Which Foo Fighters album was recorded entirely in Dave Grohl's garage?

“Wasting Light” was the Foo Fighters album recorded entirely in Dave Grohl’s garage. The band tracked the 2011 record at Grohl’s home in Encino, California, rather than using a conventional commercial studio.

The unusual setting was part of the album’s creative concept. Grohl wanted to avoid the polished, overly artificial sound he associated with modern digital production and recreate the direct, physical energy of older rock records. Producer Butch Vig helped the band record using entirely analogue equipment until the mastering stage.

The garage was converted into a working recording space with microphones, sound baffles and a vocal isolation booth. A temporary control room was built inside a tent in the backyard, with cameras and a television allowing communication between the musicians and engineers.

The album was not mixed exclusively in the garage—mixing began at Chalice Recording Studios before moving to Grohl’s house—but the performances were recorded there. Its raw sound and handmade process helped make it one of the band’s most distinctive releases.