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Dave Grohl will never be hip. In an age of irony, his lyrics
are too earnest, his guttural howl lending overwrought passion to hard-rocking
Hallmark cards like “There Goes My Hero.” Meanwhile, he wears his prog-rock and
speed-metal influences on his sleeve, and they shine through on every
bludgeoning riff and indulgent solo. And though In Your Honor might be his band’s most indulgent project to date –
a two-disc collection featuring separate electric and acoustic sets – it’s also
their most sophisticated. For those about to rock, Grohl channels Rush and
Motorhead on the frenzied title track, while “Free Me” recalls the muscular,
blistering metal of 1997’s The Colour and the Shape. Elsewhere, Norah Jones lends her seductive croon to
the jazzy “Virginia Moon,” perhaps the most engaging and unexpectedly subdued
track of the second set. Give Grohl this much: He’s ambitious, and he’s not
afraid to fall on his face, as he does on the album’s first single, the generic
“Best of You.” But he’s also capable of penning some of the catchiest pop-metal
around, and there are enough gems on In Your Honor to justify its excesses.
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