Queens of the Stone Age

It's bizzare to me that this is the same group that would go on to do Songs For The Deaf. I often baulk at the Josh Homme hero worship you see a lot these days but I'd never deny the fact that he's made some damn good rocks songs. This album doesn't contain any of them though - I can barely remember a single track.

This project is so goddamned weird, man. Even when it gets it right, it gets it wrong. Does this album deserve to be here? Probably. But Songs for the Deaf, Rated R, and Lullabies to Paralyze are the better albums - and they're nowhere to be found. Not including Songs for the Deaf is a particularly egregious omission, as that album is arguably their magnum opus.

This is a 4 star album, and an excellent debut for a band that went on to be amongst the biggest and best bands of the 2000s. I'm just flabbergasted as to how anyone could listen to the discography of QotSA, and choose this album over classics where the band really hit their stride.

En smule generisk. Jeg er nok lidt for gavmild her

2.8

3/5. Queens of the Stone Age are one my favorite rock bands, which is why I must say it’s completely baffling that this is the only album of theirs in the 1,001 albums book. No Songs for the Deaf, Like Clockwork or Rated R, just the self titled debut. And it is a good album on the whole, but nowhere near the level of most other QOTSA albums in my opinion.

Which is again to not say the self titled debut here is a bad album, there’s a good number of highlights like “You Would Know”, “Mexicola” or the opener “Regular John.” But on the whole it’s a debut where the band is still finding their footing and in retrospect you can see how much more fully formed and confident the band feels on Rated R compared to this.

The Good: Josh H with the QOTSA
The Bad: It’s not Songs for the Deaf…
The Ugly: The jams on this thing…

I don’t know… I am conflicted… I really want to like this, and there are tracks on this album which really resonate for me.
Yet, there are other tracks where I am oh so close to pushing the FF button and just head into the next car-wreck…

Great guitar tones though, that’s for sure…
Just missing that Dave Grohl beat…

Going to rate this one down the middle…

3*

Stoner/doom metal paired with post grunge alt rock radio song writing not shy to throw in a hook. Heavy shades of Dinosaur Jr and Mudhoney: thick riffs chug along at a medium pace, loud and heavy, pushing amps into a rich warm overdrive, droning and looping to occupy the back of your mind and let the front roam. The lead guitar tone is a gnarly distorted squall; this is a band who've sold a billion fuzz pedals. One trick ponies with a great trick, but they do it for an hour solid.

I’d never really listened to Queens of the Stone Age before. I love their biggest hit, No One Knows, and I’m fairly sure I’ve seen them at a festival at some point, but I’ve never properly explored their albums. I figured there was no better place to start than with their self-titled debut, Queens of the Stone Age.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t really land for me. At 14 tracks and over an hour long, it felt much longer than it needed to be, particularly as very little seemed to change or develop as the album progressed. I kept waiting for a standout moment or a song to grab me, but it never came.

My biggest issue was how samey much of the album sounded. The riffs blur together after a while, and a lot of the songs rely heavily on big power chords and repetitive grooves without offering much in the way of memorable hooks or interesting guitar work. The vocals didn't do much for me either.

There are flashes where you can hear the foundations of the band that would go on to write songs like “No One Knows”, but overall this felt like a fairly average hard rock album.

Favourite tracks: I struggled to pick one as very little stood out for me
Least favourite tracks: The closing four tracks in particular felt like filler and could easily have been left off the album
Album artwork: A bit smutty but does the job

QOTSA is one of the greatest rock bands, this album isn't my favorite of theirs but it's still super solid. Totally recommend it for people who want metal without distorted vocals.

Great debut album! Solid rock and roll.

Kind of bland. Too long. But, at times, pretty cool. A solid 3.

PLACEHOLDER

Queens of the Stone Age are a band I only know by name, but I live in a house with a fervent fan who assures me that this is the least of their albums and they only get better.

Mind you, this has some cracking rock and roll tracks, familiar enough to feel comfortable, but with enough tricks and complexity to be interesting.

As a starting point this is fine. I'm looking forward to see what they got up to next.

First time listen to the first QotSA album. It's solid Hard Rock. Could have done without the instrumentals. It isn't mid blowing stuff and far from their best work. Songs For The Deaf is a superior album. 3/5.

I really like later records by QotSA (Songs for the Deaf, Era Vulgaris, ...Like Clockwork (their best, imo)). This one was ok. They hadn't fully developed a personality at this point so the songs felt a little lifeless. Better than other albums on this list but leaves a bit to be desired. 3/5

I don’t know I don’t really like this one. 5/10

Rockin’ album

Formulaic, guitar heavy rock - not much to make it stand out at all. Musically, it was very repetitive for no apparent reason. Bonus point for including a track named “I was a Teenage Hand Model”. - outstanding work on that detail.

Two QOTSA albums on this list. I would have replaced this with songs for the deaf. But I still enjoy this for the most part.

Imperfect debut by a great band. They get better than this but you can hear the formula was there.

good album but i can understand why some find this kind of music boring. i can't listen to too much of it either