Foo Fighters envisioned record-breaking “Love Dies Young” single as an “ABBA song with huge guitars”

ABC/Randy Holmes

In addition to breaking multiple Billboard records, Foo Fighters‘ “Love Dies Young” has the honor of soundtracking the credits to the band’s new horror movie, Studio 666. As frontman Dave Grohl tells ABC Audio, the track was inspired by one of his personal favorite groups.

“I was basically trying to write a melody that was, like, a hard rock version of an ABBA song,” Grohl explains. “I think that’s as close as I’m ever gonna get.”

Grohl describes “Love Dies Young” as a “tortured love song,” with an ABBA-esque “structure” and “melody.”

“And the beat, it’s got that disco beat to it,” he says. “It’s basically an ABBA song with huge guitars.”

As for the track’s chugging riff, guitarist Chris Shiflett credits that to some goofing off in the studio.

W”e started doing that riff kind of as a joke, if I remember correctly,” Shiflett says. “We were sitting there tracking guitars, going into the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ thing or whatever, and then we were, like, ‘Oh wait, that’s kinda good!'”

Grohl adds, “If everyone’s in a good mood and laughing when you listen to something back, it’s probably a good idea to keep it.”

“Love Dies Young” is the current single off Foo Fighters’ 2021 album, Medicine at Midnight.

Studio 666, meanwhile, is in theaters now. It’ll be available on-demand beginning March 18.

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