QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

Queens Of The Stone Age includes: Joshua Homme (vocals, guitar); Dave Catching (lap steel guitar, electric piano); Scott Mayo, Fernando Pullum, Reggie Young (horns); Barrett Martin (vibraphone, steel drum); Nick Oliveri (bass, background vocals); Nick Lucero, Gene Trautmann (drums); Alfredo Hernandez (percussion); Nick Eldorado, Wendy Ray Moan, Rob Halford, Mark Lanegan, Mike Johnson, Pete Stahl (background vocals). Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California from December 1999 to February 2000. Personnel: Joshua Homme (vocals, guitar); Alfredo Hernandez (drums). Audio Mixer: Joe Barresi. Recording information: Ironwood Studio, Seattle, WA (04/03/1998-04/21/1998); Rancho de la Luna Studios, Joshua Tree, CA (04/03/1998-04/21/1998); Studio Monkey, Palm Springs, CA (04/03/1998-04/21/1998). Photographers: Tony Tornay; Lisa Johnson. Instead of trying to recreate the sound of his former band Kyuss, Josh Homme took a new approach to music. He crafted tight hard rock songs that were heavy on melody and light on vocals. While there is still a lot of fuzz coming from the amplifiers, the vocals are softly interwoven among the chords. There's no screaming or rock & roll antics, and the group takes an almost lo-fi attitude to heavy metal -- an interesting combination that produced instant radio gems like "Regular John," the extreme ranges on "Avon," and the smoky, blues-influenced "Walkin' on the Sidewalks." Queens of the Stone Age are creating a new blend of heavy metal that makes it acceptable to produce creative music that doesn't rely on testosterone as the driving force. ~ David Thomas

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 05/17/2011