Sounds from the Stone Age

Today Adam introduces us to some rock Queens from California…

Queens of the Stone AgeQueens of the Stone Age is a highly talented rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1996. Queens of the Stone Age was formed following the 1995 demise of the massively influential stoner rock band Kyuss. The group’s founder, Josh Homme, briefly played guitar in a band called Screaming Trees, before deciding to form a new band of his own. Their first release was a two-track EP entitled Gamma Ray, released in January ’96. On their first full-length, self-titled album, Homme played guitar and bass, but shortly after, former Kyuss bass player Nick Oliveri joined the group.

The band’s original line up consisted of Josh Homme on guitar/vocals, Nick Oliveri on bass, and Alfredo Hernandez on drums. Throughout their career, the band would undergo a series of line up changes and as of today, the only member who was in Queens of the Stone Age since their formation is Josh Homme. When the band released their first self-titled album, listeners were thoroughly surprised to hear the significant difference between their new sound and that of the former stoner rock band, Kyuss. Queens of the Stone Age delivered more of a progressive, alternative rock sound that somewhat put off listeners at first. However, it was a sound that slowly became accepted. Their next album, Rated R, pushed the envelope even further and incorporated a pop sound along with a high-energy gusto. Queens of the Stone Age were able to take this sound and manufacture it into an extremely original music style that would soon become their trademark. Their sound was so unique that it became extremely difficult to classify them as belonging to a single genre of music. Throughout their career, the band has been described as hard rock, alternative rock, art rock, psychedelic rock, desert rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, and stoner rock.

After the release of Rated R, Queens of the Stone Age would release their third album, which is their most prominent one to date. This album was entitled Songs for the Deaf. Their frequent touring for their previous albums generated support for the band, which only grew once former Nirvana drummer/ Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl joined the band on drums in late 2001. He would soon leave the band, however, and would be replaced by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo. The guitarist of alternative rock band A Perfect Circle, Troy Van Leeuwen, also joined on guitar for this release. Songs for the Deaf was a critically acclaimed and commercial success, reaching gold status in 2003, with record sales of over 900,00 copies. The album consists of classic songs such as “No One Knows,” “First It Giveth,” and “Go with the Flow.”