Songs for the Deaf

Queens of the Stone Age

Interscope

… Songs for the Deaf

Queens of the Stone Age

Interscope

It’s been three days since you’ve been stranded in the desert with no food or water. The only thing in your possession is a tiny radio with crappy reception. As you stumble across the sand dunes, the only thing your radio can pick up is Top 40 hits. Overcome with annoyance and exhaustion, you collapse, falling into a deep sleep.

When you awake to the glaring sunset, you hear music from over the horizon. Elated at the notion of civilization, you jump to your feet and run towards the noise, leaving your radio behind. As you approach, the music gets louder, and heavenly aromas fill your senses with anticipation. When you cross the horizon, you halt in amazement.

A decadent festival lies before you. There are palm trees, swimming pools, fountains flowing wine, luscious foods, exotic women and a band playing mind-numbing rock music.

This could only be the infamous desert rock-out crew, Queens of the Stone Age. With crunching guitar riffs, swooning vocals and repetitive yet mathematic arrangements, Queens bring their breed of quasi-psychedelic hard art rock to the masses as though it were a monsoon.

Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, the only permanent members of the group, are like the Batman and Robin of the rock scene – minus the suits. With strength, class, brains and the occasional helping hand, they rock so hard they’re on the brink of being heroic. Exhibit A: 2000’s Rated R – the group’s impeccable second release.

Exhibit B: Songs for the Deaf – a hard, hazy, high-decibel attack on the senses. The group’s latest material ranges from semi-poppy grunge songs to high-speed, repetitive jams. Whatever the case, each and every song on the record rocks hard, with much credit due to Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, who laid down drum tracks on Songs.

Other guest spots on the album include Mark Lanagan from Screaming Trees, Troy Van Leeuwen of A Perfect Circle, and Dean Ween of Ween. For an album that touts distaste for modern rock radio as a conceptual drive, it has an all-star cast to back it up.

The record’s title also serves as a warning of its high volume. In other words, these songs are so loud, hard and heavy, that even deaf people could rock out to them.

Make no mistake. This isn’t metal. This isn’t nu metal. Songs for the Deaf is just a great rock record with an overdeveloped desire to blow your speakers out. It’s heroic. It’s an oasis in a desert of boring rock. Play it loud.