Franz Stahl came aboard the Foo Fighters as their second guitarist, taking over from departing original guitarist Pat Smear in 1997. Stahl and Dave Grohl previously played together in the hardcore punk band Scream, which also featured Peter Stahl and Skeeter Thompson (via AllMusic). “I think my brightest moments playing music were with Dave,” Stahl said in a statement at the time, per Rolling Stone. But this happy reunion of Grohl and Stahl quickly turned sour.

According to Far Out Magazine, Stahl and Grohl had a falling out during the songwriting process. Stahl was reportedly fired on a conference call in 1999 (via NME). He had only made a few contributions to Foo Fighters’ music history during his short time with the band. His guitar work can be heard on the song “A302,” which appeared on the 1998 soundtrack for “Godzilla.” 

Grohl told Kerrang! that it was really a matter of creative differences and that Stahl took the news hard. Stahl went to Texas to challenge his bandmates about their decision, and the confrontation led Stahl to break “down in tears, I couldn’t believe it” (via Kerrang!).

Stahl's rift with Grohl heals

Gripweed/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Cropped and Resized)