Grohl & Jack Black Claim Zeppelin Is the GOAT

23 Nov, 2025

and Buddy… No. It’s Rush. Come On.

Some article went around this week proclaiming that Dave Grohl and Jack Black — two of the most lovable nerd-titans of modern rock — finally declared the greatest band of all time.

Their answer?

Led Zeppelin.

And the world nodded as if to say: “Yes, of course. Four golden gods in an alchemical thunder machine. Checks out.”

But allow me to stop the parade and tap both Grohl and Black on the shoulder with one delicate finger:

Gentlemen… cut the shit. Your GOAT is Rush. You know it. I know it. The universe knows it. Et and Dionysus and Prince Hintor and the ghost of Ayn Rand know it.

Let’s break this down like the overcaffeinated prog archivist I am. *

Zeppelin Is the Safe Answer

Look — you can say “Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock band ever” at any bar in America and at least five dudes will stop mid-wing to fist-bump you. There is zero social risk.

Zeppelin = “Yeah bro.” “Timeless.” “Bonzo tho.” “Stairway.” "There penises are big, but also heavy... see: Moby Dick.." "The Snapper. “Let’s shotgun this IPA.”

It’s a universally-valid rock opinion, like saying dogs are nice or pizza exists.

But Grohl and Jack Black? Their ENTIRE VIBE says Rush.

Grohl & Black: The Kings of Ironic Sincerity

Let’s review:

• Grohl: The nicest man in rock, emotionally sincere to a fault, nerdy enough to archive every snare sound he’s ever recorded, and obsessed with the pure joy of loud guitars. When you think what he's playing on the kit is simple, and it sounds unexpectedly amazing, it's because he's playing something 3x as complex. That is Grohl Drum Formula.. Warlock-craft.
• Jack Black: A walking guitar-shaped comic book who treats Dio like a religious sacrament and got his dick stuck in a milking machine on a Mr. Show skit.

These are not men who worship swagger and occult mystique. These are nerds with feelings.

They don’t orbit the Zeppelin archetype of sweaty leather viking warlocks; they worship at the altar of Holy Trinity of Canadian Prog Geniuses.

The Real Problem: Virtuosity Gap Disorder™

Let’s address the big one:

Grohl is a meta-level drummer, a damn good guitarist, and a killer songwriter.

Jack Black is a shockingly great vocalist, tight guitarist, and unparalleled showman.

But Rush-level? Rush-level is not a level. Rush-level is a mountain range, made of diamond, embedded in the surface of the moon IO after Jupiter explodes into a 2nd sun in 2010.

• Alex Lifeson plays chords that modern physicists still can’t explain.
• Geddy Lee plays bass, synths, pedals, and sings in 7/8 without blinking.
• Neil Peart wasn’t merely a drummer; he was three literary PhDs in a trench coat performing polyrhythms while wearing little African-style yamaka.

Grohl and Black can’t claim Rush as the GOAT because the moment they do, humans begin asking unfair questions like:

“Cool, can you play like them?”

And the correct answer is:

“Absolutely not, and neither can you or anyone else.”

Why They Feel Rush In Their Bones

Every time Grohl or Black talks about Rush, they devolve into: helpless giggling, reverent stuttering, stories about formative teenage brain explosions, emotional vulnerability normally reserved for therapy, and some variation of “they changed everything for me”.

Meanwhile, when they talk about Zeppelin, it’s:

• “They’re great.”
• “Bonzo is king.”
• “Rock gods.”
• “Heavy penises”

Rush cracks their soul open. Zeppelin just rocks and had sex with fifteen year old girls back when that was apparently expected. *

Rush Is a Philosophy. Zeppelin Is a Vibe.

Led Zeppelin is the soundtrack for:

• summoning demons and the Horned One (Lord of the Hunt)
• seducing modern goth witches with bags of herbs, human pulp, cocaine
• riding a motorcycle shirtless except for a long satin scarf
• accidentally creating two new species of STD.

Rush is the soundtrack for:

• 3D-printing another 3D printer
• solving the Unsolvable Topology Problems associated with the previous
• profound self-discovery
• the Sign of Et rising in the air
• writing a novel about a future dystopia where everyone has perfect pitch
• hanging out with the same two guy for 60 years and making jokes only you two understand¹.

Grohl and Black are fundamentally emotionally intelligent nerds who want to rock. That’s Rush energy all day.

Neil Peart: The Elephant Ghost in the Room

Neil Peart was:

• the lyricist
• the philosopher
• the archivist
• the anthropologist
• the gear futurist
• the emotional compass
• the hermit-sage
• the guy who hated touring but loved creating
• ultimately: the Professor on the Drum Kit

When Neil broke down after losing his wife and daughter in one year, the band stopped. When Neil returned, the band resurrected, transformed. When Neil died, Rush's discography ascended into the cosmic archive.org forever.

Grohl and Black both understand this level of gravity: nobody replaces Neil Peart just like nobody puts Baby in a Corner.

Well… apparently except a hot young jazz drumming prodigy who now channels him like a goddamn lightning rod... because of course Rush found the reincarnated ghost of John Coltrane cloned via Danny Carey's DNA, and put her behind a reasonably-sized kit. Also she has at least seven limbs that can play 9 different polyrhythms.

THE Truth:

Zeppelin is their cool answer. Rush is their real answer.**

They say Zeppelin because it’s easier and socially aerodynamic.

They mean Rush because Rush built their inner wiring, rewrote their emotional circuitry, and taught them that rock could be:

• funny
• smart
• complex
• sincere
• absurd
• hopeful
• nerdy
• transcendent

Grohl and Black are public-facing rock titans… but inside they’re two basement kids who spent their youth trying to learn “YYZ” and tearing a tendon.

Conclusion

Don’t believe the headlines. Grohl & Black are Rush guys. Always have been. Always will be.**

Led Zeppelin may be the king, but Rush is the kingdom’s secret language.

And anyone who’s been paying attention can see it in their eyes.