queens of the stone age

[manmower]

 

I can see how QOTSA might seem 'diluted', but that's mostly since Homme stopped using his old style of playing, which he called 'guitar trance' or something like that. Not sure if that was the name but it sounds about right, it's just him spacing out in a minimal but very effective way.

 

Some of his playing on the first QOTSA album was still a lot like that, but once his music ceased to be about those kinds of jams it was never quite the same.

Maybe this though, although I appreciate them not wanting to repeat the Kyuss sound eternally.

 

Since writing that post I've read a bit about the new album. I noticed he's using the term 'trance' again and saying that the rehearsals for the tour that accompanied the reissue of the self-titled album were part of the inspiration for the new record. So it sounds rather promising.

[Zephyr_Nova]

when Lullabies came out I hated everything I heard, but I was younger then, maybe I'd appreciate it now.

 

Lullabyes is a really murky sounding claustrophobic album, which I think turned a lot of people off. I really enjoy it in part because of those aspects, but as far as the songwriting goes it's not quite on the same level as SFTD or Rated R. Still a really solid album though. Perfect music to listen to while lost in a dark forest. I love how each of their albums has had a very distinct sound that differentiates it from all the others.

[chassis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4eexFnZUQ

[Candiru]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAs-UPKm3FE

 

[YO303]

So what di you guys think of the new album? i thought it was allright, nothing will beat SFTD/Dessert sessions but its definitely an improvement from their last two albums.

[blackdust]

I enjoy most of the songs on like clock work. Nothing beats the tunes from sftd love every one of those.

[popiax]

Man, I don't really like it...
sounds pretty cheesy in my opinion.

[Mellow U]

Clockwork is the tits. Menacing as hell in parts, really fragile in others.

 

I'm of the opinion that they have yet to make a bad record, Vultures included. Homme was born to rock, plain and simple. Also, I share his birthday.

[crono3]

Wow, cool to read about QOTSA on watmm! I've been a bit underwhelmed with Clockwork so far... hope that changes. Fairweather Friends especially sounds really cheesy, but tracks like Keep Your Eyes Peeled, Smooth Sailing and I Appear Missing are killer.

 

For the record, Era Vulgaris is my least favorite... quality just wasn't as consistent as all their other records. And maybe I'm in the minority loving Lullabies? Of course, their first 3 albums can't be touched!

 

Also, this is the first non-electronic album I've bought in awhile.

[dumplings]

'I Appear Missing' instantly stood out to me on the new album. Still getting into it, I've given it listens in odds and ends but I have a 2 hour holiday flight coming up this week, so maybe I'll utilise my time better with their new stuff. The artwork is very nice too, I may have to pick it up.

 

Era Vulgaris is by far the weakest of their discog. I won't do the typical last.fm 'x > y' thing but SFTD tops it and the rest get equal play time.

 

Kyuss - ...And The Circus Leaves Town is a cracking album if you're looking to delve further down the line. I think it's more melodic compared to their other albums and it carries early tones of Hommes QOTSA sound.

 

Queens of the Stoneage are a very inspiring band. Amongst some of the crap that gets put out, espeically in the limelight of mainstream music in the present time they hold well and show consistency. They inspired my brother and eventually me to scour everything under the umberella of the stoner rock tag, in which they were associated with in early times, more Kyuss in truth.

 

And I'm still looking through loads of it even now, some complete gems hidden away!

[Candiru]

Wow, cool to read about QOTSA on watmm! I've been a bit underwhelmed with Clockwork so far... hope that changes. Fairweather Friends especially sounds really cheesy, but tracks like Keep Your Eyes Peeled, Smooth Sailing and I Appear Missing are killer.

 

For the record, Era Vulgaris is my least favorite... quality just wasn't as consistent as all their other records. And maybe I'm in the minority loving Lullabies? Of course, their first 3 albums can't be touched!

 

Also, this is the first non-electronic album I've bought in awhile.

 

I have no idea why people are so divided over this one. It's tied with SFTD as my favorite and is just over the top freaking great from start to finish.

[Mellow U]

And I've got no idea why so many people think Vulgaris was weak. I mean, come on. Those opening three tracks are a punch to the face. Then you have fantastic stuff like Make It Wit Chu, Misfit Love, Suture Up Your Future, Into The Hollow. Plus the title track with Reznor is fantastic, and the Tom Waits/Billy Idol covers from those sessions are pretty top shelf.

 

I submit this to those of you still scratching your heads about this record:

 

[youtubehd]9pcAe4KFndc[/youtubehd]

 

Those...fucking...RIFFS!

[danshoebridge]

The new one was a bit of a slow burn, but I'm starting to really rate it, could be the best one since SFTD. Any album with the line 'I'll blow my load over the status quo...here we go' automatically gets a pass in my book.

 

I'll also have to stand up for era vulgaris. Their whole discography is pretty solid tbh, lullabies is the only one that never really clicked for me.

