Wasting Light is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was released on April 12, 2011 on Roswell and RCA Records, and is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist Pat Smear since The Colour and the Shape (1997).
Wanting to capture the essence of their earlier work and avoid the artificiality of digital recording, the Foo Fighters recorded in the garage of frontman Dave Grohl in Encino, California, using only analog equipment. The sessions were produced by Butch Vig, with whom Grohl had worked on Nirvana's Nevermind. Since the old equipment did not allow for many mistakes to be corrected in post-production, the band spent three weeks rehearsing the songs, and Vig had to relearn outdated editing techniques. The band sought a heavier and rawer sound in contrast to the experimentation of their previous albums. Most of the lyrics were written as Grohl reflected upon his life and possible future. Guest musicians include Bob Mould, Krist Novoselic, Jessy Greene, Rami Jaffee and Fee Waybill.
The recording sessions were documented on the band's website and Twitter. Promotion included the documentary Back and Forth and a worldwide concert tour that included performances in fans' garages. Wasting Light was preceded by the successful single "Rope", which became only the second song ever to debut at number one on Billboard's Rock Songs chart. The follow-up single, "Walk", also charted highly. Wasting Light debuted at number one in eleven countries, and received positive reviews from most music critics, who praised the production and songwriting. In 2012, Wasting Light earned four Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album.
After the Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace tour ended in 2008, the Foo Fighters went to Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood to record 14 compositions written during the tours so as to possibly release a new album without much promotion and touring. The band eventually decided to take a break instead of continuing to work on those recordings. Three songs from those sessions saw a later release: "Wheels" and "Word Forward", were rerecorded for the band's Greatest Hits album, and "Rope" became a part of Wasting Light. As "Wheels" and "Word Forward" were the reunion of frontman Dave Grohl with producer Butch Vig, who had previously worked with Nirvana on their breakthrough album Nevermind, Grohl thought it was finally time to bring Vig to produce the next Foo Fighters album.
The idea of a new album came back in 2010, as frontman Dave Grohl was touring Australia with Them Crooked Vultures. Grohl decided that "we should make a documentary about the recording of this new album and make it a history of the band too. Rather than just record the album in the most expensive studio with the most state-of-the-art equipment, what if Butch and I were to get back together after 20 years and dust off the tape machines and put them in my garage?" Grohl later elaborated that Vig was brought in so the record could be "that one album that kinda defines the band: it might not be their best album, but it's the one people identify the band with the most, like Back In Black or the Metallica Black Album. It's like you take all of the things that people consider your band's signature characteristics and just amplify them and make one simple album with that. And that's sorta what I thought we could do with Butch, because Butch has a great way of trimming all the fat and making sense of it all." Grohl also used the tour with the Vultures to turn song ideas into demos, which were then brought to drummer Taylor Hawkins to be further developed. The album would also mark the return of guitarist Pat Smear as a permanent member; Smear left the Foo Fighters after the release of The Colour and the Shape, but had been part of the touring band since 2006.