In a time before this one, when evil music stalked the land and the people

were filled with woe and extreme pathos, a band arose from the ashes of a

supernova and quickly proceeded to eclipse its former zenith. From a dark

and dreary temple filled with the sonic dissonance and echoing cries of

one lone penitent, an acolyte strode forward to reset the balance of pain

that had been thrust upon the trusting people. He tempered his music with

humor, passion and extremely fast guitar playing. Joined by a member of

his former temple and aided by two young acolytes who had also recently

left their temple, The Foo Fighters began their treacherous crusade. At

first it seemed that they would always be compared to their former master,

but as time went by and the masses were exposed to this new sound, they

couldn't help but be swept away by this astonishing crew and their amazing

talents. The band quickly engendered a faithful following and then they

were gone. Back to their lairs, contemplating, unifying, laying plans for

something larger, for something grander.... And now we are about to

experience the second coming of The Foo Fighters. Prepare yourself

accordingly as is seen fit for a true disciple, for surely they will know

if you have not.

The new album, The Colour and the Shape, as you may have guessed is

incredible. After having the CD for a little over six days now, I have

listened to it a little over 50 times. That's not so impressive you say?

That's only an average of eight times per day. The CD, you say, is just

around 50 minutes, so that's about...400 minutes a day or roughly eight

hours.... Wait a minute, that's a lot of $#$&!@ time to be listening to

just one CD! What about the rest of my collection, you wonder? The hell

with the rest of my collection, one CD is all I need this summer and this

appears to be it.

The album begins deceptively enough, with a sad melancholic tune sung by

Dave Grohl. A soulful melody filled out in parts by the rest of the band.

But the song is short, real short, and that is the clincher. The song is

bait designed to lull the victim into complacency, then the hammer smashes

into firing cap of the thirty .06 magnum hard shell and the victim's mind

is rendered blown and useless. All previous dispositions, attitudes, and

opinions are wiped clean away.

The first song that worked me over like some two-bit sideshow carny,

caught flirting with the local high school football hero's cheerleader

girlfriend was "Windup." Given, there's an urgency to every Foo Fighter's

song that I've ever heard, but this one is particularly urgent. Intense

guitars coupled with lyrics like, "I have a choice between the bat or the

belt, each time I hear about the hand that you've been dealt, spare me

confession, it's confession you sell!" It's hard not to identify with

these guys. The music just screams for surrender, but a positive

surrender. Not some nihilistic submission, but an elevation of the

senses, a transmigration of the soul.

"My Hero" is another favorite of mine. Similar structure to the other

songs on the album, strong guitars, pulsing drums, rumbling bass...but the

lyrics intrigued me the most. If I listened correctly--and I could be

completely wrong about this--it sounds like the song is about Chuck

Yeager. The reason that I say this is that Chuck Yeager (for those that

don't know, he was the first pilot to break the speed of sound and then

turned down the chance to be the first astronaut--see the movie The

Right Stuff if you want to know more) lives in my hometown and he's

probably the only military type that I could possibly identify as a hero.

He's also an arrogant, self-centered weasel as well, but that's beside the

point. For some reason the song just reminded me of him. Weird huh?

"Everlong" is the best song on the CD. It's track 11. Hidden towards the

end of the CD, where most bands hide their lesser material, the track came

as a complete surprise. The opening notes are soft and almost distant,

Dave Grohl's voice is subdued. Part of what makes this song so excellent

is the sheer emotion that is conveyed. All of the urgency of a Foo

Fighter song is there, but dampened by the gravity of the emotional

content. "...[A]nd I wonder when I sit alone with you, if everything will

ever feel this real forever, if everything will ever be this good

forever,..." the lyric gets better, but I won't give it away.

What makes this band different from so many other bands with similar

stylings is their integrity. Everything that comes from the Foo Fighters

is honestly felt by the band. See them in concert sometime and you'll

know this to be true. Their raw energy alone is enough to convince even

the most ardent of disbelievers. This disc is excellent and well worth

the wait. I look forward to them touring this summer. Until then, I

shall prepare myself accordingly by listening to their discs faithfully.