"Mantra" is a song by

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

, and

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

from the 2013 album '' Sound City: Real to Reel'', the soundtrack to the 2013 documentary '' Sound City''. Grohl was joined by different artists for different tracks as Grohl's

Sound City Players The Sound City Players were a supergroup formed by ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. They consisted in a collaboration of Grohl with Krist Novoselic ex-Nirvana, Stone Sour's and Slipknot's Corey Taylor ...

. For "Mantra", the final track on the album, he was joined by Homme and Reznor. Homme also appeared on two other tracks on the album, "Centipede" and "A Trick With No Sleeve".

History

The song was recorded during the

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

s at Studio 606, which is Grohl and the

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

' own studio, where Grohl moved the notorious Neve 8028 console from Sound City after it had closed. The collaboration for "Mantra" was announced on December 14, 2012, two days after the live debut of another song, " Cut Me Some Slack", which features ex-Nirvana bandmates Dave Grohl,

Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, wh ...

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guitar ...

, and ex-

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. Live footage from the studio, which features Grohl, Homme and Reznor performing an instrumental version of "Mantra", was released via ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' official website on March 7, 2013. In a second step were added Reznor's distorted guitar and the interweaving between the singing of the three musicians: "Grohl delivers the primary vocal, but by song's end, Reznor has grabbed the mic, while Homme delivers harmonies and guitar work throughout."

Reception

The song received positive reviews from the critics. Chris Martins of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' praised the track, calling it a "transcendent, nearly eight-minute track." He also noted the song's transition, with describing it as a song "which opens with a simple drum beat and bass, then slowly grows into a gargantuan slab of soulful rock before ending in an orchestral explosion of guitars and keys and fuzz"; "a delicate tapestry supported by percussive beats and occasional piano trills midway through this one. It has the big layering crescendo typical of Reznor’s work, and is quite impressive. It also features a lengthy

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

-esque bass and effects-heavy breakdown." Michael Nelson of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

stated that the song does a "surprisingly good job of featuring all three of its stars" and found it "very subdued and gently textured". The song was also compared to Reznor's recent works with How to Destroy Angels. ''Rolling Stone'' also gave the song a positive review, complimenting the "trio's impeccable chemistry".

Personnel

– lead vocals, drums *

– bass, guitar, backing vocals *

– electric piano, guitar, lead vocals

References

External links

Official website for the documentary "Sound City"
*
Instrumental studio performance of "Mantra"
via ''

'' * (instrumental version) * (with vocals & guitars) {{authority control 2013 songs Songs written for films Songs written by Dave Grohl Songs written by Josh Homme Songs written by Trent Reznor