This was QOTSA stumbling at a crossroads.

Queens of the Stone Age plays out like a wrung-out version of Tago Mago.

What do Queens of the Stone Age sound like when they’re produced by Mr. Uptown Funk himself?

[xrr rating=3.5/5]Mark Lanegan has one of those voices that is distinct from the first note. It’s not quite Tom Waits’ blackened croak, but it has the gritty edge of an old worn-out boot trying singing Johnny Cash covers. Lanegan’s voice has a power all its own that’s been obvious from the heyday of Screaming Trees, and Josh Homme put Lanegan’s …

Queens of the Stone Age are bigger now than ever, riding the wave of …Like Clockwork to the top of the mountain. A contender for rock album of the year, it overflows with the QOTSA hallmarks of Josh Homme’s swagger and atmosphere-crafting riffs. But make no mistake, for as good as it is, it’s destined to be relegated as the …

Disclosure – “When a Fire Starts to Burn” (PMR) Okay, so it may just be the same hook repeated over a dozen times, but “When a Fire Starts to Burn” has spread faster globally than a zombie outbreak. Pulled from Disclosure’s debut LP Settle, the track’s title could be read as an analogy for the Lawrence brothers’ current trailblazing endeavor …

[xrr rating=3.75/5]However you define the inconsistently used and sometimes unintentionally condescending term “comeback album,” it’s unfair to label the new Queens of the Stone Age album …Like Clockwork as such. Instead of becoming bogged down in the “comeback” hype surrounding Queens of the Stone Age’s new record, appreciate the fact that …Like Clockwork is their strongest, most stylistically diverse effort …

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (Reissue) Rating: 5.0/5.0 Label: Domino/Rekords Rekords Following the 1997 dissolution of Palm Desert, CA-underground metal icons Kyuss, guitarist Josh Homme moved to Seattle, where the music scene “was dead,” for the incredibly rock star pursuit of obtaining an international business degree. Feeling his former band had painted itself into a …

Queens of the Stone Age Rated R: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Rating: 4.5/5.0 Label: Interscope Modern rock, that pat radio format/genre grouping that, today, is known to include anyone from the pigeon-weary Kings of Leon to the Hair extras that form MGMT, was, in 2000, a fruitful orchard for the kind of expertly, soullessly lathed pop hits that filled many …