Wasting Light is the seventh
studio album by American
rock band
Foo Fighters. It was released on April 12, 2011 on
RCA Records, and is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist
Pat Smear since
The Colour and the Shape (1997), making the band a five piece with the album. Wishing to capture the essence of the group's earlier work and avoid the artificiality of
digital recording, frontman
Dave Grohl arranged for the band to record in his garage in
Encino, California using only
analog equipment. The sessions were supervised by producer
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mistakes to be corrected in post-production, the band spent three weeks rehearsing the songs, and Vig had to relearn outdated editing techniques.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 went for a heavier and rawer sound to contrast with the musical experiments from their previous albums, and 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 Jaffe and
Fee Waybill.