Queens Of The Stone Age Lullabies To Paralyze CD

On SONGS FOR THE DEAF, Queens of the Stone Age became a rock supergroup, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Joshua Homme (Kyuss), vocalist/bassist Nick Oliveri (Dwarves), vocalist Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees), and drummer Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters). This lineup effectively blew other heavy-rock acts out of the water, and seriously raised the band's profile. By the time of 2005's LULLABIES TO PARALYZE, however, Oliveri had acrimoniously departed the group, while Grohl and Lanegan had returned to their own projects, leaving Homme as the sole member.

Admirably, Homme plows ahead on LULLABIES TO PARALYZE with the assistance of multi-instrumentalists Troy Van Leeuwen and Alain Johannes and drummer Joey Castillo. Lanegan returns as a guest on the haunting opener, "This Lullaby," and his gravelly vocals provide a fitting link between the old and new QOTSA incarnations. Homme wastes no time getting to his intense brand of riff-heavy rock with the amped-up one-two punch of "Medication" and "Everybody Knows That You Are Insane." Elsewhere Homme conjures up moody, mid-tempo songs, most notably "Burn the Witch," a lumbering tune that features Lanegan and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. While it would be nearly impossible to top SONGS FOR THE DEAF, Homme sticks to his strengths on LULLABIES, and the result is another fierce rock record.

Audio Mixer: Joe Barresi.

Recording information: Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

Illustrators: Don Cunningham; Keith Richards.

Photographers: Nigel Copp; Chapman Baehler.

Queens of the Stone Age: Alain Johannes (vocals, guitar, flute, bass guitar); Troy Van Leeuwen (bass guitar); Josh Homme, Joey Castillo.

Personnel: Josh Homme (vocals, guitar, piano, drums, cowbells, hand claps, percussion); Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar); Chris Goss, Mark Lanegan, Shirley Manson, Brody Dalle (vocals); Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel guitar, piano, keyboards, hand claps); Dave Catching (guitar); Main Street Horns (tuba); Joey Castillo (piano, drums, cowbells, hand claps, percussion); Joe Barresi (triangle).

Additional personnel: Brody Dalle (background vocals); Chris Goss, Mark Lanegan, Shirley Manson, Billy Gibbons.

Spin (p.99) - "[A]n eclectic, rippin' record....The sexy glam stomps, clipped speed-riffs, and sludgy space-jams are still in effect and plenty hot." - Grade: B
Entertainment Weekly (No. 812, p.70) - "[H]ammer of the Gods-heavy, this is an album many hard-rock fans would willingly risk deafness to hear cranked up loud..." - Grade: B
Uncut (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[F]resh, strange and exciting."
Alternative Press (p.130) - 5 out of 5 - "Led by Josh Homme, possessor of the classiest falsetto and most distinct guitar tone in rock, the Queens have done it again..."
Magnet (p.53) - Ranked #9 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "The piston-precise rhythms and bull-god guitars power everything from witchy metal stomps...to scorned-dude sex laments..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[I]t's intimate, multi-layered and uplifting. The sound of one of rock's most insidious songwriters drawing breath."