Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age

Jesus, this album's been through some times with me and vice versa. Weirdly, UK indie Domino have pounced to unleash this handsome re-master and it's never sounded more fuzzy, heavy, feral and stoned in it's life! I'd almost given up on rock bar a couple of old faves such as Shellac when I stumbled across this mother. From the opening rapid-fire krautrock precision of 'Regular John's' drum fire with that yawning screech like a muffled, strangled viola ushering in the eeriest, furriest sounding downtuned guitar sludge you could dream of. And Homme's voice, like a bluesy bar crooner tripping off his ginger Elvis face on a cocktail of chemical delights? Even the dirgy mindfuck of Kyuss couldn't have predicted such a genuinely exciting, neo-psychedelic sound. I'm not here to do a track by track analysis of this record. I'd bore the living shit out of myself and everyone reading. It is one of THE defining pioneering rock albums of the last 20 years, kicking down boundaries whilst laying new sonic frontiers. There's so much genuinely thrilling guitar and bass work on this album, monumental dense drumming that somehow sounds both lairy and precise as hell, not to mention some consistently fantastic poppy hooks from beginning to end. It really has something for everyone (especially the weirdos) and retains its fierce and playful power 100% as the years trundle by! Look at that delicious double vinyl. You know you want it. Bonus tracks too.....