I’ll never make it to heaven, but if good old St. Pete told me my entrance was contingent upon naming the best rock’n’roll band of my lifetime, it’s Foo Fighters without hesitation. Born from the ashes of Nirvana as the solo project of drummer Dave Grohl there just isn’t another band from 1987 to now that’s both qualitatively and quantifiably massive. This 1997 sophomore effort from Dave was a step away from the grunge era that defined him, toward the more melodic and accessible rock sound they are now known for.

The Colour and the Shape may represent their best album, but I’ll gladly debate you aimlessly until three in the morning because they have two others that are just as good. After the introductory first track, “Monkey Wrench” kicks your front teeth in with a blistering pace of 174 beats per minute. Dave belts out his frustrations over distorted guitars, “Adolescent resident, wasting another night on planning my revenge” and it is so visceral it almost bleeds.

Infamously, Grohl recorded his own drum tracks for nearly the entire album unbeknownst to the drummer in the band. William Goldsmith rightfully didn’t take it well, and the result was him leaving the group, but the rest of us getting the masterclass of Dave on the throne. I can’t imagine, “My Hero” opening with any other drum intro, and I often find myself trying to isolate what the drums are doing on this album, which is something I rarely do as a failed guitarist.

“And I wonder when I sing along with you, if everything could ever feel this real forever.” ‘“Everlong” is’…Frankly, a very difficult sentence to finish. There is the guitar in drop D tuning to maximal effect in the intro, the drums at a pace only Taylor Hawkins could later come close to replicating, everything on this track is turned up to 11. It builds into one of best songs of the decade, and with over a billion streams on Spotify this is the signature Foo Fighters song for the ages.

It’s a really special moment when someone turns exceptional talent and tragedy into something millions can enjoy forever, that is Dave Grohl with Foo Fighters. More specifically, this album was him taking everything he can do musically and putting it on a canvas. There is a level of polish on this record that would serve as the blueprint for most of the rest of the band’s existence in the spotlight. Dave Grohl is a hero in my book, though I wouldn’t say ordinary.