Dads of America rejoice! Your favorite rocker and front man Dave Grohl is back with his newest project, Dream Widow. Grohl is not unfamiliar with making killer music outside of Foo Fighters, including his work with Probot, Them Crooked Vultures, and occasionally drumming for rock-comedy gods Tenacious D.   

But Dream Widow, his newest ‘band’ and subsequent album is a horse of a different color (the color black, specifically). Let me explain. Foo Fighters starred in a comedy-horror movie released this year titled Studio 666. According to IMDB synopsis: “Legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much-anticipated 10th album.” Upon entering the house, Grohl is possessed by the demonic spirit of the front man of a band involved in a series of ritualistic murders that happened at that house. The band’s name? Dream Widow. (Fun fact, drummer Taylor Hawkins, rest-in-peace, said he didn’t bother memorizing the script and mostly improvised his lines.)

As a fan of all things Dave Grohl, an avid horror hound, and having gone through a high school thrash metal phase in which I owned a significant number of Megadeth and Metallica albums, this project certainly hit the center of a very specific Venn Diagram for me. I was intrigued but wary of this being a one-gimmick pony.

This is no gimmick. Dream Widow’s Dream Widow is 8 tracks and 42 minutes of thrash metal/death metal goodness, leaning into the more ‘evil’ side of the genre with clear influences from bands like Slayer, Venom, and King Diamond, obviously a purposeful move to fit the bio of the fictional band.  

Dream Widow in real life is a one-man band, with Grohl writing the music and playing all the instruments and vocals, as if the world needed another reminder of what a monster musician he is. And you can tell he has fun with this project, indulging in his love for metal and (play) satanic imagery of the 80’s.

This sounds nothing like the alternative rock of the Foo Fighters. Dream Widow the album is filled with heavy riffs, killer solos, blast beat drums, and raspy screams. Aside from a few clean vocal incidents featuring his signature beefy sound (see “Cold” and “Angel with Severed Wings”) Grohl’s presence is almost completely unrecognizable.

Every single track on this album is certified metal gold. Things kick off with “Encino,” a downright nasty track that genuinely sounds like it was recorded by Slayer. “March of the Insane,” the album’s promotional track, comes at you with blistering speed and could easily be mistaken for a lost thrash classic of the early 80’s.

But it’s not all speed for the sake of speed. Grohl injects the album with enough range to keep things interesting, especially on songs like “Sweet Abyss” which features a psychedelic echo effect placed on the vocals and “Becoming” which opens with a doom metal riff and eerie layered vocals. And the final track is a 10 minute 20 second instrumental epic that revels in the glory, darkness, and grime of all that is thrash metal. It is a symphonic overture capturing the feel and purpose of the entire album.

Because of its tie-in with the movie (which I can’t wait to see), I would understand if this project was a one-off. But seriously, Dream Widow is fantastic, and I for one would love to see Dave explore this side of his musical oeuvre more. With Dave’s ability to create some of the most unimaginable gatherings of legendary musicians. Them Crooked Vultures featured Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age Josh Homme, and Led Zepplin’s John Paul Jones. Just imagine the touring band he could come up with for Dream Widow! While we dream of the possibilities, for now, Dream Widow can be streamed on all major services and will receive a physical release later this year.