Queens of the Stone Age - 'R' Review

Queens of the Stone Age make hard rock music that sounds like nothing else on the sonic landscape, and R is the perfect starting point for neophytes to find out why. Combining metal and punk but filtering it through a trippy stoner vibe, R feels monstrous and mysterious, bending genre rules to its will. Frontman Josh Homme incorporates a collection of different vocalists for a suite of songs that make a loud ruckus while conjuring a spell of genuine weirdness.

R (also known as Rated R) announces its oddball charm from its first track. Sarcastically titled “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” the song features lyrics consisting of the following words sung over and over again: “Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol!” Homme chants them like a witch at her cauldron, creating a creepy atmosphere from the outset. Then, a wave of electric guitars explode around him, causing listeners to feel like they’re being swept away by the song’s head-banging power. From there, Homme and his creative partner Nick Oliveri keep switching gears, settling into the accessible mainstream rock of “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” before eventually blowing your mind with the sun-bleached “Better Living Through Chemistry,” an unapologetic ode to pill-popping. Beyond simply writing catchy songs, Queens of the Stone Age aim to create unnerving moods, and R might remind you of a great old-school horror movie, the kind where the thrills and scares came from what you imagined, not mindless gore.

As another way to vary the attack, Queens recruit musician friends to lend their vocals on occasion. Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees applies his brooding baritone to “In the Fade,” a seductive tale of a love affair going south fast, and Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford uses his demonic voice to good effect as a background singer on “Feel Good Hit of the Summer.” While Homme sings most of R’s tracks, providing a growling menace, Oliveri proves to be a good counterpoint as the lead vocalist on songs like “Auto Pilot,” his monotone delivery spooky in its dispassion. The combined effect of these different vocalists is akin to feeling like you have a series of voices in your head, each one more deranged than the last.

R only stumbles in its final stretch, where the songs get progressively weirder but not necessarily better. Particularly, the album-closing “I Think I Lost My Headache” meanders through an indulgent coda that sounds like the jam session from hell with a discordant horn section leading the way. But with that said, it’s one of the few moments where the band’s sonic ambitions fail them. On the whole, R weaves a hypnotic, terrifying spell. It’s one trip you’ll want to take.

“Feel Good Hit of the Summer” (Purchase/Download)
“The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret” (Purchase/Download)
“Better Living Through Chemistry” (Purchase/Download)
“In the Fade” (Purchase/Download)

Release date – June 6, 2000