Foo Fighters

Concrete and Gold Roswell/RCA Records

When it was learned the Foo Fighters had turned to a polished pop producer for their next album — a hitmaker for Sia, no less — you could be forgiven for fearing the band was shedding its hard-charging skin. After listening to Concrete and Gold, it’s clear that’s a bunch of fooey.

Greg Kurstin, a member of the indie-pop duo the Bird and the

Bee who produced Adele’s Hello and Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You), has pushed the band into some harder places over the 11 tracks. The Foos can’t stop rocking, despite an uncredited appearance by Justin Timberlake.

Take the outstanding Run, which starts with smouldering chords and soft vocals before building into an apex of thrash metal with Dave Grohl impressively reaching deep into his throat. This is thrilling, heroic rock, and even harder than the blistering, Grammy-winning single White Limo from 2011.

Make It Right finds the Foos doing their best ’70s stomping rock impersonation and it goes down well (JT offers background harmonizing). La Dee Da is a jolt of glam rock with distorted vocals and nihilistic lyrics.

The band takes a step toward more Kings of Leon-like arena rock with The Line and Sunday

Rain — featuring, bizarrely, Paul McCartney on drums. The single,

The Sky Is a Neighborhood, is a strained reach for a radio hit. But we shouldn’t have worried about a total pop sound: With the Foos, you simply can’t get anything but full-throttle rock. It’s messy, but it’s definitely not pop.