Editing Probot (section)

==Background==
After years of popularity in the [[alternative rock]] scene, Dave Grohl wanted to express his longtime passion for heavy metal music. He mentioned the catalyst of the experience being during the first leg of the tour in support of the [[Foo Fighters]] album ''[[There Is Nothing Left to Lose]]'' (1999), with the mellower songs making him think about the heavier bands he used to listen to. 

Following the tour, Grohl went to his house in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], to record some heavier songs in his home studio Studio 606 with [[Adam Kasper]]. Grohl would play with his [[Gibson Explorer]] through a small [[Peavey Electronics|Peavey]] amp as he watched TV with Kasper, and once he got a [[guitar riff|riff]] that interested him, he would bring Kasper along to the basement, recording a drum arrangement followed by bass and guitar.<ref name=gw>[http://www.fooarchive.com/features/guitarworld04.htm Man of Steel]</ref> Each [[instrumental]] would take about 45 minutes to complete. Grohl said that he did not intend to make an album out of the recordings – "I didn’t even call them songs because they were bare instrumentals with no intention of putting vocals on them and no direction as an actual song."<ref name=ew>{{cite web |title=Building The Perfect Probot |website=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824135143/https://ew.com/article/2004/02/13/building-perfect-probot/ |archive-date=2018-08-24 |url-status=live |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2004/02/13/building-perfect-probot}}</ref>  After four days of recording, Grohl and Kasper had done seven tracks, with Grohl making some copies out of the master tape before labeling it Probot to distinguish from the Foo Fighters' work.<ref name=gw/>

[[File:Dave grohl modified.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Dave Grohl]] played the majority of instruments on the album, including all of the drum tracks.]]
Some time later, inspired by the [[Santana (band)|Santana]] album ''[[Supernatural (Santana album)|Supernatural]]'', Grohl decided to attempt collaborations with singers he had idolized.<ref name=mtv>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150501085717/http://www.mtv.com/news/1438589/dave-grohl-preps-a-death-metal-supernatural-with-probot/ Dave Grohl Preps A ‘Death Metal Supernatural‘ With Probot]</ref> He came up with "my wish list of all of my favorite singers from this era which is '82 to '89 [[underground music|underground]] metal, and all the bands I listened to at the time: [[Eric Wagner]] from [[Trouble (band)|Trouble]], [[Denis Bélanger|Snake]] from [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]], [[Conrad Lant|Cronos]] [from [[Venom (band)|Venom]]], [[Lemmy]] and [[Scott Weinrich|Wino]]," and started contacting the musicians,<ref name=rs/> some of whom were reached by Grohl's friend [[Matt Sweeney]] given the Foo Fighters had restarted their tour.<ref name=gw/> Grohl feared his fame built out of being "a stupid, middle-of-the-road, alternative-rock idiot" could drive the metal singers away, but many agreed immediately.<ref name=mtv/> Cronos would later explain that "I'm open for everything. And Dave's cool," detailing that Grohl's email opened with "a real fan letter" where he mentioned his longtime appreciation of Venom, and then explained about his idea of a metal album with all his metal heroes "to get something off his chest."<ref name=cronos>[http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/venom-singer-comments-on-probot-project-this-was-heavy-shit/#v5g5GlmYxmAUy8WW.99 VENOM Singer Comments On PROBOT Project: 'This Was Heavy Shit!']</ref>

Seeing the positive response, Grohl brought Kasper and Sweeney back to do five more instrumental tracks and round out the project.<ref name=mtv/> According to Grohl, the songs sent to Eric Wagner and [[King Diamond]] had been previously done for [[Ozzy Osbourne]] as he was contacted to write for the then-upcoming ''[[Down to Earth (Ozzy Osbourne album)|Down to Earth]]'', but when Osbourne's label did not respond, he repurposed them for Probot.<ref name=ozzy>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/dave-grohl-responds-to-zakk-wylde-s-threat/|title=DAVE GROHL Responds to ZAKK WYLDE's Threat|date=11 February 2004}}</ref> Sweeney would organize the project as Grohl toured with the Foo Fighters, getting vocalists on board and organizing tracks.<ref>[http://www.fooarchive.com/features/terrorizer04.htm Dave Grohl's League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen]</ref> Then the demo tapes were sent to the singers, each of whom was asked to come up with lyrics, record them and then title the song.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dave-grohl-readies-metal-side-project-20001109#ixzz3XaNTZaY8 Dave Grohl Readies Metal Side Project], Rolling Stone</ref> Cronos detailed he wrote three different versions of the song so Grohl could choose one.<ref name=cronos/>