Dave Grohl teamed up with two Anthrax members to cover the iconic Bad Brains track "The Regulator."
The Foo Fighters frontman has a project called G.B.I. with guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante. They released physical copies of the cover for Record Store Day on Saturday, April 20.
Proceeds from the single will be donated to the healthcare fund for Bad Brains vocalist HR, who suffers from a rare neurological condition.
The single's backstory was explained in the description of a music video posted to YouTube on Sunday, April 21.
"Anthrax had been recording the last batch of new songs for their next album at Grohl’s 606 Studios, and Foo Fighters were camped there as well in rehearsals," the description says.
"Grohl had stopped by Anthrax's studio to say hi and check things out, and at one point, Ian texted Grohl and suggested the idea of all of them getting together to record 'The Regulator.'"
Ian recalled the recording process being a breeze.
"Charlie and I asked Dave if he’d play drums and sing as well, and he was in," he said. "Charlie played bass, and I was on guitar. We ripped the song live in two takes."
The description also explained the story behind the single's cover art: "Charlie, the point person for all Anthrax-related project art, came up with the idea of having the three of them popping out of a jack-in-the-box in front of CBGB."
The defunct club in New York City's East Village was a hub for the local punk and hardcore scenes between 1973 and its closure in 2006.
All proceeds from the single will be donated to Bad Brains vocalist HR's healthcare costs. He suffers from a rare neurological condition.
The musician helped form the foundational hardcore group in Washington D.C. in 1976. They were also heavily influenced by reggae.
Ian said the the ad hoc trio knocked the recording out in just two takes.
Ian and Anthrax have always worn their hardcore roots on their sleeves. The punk rock attitude is particularly evident in their crossover thrash side project Stormtroopers of Death.
Grohl also has deep hardcore roots, even if they're not as immediately obvious. His music career started with stints in two Washington D.C. hardocre projects – Dain Bramage and Scream.
He was recruited to Nirvana in 1990 and started Foo Fighters following frontman Kurt Cobain's death in 1994.
Foo Fighters will be touring the U.S. this summer with support from the Pretenders, the Hives, Mammoth WVH, Alex G, L7 and Amyl and the Sniffers on select dates.
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Grohl began his music career with stints in two Washington D.C. hardcore punk bands.
Check out a full list of the upcoming concerts below:
July 17 – New York NY @ Citi Field *
July 19 – New York NY @ Citi Field #
July 21 – Boston MA @ Fenway Park #
July 23 – Hershey PA @ Hersheypark Stadium #
July 25 – Cincinnati OH @ Great American Ballpark *
July 28 – Minneapolis MN @ Target Field **
August 3 – Denver CO @ Empower Field at Mile High *
August 7 – San Diego CA @ Petco Park $
August 9 – Los Angeles CA @ BMO Stadium #
August 11 – Los Angeles CA @ BMO Stadium %
August 16 – Portland OR @ Providence Park Soccer Stadium %
August 18 – Seattle WA @ T-Mobile Park %
* Pretenders & Mammoth WVH Support
** Pretenders & L7 Support
# The Hives & Amyl and The Sniffers Support
$ The Hives & Alex G Support
% Pretenders & Alex G Support
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