2005

LULLIBIES TO PARALYZE –  88%

“I just curse the sun so I can howl at the moon.” What a line, and what a band. The QOTSA have come back with their 4th album and this time they almost broke up between albums- core member Nick Oliveri was kicked out- so now it is just Josh Homme and friends. At first I was worried because I didn’t know how much Oliveri contributed besides playing bass, but turns out Homme is the driving force behind the band (there was never too much doubt in my mind about that). Besides, the Oliveri songs cluttered up the last record and made it inconsistent. “Everybody Knows That You are Insane” has to be about Oliveri leaving, just admire the line: “You don’t know why you are hollow. It’s because you are”. The song is loaded with lyrical bile and not really the better for it, in fact the opening trio of tunes are kind of lackluster and give the listener a misleading impression of what this album is all about. The first song is short enough not to bother, but “Medication” comes off as a rewrite of “Monsters in Your Parasol” or “Regular John”. Many of these songs are have the typical QOTSA mid-tempo chug with odd guitar and music work, but they are also melodic and catchy like their best work is. “Tangled Up In Plaid” really gets things going, with a twisty, nervy guitar walk that in quintessential Queens; “Burn the Witch” and “Little Sister” provide ample variations of the classic band sound (the latter adding a prominent cowbell!); “In My Head” is sort of a compromise between 90’s grunge bands as diverse as Girls Against Boys and British pop rock like Blur.

Homme incorporates many different influences in his work including Sonic Youth, Pavement and Sabbath (see the “Iron Man” intro on “Skin on Skin”, and “In My Head” is the SY and Pavement). The long drawn-out middle section of this album is most appealing to Sabbath fans I am sure; both “Someone’s In the Wolf” and “The Blood is Love”, show a new kind of epic quality to the band while being super sludgy and slow down the earnestness of the first half while setting the mood of the second half. As previously stated the opening two or three songs could have been cut (this album is an hour long, almost exactly), there are at least eight or nine stellar rock songs on here, and they are all different than previous efforts. Favorites of mine include the futuristic “I Never Came” which sets a new standard for space rock ballads and dirty, soul influenced rock like only the Queens can do with “Broken Box” and “Skin On Skin”. No concept album like last time, just great rock ‘n roll and the darkest album yet from the current masters of the form.

Greatest Tracks: I Never Came, Broken Box, Tangled Up in Plaid, Someone’s In the Wolf

2007

ERA VULGARIS – 77%

This is a true transitional record. It took me many, many, many listens to get into this kind of music at all, but know I think I have a handle on it. The QOTSA have turned into a more sincere band for sure but they are also at odds with their old, satirical personality. The lyrics include lines like, “It’s truly a lie, I counterfeit myself” right along side the cringe inducing “I wanna make it wit chu” sums up where I am coming from (hopefully). Ballads, riffs, new experiments, and melodies collide all over the place, making the album a very difficult listen to be sure. Lullibies was poppier than this, it was just also menacing and dark. This record has an edge, but it’s silly rather than serious (like trying to replace Oliveri who’s presence is actually missed). This is defiantly not your usual Queens record – “Battery Acid” and “Make it Wit Chu” plain suck in the middle of the record, while Mark Lanegan is sorely missed on “Into the Hollow” which sounds like something he’d sing! The album time is actually concise at 45 minutes!

People that accused the last album of being overtly serious will love this….except for the fact that every damn song is unpredictable. This keeps true with Homme’s style, and he has kept a similar band line up to that he had on the last record. I’ll put it this way: this is a record that will be fun for old fans of the band to assimilate but was no chance of winning new fans; it’s too all over the place. Take the final song “Run Pig Run” for example, there are two distinct parts going on separately, and then the band runs them into a car crash of noise that sounds very…confusing. If Frank Zappa did metal, it might sound something like that (so yes, parts sound like Primus). Still, if they can make great catchy songs like “Sick Sick Sick” and “3’s and 7’s” along side some of the most boundary pushing music imaginable like “I’m Designer”, “Turnin on the Screw” and “River in the Road”, then bring it on! Prepare to be confused, awestruck, compelled, annoyed, and rocked out all at the same time by this truly oddly structured music. Homme continues to carry his band through the fifth mesmerizing record in a row and he does it with style, confounding as it is.

