Since Grohl's mixing console was not automated, at times four people—Vig, Grohl, Moulder and engineer James Brown—had to work simultaneously on the board, something Grohl found interesting because every song was done differently and "even the mixes sounded like performances" [15] [25] The mixes were tested out in the cars of the band members and Vig, as they felt that "if it sounds good on a lousy stereo, it will sound good anywhere". Rope' is the first single from the album and a particularly good example of how the three guitarists can combine so effectively without ever stepping on each other's feet or cluttering the sound. Hawkins added that he liked Wasting Light for being "straightforward, and that’s a good thing for us right now.

The mixing started at Chalice Recording Studios, but moved to Grohl's house as engineer Alan Moulder said it was the way "to make it sound like your garage.

The Wasting Light World Tour started in 2011, [6] with some concerts having the album played in its entirety along with other hit songs by the band. For the guitar sound, the group tried to balance Grohl's "playing the rhythm straight up the middle", Shiflett's "sharp and clean sense of melodic playing", and Smear's more aggressive sound, [4] with Grohl declaring that "with three guitars, you have to be careful that it doesn't become a huge fucking mess. Last year, Dave Grohl built a recording studio in his garage in San Fernando Valley and hired Nevermind producer Butch Vig to oversee Foo Fighters’ seventh album, which they recorded entirely on analogue tape.

The important thing to know about Wasting Light as an album is that the writing itself seems to have received more attention to detail than anything Foo Fighters have produced in the last decade. In both Australia and New Zealand Wasting Light had the biggest first week digital album sales in their chart histories.

These Days' provides a welcome change of pace, though it doesn't quite venture into ballad territory, particularly since it still has a huge chorus. Miss the Misery" features Fee Waybill of The Tubes, a personal friend of Grohl who said that the frontman invited him because "the background vocal sounded like him". If you are an existing fan you won't be disappointing and if you a new to the band this is as good a place as any to start. Their debut album and even the magnificent 'The Colour and The Shape' were not game changers simply because Nirvana had already travelled that road. To reduce the cymbal bleed, the microphones were rearranged and the crash cymbal was traded for a "shorter-decay Zildjian cymbal with holes drilled in it".