QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – Lullabies To Paralyze

Even after Josh Homme kicked out his better half, Nick Oliveri, Queens of The Stone Age again deliver solid rock music. Homme is still one hell of a singer and songwriter, and he totally proves that he can stand alone without Oliveri, and create some of the best music out there.

Lullabies to Paralyze was released in March 2005, and this is the fourth album from the band, which is less heavy than the band’s others albums, but still with a lot of ambition. It is a further move away from traditional Hard Rock and towards Punk. Some of the songs, actually, can be compared to U2 and early Black Sabbath.

Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), the drummer on the last album, is no longer a part of the band. The new drummer, Joey Castillo, lacks Grohl/s wallop, but he is still does a good job. On this album, a few guests show up … among them are ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Garbage’s Shirley Manson.

The first single from the album, “Little Sister,” is a winner. The radio and TV stations are giving it a lot of playtime in this days, and this is a Rock-Pop song, which also could be a hit on the dance-floor. This is the kind of song that people who are not in to heavy rock also will like. It’s got a commercial touch with an explosive sing-along chorus. Homme plays a choppy guitar solo, however, sounding almost like it is made on a computer. The drumming in this song is very good, and the song overall sounds most like a Foo Fighters song on the entire album.

“This Lullaby,” the opener on the album, is a traditional-sounding Folk tune with a hidden dark underbelly — the vocalist is Mark Lanegan(The Screaming Trees). This ballad has some similarity to Leonard Cohen. From here, though, the album spins into a hell of a ride. The second track, “Medication,” is a classic QOTSA-song, with catchy riffs and some humming by Mr. Homme, which leads to one of the highlights on the CD, “Everybody Knows That You Are Insane.” The stereo guitars drive this song. With a dreamy intro that explodes in a catchy chorus, the whole song is a winner.

ZZ Top’s guitarist, Billy Gibbons, renders a great performance on the track “Burn The Witch,” which Homme couldn/t do better himself. This song reminds one a bit of the White Stripes. Thumbs up!!!

The band’s last album went platinum, Songs For The Deaf, and this album will probably sell even more. No doubt, Lullabies To Paralyze is an excellent album, and probably the best album from QOTSA ever. It is full of great guitar rifts and brilliant stoner rock /n/ roll. They are the masters of mood, and they have a lot of attitude in their music. The band’s darkness is delivered seductively, and with a lot of pleasure. This indeed could be a candidate for best rock album of the year.

Lineup

Josh Homme – guitars and vocals
Troy Van Leeuwen – multi-instrumentalist
Alain Johannes – bass
Joey Castillo – drums
Billy Gibbons, Mark Lanegan, and Shirley Manson (guests)