do/God As My Witness: 9

Outside: 10

In The Clear: 9

Subterrenean: 8.5

I Am A River: 9.5

OVERALL SCORE: 9.5