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Queens Of The Stone Age
Queens Of The Stone Age (Domino/Rekords Rekords)
The history: Josh Homme’s previous band Kyuss had hit a creative wall and, having done some tour work with Screaming Trees, Homme decides to take his previous bands sludge-core leanings in previously unexplored directions (crucially adding choruses) and Gamma Ray were born. Fortunately everyone realised Gamma Ray was a rubbish name (and already owned by an equally rubbish metal band) and this debut effort – featuring a lady in her underpants on the cover - was born. Quite why it then took until their second release Rated R to breakthrough is unclear as the QOTSA sound is all here fully formed and in full effect.
Ruby Palmer
buy
this album
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The Qemists
Spirit In The System (Ninja Tune)
 Let me just say up front here that this reviewer felt The Qemists previous album Join The Q was one of the best of last year, so Spirit In The System had a lot to live up to. That it doesn’t quite do that has more to do with the guest vocalists on offer (Rob Hawkins or Mike Patton? Hmm…). That’s not to say it doesn’t kick off, the tracks featuring Jenna G and Invasion’s Chantal are wonderful blunderbuss breakbeat racket, it’s just not quite the ‘all killer no filler’ of their previous effort, but there’s more than enough cool stuff here to keep us all keen to hear their next effort, and the Pendulum comparisons? Nah, the Brighton boys are far better.
Drew Bass
buy
this album
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The Qemists
Join the Q (Ninja Tune)
 Those of you that are currently cutting a rug to drum and bass rockers Pendulum (or the mighty Bug) will be delighted to hear that these are not the only ones welding whopping great riffs to break-beats, only in the case of Brighton based outfit The Qemists you can also factor in nosebleed techno and proper ‘Whoa! Christ on a bike what’s this?’ Style vocals courtesy of ex-Faith No More vocalist Mike ‘Mr Bungle/Fantômas/Tomahawk’ Patton. This is a proper headlong, no-holds-barred genre mash of an album that cranks the metal riffs up to eleven whilst boasting some serious arms-in-the-air, dance floor filling, goose-bump moments.
Drew Bass
buy
this album
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Queens Of The Stone Age
Era Vulgaris (Polydor)
 Opinions seem divided on this, the fourth, QOTSA release, but what is immediately apparent is that this is not an album which hurtles out of the blocks like Rated R and in consequence has left some of the bands fans a bit perplexed. The trademark Queens juggernaut riffage is present and correct but this time around tricksy time signatures and, whisper it, rather lovely moments (‘Into The Hollow’) pepper the proceedings and vocal variation is on offer courtesy of Julian Casablancas and Mark Lanegan. It could have used a ‘Feelgood Hit...’, but this is a grower, and the Queens remain a provocative propostion for a rock outfit.
buy
this album
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Queens Of The Stone Age
Lullabies To Paralyze (Polydor)
 Nowadays
- since the departure of bass monster and inveterate onstage knob waver
Nick Oliveri – a band in name only it has to be admitted this reviewer
approached Lullabies To Paralyze with a little trepidation, with lugubrious
QOTSA main man Josh Homme now wielding absolute power would the lunatic punk
leanings one always imagined Oliveri supplied leave a leaden lurching Queens,
devoid of vim, vigour and erm, vitality? Not a bit of it. QOTSA always were
humorous, though provoking, if wildly confrontational, metal merchants, and
still kick up a mighty shit storm whilst provoking pleasing pulses in the
old noggin.
buy
this album
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