Greatest Tracks: I am Designer, Turnin’ on the Screw, 3’s and 7’s, Misfit Love

2009

THEM CROOKED VULTURES –  78%

Them Crooked Vultures is an entirely different titled entity than QOTSA, but it is really just the line up of the Songs for the Deaf album plus John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame on bass. Adding Jones to any line up is a coup for sure, not only because of his prestige and bass playing prowess but also because he has an excellent ear for production (he has produced albums for Heart, Diamanda Galas, Butthole Surfers, and worked with Brian Eno). Unsurprisingly, this sounds like the 3rd Queens album with more of a Led Zeppelin edge, especially in the LZ aping “Elephants”. There is nothing bad about that, in fact I always say we could use a little more heavy rock in mainstream music that seems more and more harmless and squeaky clean with all of these ‘indie’ bands taking over in the late 2000’s. The melodic aspect is also a welcome return in Them Crooked vultures, seeing as the last Queens record, Era Vulgaris, the sound was at times way too disjointed to the point of madness. Here, the straight-forwardness is a good thing, as opener “No One Loves Me” is like two badass super riffs in one song; “Mind Eraser No chaser” is true to its title and recalls early QOTSA at their most direct and punk; “New Fang” is one of those bendy, odd timed songs that only Homme can bring to the table; and “Dead End Friends” bridges Kyuss and Queens together at last.

The middle section of the album tries the most experiments, and perhaps some leniency can be given to songs such as “Interlude with Ludes” and “Warsaw Or The 1st Breath You Take after you Give Up” for at least bringing some much needed calmness and diversity to the table. Still, a lot of the middle-section songs simply do not work, such as “Bandoliers” and “Reptiles”, which come off as rather limp when compared to the beginning and ending of the record. The final one-two-three punch of the album does match the initial trio of songs as well, as “Caligulove” points toward the gloomy future of QOTSA albums, “Spinning in Daffodils Comes” off much better than “Warsaw” did in terms of an epic length rock jam, and “Gunman” is probably the best song on here and quickly recalls other QOTSA classics such as “Better Living Through Chemistry” and “Mexicola”. In all, if you jumped album tracks right from “Scumbag Blues” to “Caligulove” it would be a more consistent listen for sure, (perhaps an accidental commentary on how much longer albums are these days compared to in the 1970’s?) which makes a whole third of the record unnecessary. Too much of a good thing perhaps, but overall a really good album and healthy slab of hard rock that is always welcome from Homme and whoever his cohorts are at the time; he definitely deserves his spot as a band leader next to any of his idols.

Greatest Tracks: Gunman, Dead End Friends, New Fang, Caligulove

2013

LIKE CLOCKWORK –  67%

Coming back to the name Queens of the Stone Age after the detour of Them Crooked Vultures (which let’s be honest, is the same songwriter and sound), Josh Homme has calmed down quite a bit. This kind of departure can be jarring for sure but if done with enough confidence can still work, and a more tranquil sound for a hard rock band is not necessarily a bad thing. Unfortunately, this record is only about half a new sound and half an old stale one, as a great number of these tune are simply reworks of older QOTSA songs and sounds. While “I Sat By the Ocean” and “My God is the Sun” are definitely good additions to the cannon, they are hardly revolutionary in 2013. To make matters worse, Homme’s muse seems to be David Bowie (see “If I Had a Tail”) so the confusion between what the album sounds like and what the songwriter is going for is even more present. Think of this as QOTSA’s version of Young Americans. Some tunes try desperately to sound like other artists when inspiration runs low: “Fairweather Friends” is a merging of Blur and White Stripes, and the title track is straight up late 70’s Neil Young. The slower, darker tunes on the album do not work as they once did on Era Vulgaris or Lullabies to Paralyze, as “The Vampyre of Time and Memory”, “Kalopsia”, and again the title track are simply awful. The are tons of guest stars this time around (which also reeks of desperation) like Elton John, Nick Oliveri, Alex Turner, Trent Reznor, many more, but honestly who can tell anymore? The collaborations and tone of the record only work if the songs are good, and while Them Crooked Vultures sounds like Homme was getting recharged, Like Clockwork is as close to mediocre as I hope this band ever gets.

Greatest Tracks: I Sat By the Ocean, My God is the Sun, Smooth Sailing

2017

Villains – 71%

Coming off the sleepiness of the previous record, the Queens seem super charged and full of speedy energy on Villians. At least, for parts of it. “Feet Don’t Fails Me Now” severs as sort of a manifesto, showing the potential of the group with these hyper charged production. “Fortress” is a great slow burn that shows the way Homme can still craft a ballad, even though the use of keyboards and sythns sort of don’t fit in with this band’s mission too much. I could be in the minority here, but I really just don’t care about hearing keyboards in songs from this group! Also, so many of these songs are over 5 minutes, showing a tendency to overindulge (in SYNTHS!!!!, see “Un Reborn Again”, a modern mash up of Mott the Hoople and T-Rex).

