The Birds of Satan Get Scuzzy on ‘Thanks for the Line’

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has offered up “Thanks for the Line,” the first, uh, whiff of his hard-rock side trio the Birds of Satan. If the track is any indication of what’s to come, then the group’s eponymous album will be a hard-hitting, gritty rocker that owes a debt to the muckiest Seventies recordings by Aerosmith, Queen and Alice Cooper. Hawkins’ voice is raspy and maxed-out as he sings about paranoia and trusting oneself, while his bandmates play a mix of rhythm-heavy off-boogie rock with a dash of theatricality.

The 10 Best Foo Fighters Songs, as Chosen by Rolling Stone Readers

The band, which features Hawkins’ Chevy Metal bandmates Wiley Hodgden and Mick Murphy, recorded the album in less than a week, but still managed to have enough time for Hawkins to play piano alonside his drumming. They also managed to draft Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and guitarist Pat Smear to make guest appearances on the album, though the Birds have’nt disclosed which tracks.

The Birds of Satan may have been economical in the studio because Hawkins was already warmed up from working on Foo Fighters material. Last year, Grohl told Rolling Stone that the group’s eighth album was underway. “We’re doing something that nobody knows about, it’s fucking rad,” he said. “We’re doing it in a way that no one’s done before and we’re writing the album in a way that I don’t think has been done before.”