Dave Grohl, Charlie Benante, Scott Ian Cover Bad Brains’ ‘The Regulator’ for Record Store Day

Dave Grohl joined Anthrax’s Charlie Benante and Scott Ian (collectively dubbed G.B.I) to cover Bad Brains’ “The Regulator” from their self-titled 1982 debut album. The rendition is a Record Store Day exclusive with only 3000 copies pressed and will be released on April 20.

All proceeds will also go towards the healthcare for Bad Brains’ enigmatic frontman H.R., who suffers from an excruciating type of rare headache known as SUNCT. According to a post shared to Instagram on Thursday, Anthrax said the collaboration happened after their group and the Foo Fighters were both at Studio 606, and Ian texted Grohl the next day to see if he wanted to record a Bad Brains song.

More from Rolling Stone

• Sex, Drugs, and Sitar Fights: How 'DIG! XX' Explodes and Rebuilds a Cult Rock Doc

• Dave Grohl Talks 'The Teacher,' Foo Fighters' Epic Ode to His Late Mother, on 'Song Exploder'

• Dave Grohl Almost Played on Boygenius' Album but He 'Slept Through' the Session

“Charlie and I asked Dave if he’d play drums and sing as well, he was in. Charlie plays bass and I’m on guitar. Charlie did the badass art for the cover,” shared Ian. “We ripped Regulator live in 2 takes, the way it should be! It was so much fun to get to play with Dave on drums and to hear his voice with my guitar! We’re all such huge Bad Brains fans and have asked WWBBD? (What would Bad Brains do?) many times.”

In 2017, H.R. (short for “Human Rights”) underwent brain surgery to try to alleviate the pain from SUNCT. The procedure not only left him in debt, but forced the cancellation of his 2023 tour, exacerbating the financial situation. “I was a little lethargic and despondent after canceling the tour,” he told Rolling Stone in July 2023, “but I just kept my head up and rose above it.”

“I don’t want anyone to give up on me,” H.R. added. “I want people to remember I was a good man, who was a fighter and remained humble.”

Best of Rolling Stone

• The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

• All 243 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked

• Carrie Underwood Was a Teenage Metalhead: Her Best Hard Rock Covers