Rob-Rivera.com

Queens of the Stone Age – “Era Vulgaris”

The new Queens of the Stone Age album, entitled “Era Vulgaris,” is like a targeted cruise missile: it comes in hard and fast, unavoidable and precise in its desire to destroy it all. Unapologetic. The album is a lot of this, and a “greatest hits” of rhythms found in their previous albums from the band, in its 10^th anniversary. I say this because the 11-track record has no consistency in theme like previous recordings from QOTSA; Their breakout album, “Songs for the Deaf,” has a rebellious, sun-burnt vibe going for it that makes it a favorite amongst fans as the album takes listeners through a road trip across America, turning the knob on the radio to see if anything good’s on. Its follow-up, “Lullabies to Paralyze,” sees a more introspective and depressed output, tighter and more scathing in its commentary with “The Wicker Man” playing in the background. “Rated R,” on the other hand, is the hardest of them all and it being their first big label album (if I’m not mistaken) it’s not a weird occurrence. Where all of these albums carried a distinct sound to them, “Era Vulgaris” is a compilation of all of these different rhythms, and definitely a great entry point to new fans wanting to know what to expect from the band.

This has Josh Homme’s stamp all over it. The frontman of the band has changed the line-up every time there’s a new album to record, and his quest for perfection comes through in every record. That’s why this mishmash of rhythms is not accidental, in my opinion. The sound is tight and crisp. He has the unrelenting desire to create, it seems, since he also plays for Eagles of Death Metal, and has his other personal project called Desert Sessions… but aside from those two, where he tends to cross-pollinate often, with Queens of the Stone Age the riff is king. The drums are hypnotizing at times, but when that guitar comes in your pants involuntarily drop. The first single from the album, “Sick, Sick, Sick,” is pulsating, and the riff is mind-blowing. Definitely not the strongest album of the QOTSA canon (that distinction goes to “Songs for the Deaf”) but definitely an awesome addition… I personally love it. It has one of the best love songs I’ve heard in a long time (“Make It Wit Chu,” a blues-type slow jam with some piano thrown in for good measure) and retreads to “Lullabyes to Paralyze” such as “Suture Up Your Future” and “Into the Hollow.” Tracks like “Run, Pig, Run” and “Battery Acid” have the “Rated R” era smeared all over, but my favorites tend to be the ones that sound like outtakes from the “Songs for the Deaf” record like “Sick, Sick, Sick,” “Misfit Love” and “3’s and 7’s,” the three of them having, and I shit you not by using the adjective I’m about to use, delicious riffs.

Looking at it from an objective perspective though, the best track from the record is “Make It Wit Chu,” by leaps and bounds. It’s the halfway point of the album, restrained but raw in its message in a break from the explosion of different rhythms going on everywhere else in the record.

Below are some selected tracks from the album “Era Vulgaris.” I’ve talked about the Queens of the Stone Age before right here. You should really try to get the album if you can… it’s great rock.

Sick, Sick, Sick – Misfit Love – Make It Wit Chu – 3’s & 7’s

Check Out These Related Posts!

Queens of the Stone Age – “Go With The Flow”:
I'm night posting! In the process of updating Daigoro at the moment but I thought I'd just do another one of these "music picks" pieces I keep doing for no particular reason other than to make y'all hear some honest-to-God good music. Next up is a song by California-based band...

He Who Laughs Last…:
This one's gonna be short. Yesterday I was hanging out with this lovely lady and her sexy friend at a park near our office building. We were shooting the shit and it was great to have cold beverages in an otherwise hellish afternoon weather; everything was peachy-dory... until this one...

Rob and Video Rentals:
It's 10PM and after a couple of woes that forced me to cancel my plans to hit the Urbano Hasta La Zapatilla thing at La Casona I was ready to hit the sack when I remembered I had rented "War of the Worlds" and had to return it before they...

Rob Likes To Get His Friends Drunk, Part 3:
So, when I got out of the office my mom decided she wanted to see me so she took the liberty to pick me up. Traffic was hell as always, and that's why the Mirna dictatorship decided that she would not drive home, but her offspring would. Not just that,...