Queens of the Stone Age - R - [CD]

Queens of the Stone Age Their name gives it away. Josh Homme's Queens Of The Stone Age are in love with the primordial rock of "Iron Man"-era Black Sabbath and Funhouse-Stooges. Their debut, self-financed, self-titled album was rock stripped back to the bone. As one would expect from a band formed out of various ex- Screaming Trees, Dwarves and Kyuss members, it was an exhilarating exercise in economy, heaviness and repetition... with a little psychedelia thrown in. Rated R is even better. From the brittle catchiness of "Auto Pilot" to Mark Lanegan's guest vocals on the swirling "In The Fade" and the presciently titled "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer", this album doesn't mess around. The rhythms are fluid, the guitars tight and magical. You can hear echoes of the desert's howling winds in "Auto Pilot", the claustrophobic strain of LA in "Lightning Song". Is this the rock album of 2000? Very possibly. --Everett True