Carrying on after the death of a bandmate is tough, and Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl knows this more than most — he's had to do it twice.
The former Nirvana drummer has often spoken about how his love of music revitalised him after the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in April 1994, spurring him to record the first Foo Fighters album.
Almost two decades later, Grohl and his fellow Foos are using rock 'n' roll to deal with grief yet again.
Their new album But Here We Are, released June 2, comes 15 months after the death of their much-loved drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died mid-tour in Colombia.
Is the album about Taylor Hawkins?
Compounding the feelings of loss from Hawkins's death, Grohl's mother Virginia Hanlon Grohl passed away in August last year.
Unsurprisingly, But Here We Are is shaped by the loss of these two significant figures in the Foo family.
In a statement, the band said the album was "a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured … [in] a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances".
"But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family," said the band, describing the 10 songs as running "the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between".
What does it sound like?
The album has been produced by Greg Kurstin, who has helmed the previous two Foo Fighters albums and has teamed up with Grohl for the popular Hanukkah Sessions for the past three years.
The band said But Here We Are "sonically channel[s] the naiveté of Foo Fighters' 1995 debut" while also being "informed by decades of maturity and depth".
The music media have been glowing in their praise for the record.
In a five-star review, NME called it "a beautiful, noisy celebration of brotherhood and a stark, painful exploration of loss" that's simultaneously "messy, gut-wrenching, ambitious and gorgeous".
Kerrang! called it "extraordinary" and a "masterpiece" for the way it "prises beauty from unimaginable suffering", TheMusic.com dubbed it "a pop rock opus … that takes listeners on an almost crushing emotional journey", while Consequence Of Sound said the band had found "greatness in grief" and given us "their most creative and compelling album in over 20 years".
Filled with raw emotions, the album swings from sadness and numbness through to hope and love, all largely set to the kind of singalong stadium-ready choruses the Foo Fighters are renowned for, but with an added layer of catharsis.
It all culminates in 15 minutes unlike anything the band has done before — the 10-minute-long ode to Grohl's mum The Teacher, and closing track Rest, which opens like a sparse demo recording before exploding into a noisy, tear-jerking farewell.
Who plays drums on it?
After endless online speculation, Foo Fighters revealed that Josh Freese would be behind the kit for future gigs.
They did so in typically cheeky fashion via a video that featured teasing cameos from Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, and Tool's Danny Carey.
Freese's CV is one of the most amazing in modern rock — he's worked with Sting, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, The Vandals, Katy Perry, Paramore, Bruce Springsteen, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Ween, Devo, Michael Buble, Queens Of The Stone Age, Miley Cyrus, Guns N' Roses, and more.
But Freese is not on But Here We Are — that's Grohl himself on the drums.
Grohl famously played every instrument on the Foo Fighters' self-titled debut, and replaced most of Will Goldsmith's drum parts on second album The Colour & The Shape, but since then his time on the kit with the Foo Fighters has been limited as he made way for Hawkins.
Will the band be touring Australia again?
Aside from the two mammoth Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts they organised in September last year, which featured Freese on drums, Foo Fighters' return to the live stage came on May 24 in Gilford, New Hampshire.
It was the first of 31 shows announced across the US, Germany, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the UAE between now and the end of November.
The band was planning to return Down Under when Hawkins' death brought their world crashing down, and they have now annlounced they will make their 14th visit to Australia in November and December this year.
Foo Fighters will play Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane before touring New Zealand in January.
