Josh Homme’s first band, Kyuss, grew out of jam sessions held during generator parties in the California desert. Drugs were plentiful, probably not unlike the sole lyrics of kickoff track, “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer” — “Nicotine, valium, Vicadan, marijuana, Ecstasy, and alcohol . . . c-c-c-cocaine.” This would normally mean, warning — lunkhead lout metal band ahead. But there’s a cool intelligence afoot that sets Queens Of The Stone Age head and shoulders above your average heavy rock band. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment is that every song is varied, yet there is a QOTSA sound that is instantly recognizable. It’s that bone-dry desert tone that Homme perfected over the years, ever so crunchy and satisfying, much like the rush fans of Led Zeppelin felt when they’d hear Bonham use tree trunks for sticks, or when Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler would thunkety thump his strings with fingers of cured hams.
Queens Of The Stone Age are reincarnated rock giants, roaming the earth once more. And they have cleverly disguised their T-Rex bones as a beautifully realized psychedelic pop album. While their 1998 debut was all about the stone cold groove, Rated R is about the hook. “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret” and “Leg Of Lamb” are subtly melodic, hypnotic jewels. “Auto Pilot” gently takes the listener on “the best trip I’ve ever had,” which indeed rivals The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” as the trip veers out of control into the colossally trippy, peyote-drenched “Better Living Through Chemistry.” The moment the bongos fade away and the band falls silent save for a single, faint sustained guitar note gives one the feeling that they just jumped out of the plane and for a moment everything seems still. Inevitably you spiral wildly towards Earth and the band breaks into a monumental jam.
“Quick And To The Pointless” evokes Bleach-era Nirvana. But the best song has yet to come. With “In The Fade,” they pull out their secret weapon, the best-pipes-in-rock, Mark Lanegan of The Screaming Trees. Significantly, Josh Homme spent a stint touring with the Screaming Trees before forming QOTSA. Now they seem to be fulfilling the promise that Lanegan’s band left off with. “Lightning Song” is a short middle-Eastern instrumental that leads into the band’s own “Kashmir,” “I Think I Lost My Headache,” which gradually shatters into a cacophony of bleating free-jazz horns. Rated R is the most audacious hard rock album to come out in years, and has played a vital role in revitalizing a stagnant scene.
Video for “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” — you can only view on YouTube due to age restrictions.
