Band restores reputation as rock royalty
For many fans of the band Queens of the Stone Age, the last 6 years has been a confusing experience to say the least. Josh Homme has been known for bouncing around between different projects (i.e. bands Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures, and producing the album Humbug for the Arctic Monkeys) so the release of new QOTSA material seemed tentative. This feeling strengthened even more so in 2010 when a complication during routine knee surgery saw Homme out of music for an undetermined amount of time. The QOTSA frontman told NME he had actually died on the operating table and instead of a weeklong recovery as expected, he spent three months in a hospital bed.
Homme stated to The Guardian this month that even when he was released from the hospital he did not expect to go back to music. Subsequently, the band rereleased and toured on their debut self-titled album as a way of cautiously reintroducing him to live performances. After the conclusion of that tour, Homme chose to use his tragic experience as inspiration for a new album in August 2012.
…Like Clockwork was released on June 4, and has proven to be a tremendous success for the band. On this album Homme revisits the rudimentary aesthetics of the first QOTSA while introducing dark subject matter as seen with his work in Them Crooked Vultures. The band’s previous album Era Vulgaris was well received by fans, but definitely reaffirmed the suspicion of the band as having no new ground to cover.
It seems as though time away from the band, coupled with a life threatening experience has allowed Josh Homme to create innovative new songs in the same vein as classic Queens of the Stone Age tracks. The song “I Sat By The Ocean” is reminiscent of the groove driven song “If Only” from their first album. Despite a return to their roots, Queens of the Stone Age are an extremely polished rock band. Songs like “If I Had a Tail,” and “Fairweather Friends” (a song featuring Elton John and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails) are aesthetically perfect for massive live performances.
As of now, …Like Clockwork sits atop the Billboard Charts at #1 having knocked Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories down a spot. This is the first album in the band’s 17 year long career to reach the top of the charts and it is most definitely well deserved. The lead single “My God is the Sun” features Dave Grohl on drums and is a blistering hard rock song. Whiffs of vintage QOTSA ring out this track, the frantic guitar lines and mind blowing drum work are a hyper active version of past Homme related acts, but more even more focused.
The album is riddled with featured artists that are enough to warrant listening to the record. In addition to the collaborations with Dave Grohl, Elton John and Trent Reznor, various artists associated with Josh Homme find their place on many songs. Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner provides haunting backing vocals on “If I Had a Tail,” along with former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri, despite his very public firing from the band in 2004.
By featuring these artists in the capacity that they did, QOTSA garnered attention for their new material while celebrating a return to their roots. It is for this reason that any long time fan of this band will appreciate the album. In fact, this record managed to revive the band’s relevance in an industry where bands are rarely given a second chance after such a long hiatus.
Ultimately, …Like Clockwork is a fantastic album, and is arguably the best album of the year. It is a great collection of eclectic songs that perfectly balance hard rock riffs, with arena anthem melodies. This has allowed Queens of the Stone Age to satisfy the diehard fans while also reestablishing their relevancy for a new audience.