Label: Interscope Records
Released: Mar 22, 2005 |
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Queens Of The Stone Age have been steadily releasing quality rock albums since their self-titled debut in 1998. With the departure of longtime bassist, Nick Oliveri, many fans were worried about Queens losing their harder-edge. However, Lullabies To Paralyze should quell any of those fears. Sure, you don’t have a crazy dude with a weird-beard screaming at you every few songs. But, without sacrificing any of the other elements that made them great in the past, Josh Homme and company have created yet, another masterpiece of heavy, psychedelic-tinged rock and roll.
Joining Homme for most of the fun this time around are Troy Van Leeuwen (Failure, A Perfect Circle), Alain Johannes (Eleven), and Joey Castillo (Danzig). As implied by the title and artwork, there’s definitely a darker feel to Lullabies To Paralyze than past efforts. There’s also so much diversity on this record that I feel like I’d have to write about every song to give it a thorough review. However, no one would want to read that shit, so I’ll try to make it brief.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on Lullabies To Paralyze is the melancholy “I Never Came.” The quiet, spacey guitars and Homme’s eerie falsetto make it the most fragile song in Queens’ discography. “Everybody Knows That You Are Insane” begins with lots of slow, hazy guitar before morphing into one of the most rocking choruses on the album. The irresistibly catchy “Tangled Up In Plaid” and “Burn The Witch” (featuring Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on guitar) have a dark, bluesy feel. “Someone’s In The Wolf” is a seven-minute onslaught of maximum guitar riffage.
Fans of past Queens’ efforts shouldn’t find much to be disappointed about with Lullabies To Paralyze. My only complaint is that a few of the songs in the second half overstay their welcome. Nonetheless, Homme and company have produced another commendable record full of the darkness and sleaze that are sorely missed in rock music these days.
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