October 04, 2002 - My problem with the majority of popular hip-hop music is the recurring themes and embarrassingly violated hits of the past being reincarnated as something to simply ad-lib over. Couple with that most MC's tendencies to wrongly assume we want to hear 5-7 minutes of impromptu chatter between tracks and you've got the formula to send me running from the room. Does this have anything to do with the latest drop from Queens Of The Stone Age entitled Songs for the Deaf?! Well, yes and no.

The album starts with a you've-heard-it-all-before quip from some radio jockey introducing the record as if you were about to hear it on the radio. This was comical the first 456 times I ever heard it on a new disc. Match that with the UNDOUBTBLY Marilyn Manson inspired guitar riff and soaking wet vocals on "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" and I was looking for my been-there-done-that can for which to dump this piece of plastic.

But wait, I think I was being teased and filtered. "Millionaire" ends with all it's unoriginality and "No One Knows" falls in as track number two and kicks me in the face. "Aren't these complex chords and swing music timings I am hearing?" I asked myself. Yes, they are - but the result is pure rock. Ultra tight production and in-your-face articulate guitar riffing is complemented with Josh Homme's sweet and hypnotic vocals. The song is excellent and so is the out-of-no-where bridge that precedes each chorus with a repetitive and brutal power chord thrashing.

For the record, Josh Homme is Queens Of The Stone Age's musical backbone and principle song writer. Back in 1995 at just 22 years old, Josh disbanded with Kyuss, a band he organized out of the Palm Desert, CA area. Kyuss had toured with such bands as Metallica, Soundgarden, and Faith No More, as well as paving the way for other "stoner-rock" bands like Fu-Manchu and Monster Magnet. After Kyuss disbanded, Homme relocated to Seattle and ended up touring with the Screaming Trees for two years. He rejoined with Alfredo Hernandez, who played drums on Kyuss' last LP, and the two recorded what was the debut album, Queens of the
Stone Age, in October of 2000.

Anyway, back to the music from their latest LP Songs For The Deaf. "First it Giveth" and "Songs for the Dead" continue with a concentration on heavy riffs and tight drumming. Reminiscent of Stamford Prison Experiment at first, these two tracks both contain an inner originality all there own. "Giveth" is complete with ominous Goth-like chanting deep in the background of the verse that eventually harmonize with the singing at the chorus - a nice effect. "Songs for the Dead" also has an ominous feel but it's the quality of musicianship and chemistry between the players that outshine all the gimmicks of production. The chorus is sing-songy and infective, and you can't quite put your finger on Josh's vocal effects, but they seem to carry a weight to them: heavy, thick, and bassy.

Songs For The Deaf is a straightforward and good rock album. Queens of the Stone Age are at a building point of a rock band's career, both certain and uncertain at the same time. Where it will lead is anyone's guess but how they are going about it sounds great. The occasional radio DJ quips and interruptions that pepper the album were initially very annoying to me, but upon second listen I realized something else: this is rock music. Tell the story but have a good time with it, if its too serious then it isn't fun!

Overall Score 8.0