      But so much of the album just lacks the songwriting we have known Homme for decades. “Head Like a Haunted House” is danceable and vulgar like the best of the band, but it lacks a center. “Domesticated Animals” is similar, never quite sticking a landing of any memorable kind. Worse, “Hideaway” is completely aimless and perhaps the lamest song I have heard form the band (half of the last album excluded). Thankfully, the albums last two songs save it form complete mediocrity, “the Evil Has Landed” is a groovy rocker like Them Crooked Vultures created with a killer catchy riff, and “Villains of Circumstance” is another interesting torch song for vampires to scream from the depths of their caves, showing off an affinity for Warren Zevon. In a way, the stylistic range present on the record is their most impressive yet, but only half of the time do they weld this to good songs.

Best Songs: The Evil Has Landed, Feet Don’t Fail Me, Fortress

2023

In Times New Roman – 85%

Its nice to hear good rock n roll once more and the new QOTSA album has it in spades. The production takes a little getting used to, because for whatever reason I feel early albums by the band were more of a ethereal kind of quality to them (see “Better Living through Chemistry” for as glimpse of what im referring to).But after a couple of spins, it’s easy to see a nice return to form for the band. “Paper Machete” has an immediate feel, the kind of punchiness that Josh Homme and company are so good at and that was lacking on their more recent releases. Where previous Queens albums like to stay in the more downtempo, murky waters even incorporating synth and other arena rock qualities far too often, this album goes for the throat and refuses to let go. “Carnavoyeur” and “Negative Space” are other pretty instant classics in the hard rock vein, where as “Emotional Sickness” uses more tricks to tell a familiar story but still blasts you away with guitar riffs in the meantime, attacking on multiple levels until you give in.

            Where the album has a more staying power though seems to be the more dark, and lengthy tunes. Closer “Straight Jacket Fitting” is probably the most multi layered and interesting long song the band has ever done. For seven minutes in is in its own words, ‘boa-constricting a little too tight’, and then for the last two minutes there is a soft coda, the only real point of relief on the whole record. “Made to Parade” is a pounding and trying riff, and this could have come off the first Queens record or maybe Lullabyze to Paralyze (2005). It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the immediate crowd rousing of “What the People Say”, borrowing a little bit of emphasis form Rocket from the Crypt’s common-man presence is definitely up there with “Time and Space”, the futuristic guitar sounds and catchy rhythms. The guitar seems to be the forefront of the album, which is strange as its always been solid and Homme and company have very memorable parts, but the moments of shredding and deep distortion really take this record to another level. In Times New Roman has true staying power with memorable metallic melodies that prove rock n roll is not dead at all in 2023.

Best songs: Time and Space, Carnavoyeur, What the People Say, Emotional Sickness

Compilations (B Sides, Ep’s, Live albums, etc)

2005

OVER THE YEARS AND THROUGH THE WOODS – 84%

Well, there is quite a difference in watching something and listening to it, as this band greatly demonstrates by doing both at the same time. Taking different performances form the same venue recorded over different nights and splicing them up in different orders on the DVD and the CD is very confusing, such that the back of the album lists them in one order they never seem to appear in in one place. Sound confusing? It gets that way, but for the most part this is pure metallic enjoyment for the Queen fan. Taking a lot of material from some albums (QOTSA & Songs for the Deaf) and only some from others (Rated R & Lullabies, surprisingly sense it was the most recent). At least the band did not cover their most recent album in its entirety, like most live albums seem to do. The DVD works better I must say, mostly because the drummer (Joey Castillo) totally rocks it out and because the band is very fun to watch. Things like the alien noises thrown into “Regular John”, the man with the cane routine and horn section on “I Never Came” (still the band’s best song yet), Homme ranting about how some guy who throws things at him is a “cocksmoker” at the end of “Monsters”, and the multiple changes in songs like “You Can’t Quit Me Baby” and “No One Knows” that make live experiences unique. If you are a fan of the band, I would defiantly recommend this just to watch some of the best live playing you are likely to see for 00’s bands on the DVD. Also, certain songs are better live then on record (“Song for the Deaf”, “Avon”) and some are not as good live (“Leg of Lamb”, “Monsters”). The album is good too, though it is not quite as nice as the DVD, and both are too long – the DVd runs 2 hours and the Live Album fills up 75 minutes. Still, it is hard to go wrong with the first 4 queens albums, and it is assured if they ever make a greatest hits, it will be beyond amazing.