[Mellow U]

The new one was a bit of a slow burn, but I'm starting to really rate it, could be the best one since SFTD. Any album with the line 'I'll blow my load over the status quo...here we go' automatically gets a pass in my book.

 

I'll also have to stand up for era vulgaris. Their whole discography is pretty solid tbh, lullabies is the only one that never really clicked for me.

 

I'm feeling similarly about the new one. Definitely a slow slow burn but I'm really loving it now that I've wrapped my head around it, and seen them do it live in videos too. Going to try to catch them in Charlotte in September. I saw them on the SFTD tour and it was one of the best rock shows I'd ever seen, hands down.

 

Smooth Sailing FTW!

[Zephyr_Nova]

I listened back to Rated R, SFTD, Lullabyes, Vulgaris and Clockwork this week. For years I've considered SFTD to be my favorite, but right now it's Rated R and Lullabyes that make me want to blow my load. There's so much more going on in both those albums.

 

SFTD I think was an instant favorite because every chorus is so damn catchy. That + the radio concept was brilliantly executed and the guitars are so chunky as fuck -was always a sucker for them. It's no surprise why it was the huge commercial hit it was with hooks like that (repeating the same line over and over as the chorus is kind of cheap imo, but people will be singing along in no time... I find this sort of tedious listening back now). Lullabyes is more their artistic peak. No other rock album captures the essence of a dark fairytale so perfectly. Also their sexiest album. Rated R is an incredibly satisfying blend of rocking the fuck out and experimentation. The tracks where Nick sings are so manic and out of control --that's one aspect I do miss on the last three albums, though it wouldn't have fit on Lullabyes. I love the guitar arrangements on this album (Rated R I mean). Era Vulgaris is perhaps their weakest as far as the songwriting goes, but I have to admire their ability to transform their sound into something new with each release while still retaining everything that makes them sound like QotSA. It was clearly influenced quite heavily by their tour with NIN (the guitar tones, the rhythms/drum processing, a lot of the riffs, and even some of the vocals). I think of it as their NIN album, and to their credit it's much better than anything NIN's released since Fragile. The opening of this album is so strong -turning on the Screw sounds like NIN meets Zeppelin, albeit with Homme's classic nonchalant vocal delivery on top. Stylistically there's a lot of interesting things happening in this album, and it's perhaps their most forward pushing in that regard.

 

The new album's more like their take on glam rock, with a few proggy moments thrown in for good measure... the 70's is slathered all over this one. There's definitely some stuff that's going to come off as cheesy for a lot of people, but hey it comes with the territory. It's their most melodic album, fantastic bass lines all throughout (that's the first thing that really caught my attention on my first listen oddly enough). There's a fuck ton of Homme vibrato all over the vocals. I could do with less of it personally, but it's a taste thing. Kalopsia is absolutely beautiful. The production on that song is brilliant, really nailed the vibe on that one. I Appear Missing is a great song, classic chorus, definitely a highlight. The vocal melody on Like Clockwork is one of the best Homme's ever composed, and the lyrics really capture the mood of it. Melancholy songs about the impermanence of things tend to resonate pretty deeply with me. One of these days I'll probably listen to this song and bawl my eyes out. I would rather hear it sung by someone else though, truth be told. The heavy vibrato/falsetto combo can be pretty distracting for me, though I can appreciate how well it's executed here. Overall this is probably my least favorite album they've done, but they did an amazing job of it. The second half is especially strong. I hope Nick returns for the next one and they make a disgusting, gnarly, meth-laden album to balance things out. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happens, as each successive album they release sounds almost like a reaction to the previous one.

[Candiru]

Somehow Misfit Love was flying under my radar, but you're right that track is a groove monster.

 

Like Clockwork underwhelmed me at first, but after a few listens I was really surprised at just how strong it is. Its stature just shot way up there for me. Some of Josh's best melodies and vocals for sure. And when the title track flies away on that solo it's rock at it's finest. Pretty unusual for a rock musician to still be writing some of his best material so far into his career.

[Mellow U]

Somehow Misfit Love was flying under my radar, but you're right that track is a groove monster.

 

Like Clockwork underwhelmed me at first, but after a few listens I was really surprised at just how strong it is. Its stature just shot way up there for me. Some of Josh's best melodies and vocals for sure. And when the title track flies away on that solo it's rock at it's finest. Pretty unusual for a rock musician to still be writing some of his best material so far into his career.

 

Absolutely this, to the letter. I was initially disappointed at the lack of the chunky rock riffage that we've all known and loved from him for so long, but man, each spin of this new one and it gets BETTER and BETTER.

[Caretstik]

Not listened in for a long time (probably since SFTD), but I've got lots of respect for QOTSA. I agree with the mainstream sucking their dicks and not vice versa. And I've always imagined that being Josh Homme must be awesome.