Band Profile: Probot

(this band profile originally appeared in issue #40 of Modern Fix Magazine in 2004)

by bushman

The Story: Dave Grohl writes and records all the music. Then sends it out to all of his favorite metal band vocalists and says, “Please lay down some vocals for this track.” And they do.

The Sound: Depends on what song. With 11 tracks and 11 singers, the flavor adjusts. But what remains constant is the bullish, sludgy, Sabbath tinged attack of rock and roll.

The Genius: Dave Grohl. If you don’t know who he is by now, you are either an 8-year kid or you just now confiscated this magazine from your 8-year kid and you stopped listening to music in the 80’s. The resume of Grohl is impressive. Drummer for Nirvana and recently a stint as drummer with buzz band The Queens of the Stone Age. And then there is the whole Foo Fighters thing. All of these projects have been significant contributions to rock and roll. Nirvana is single handedly credited for the change of guard between the decadence of the 80’s and the 90’s slap of depressing reality as a dominant theme in popular rock and roll.

The Resume: Dave Grohl does most everything musical. The vocals are generously delivered by: Cronos (Venom), Max Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulfly) Lemmy (Motorhead), Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity), Kurt Brecht (DRI), Lee Dorian (Cathedral/Napalm Death), Wino (Place of Skulls/The Obsessed), Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost), Snake (Voivod), Eric Wagner (Trouble) and King Diamond (Merciful Fate). A few guest appearances like Kim Thayil of Sound Garden who lays down a solo on the King Diamond track and Bubba Dupree from Void plays on the Mike Dean track, but mostly, this is all Grohl’s machine with a hip pedigree of underground metal on the vocals.

The Outcome: A release that’s as cool as it’s resume. It rocks on many levels, and each track shines with it’s own charm. The Kurt Brecht track could almost be a lost DRI song. The Wino track has a spaced out breakdown with crazy effects and is a standout. The Eric Wagner song reminded me how much I liked Trouble. The whole disc reflects the quality of the talent involved. An ambitious idea that could only be pulled off by Grohl. It’s almost like Nirvana was holding this cat back.

 

This song fucking shreds.