First review in goat knows how long:
Queens of the Stone Age
Era Vulgaris
What happened? Probably my least favorite phrase when listening to a new album by an old favourite. At least if you think "man, what the fuck is this?!" it means there's something a little different that might have caught you off guard, and hey who knows, innovative stuff, even seemingly bad at first, might reveal itself to be brilliant upon proper absorbtion. Unfortunately this is not the case with Era Vulgaris, as all I can think is "what happened?" when I spin this one.
I've spent about a month with the album, and the first few times I thought my ears were deceiving me, but I still haven't heard a geniune riff. Considering Josh Homme is arguably (by me at least) the most riff-oriented dude since Tony Iommi, I find this perplexing. The alleged guitar lines are chaotic, but not in a fun King Crimson sort of way, but rather in a bad hardcore group trying to sound edgy while eschewing all things 4/4. At best it sounds noisy, and at worst it makes you want punch a cat.
There are songs that should be better, falling flat under the pressure of what, I don't know. Poorly timed harmonics in place of good leads, uninspired performances all around, and other problems plague what could be great, such as Make It Wit Chu and 3's and 7's. Nearly classic Queens simply isn't, although for no immediately discernable reasons. Giving the stuff a chance does not reveal creativity or solidarity (brother), but rather exposes the realization of just how meaningless the entire affair sounds. Things lag. Where's the love?
The production is awful. I am a big fan of dirty, raw recordings. Listening to as much underground black metal and stoner rock as I do, it simply could be no other way. Nattens Madrigal by Ulver sounds fantasting. Unida's ill-fated ne'er properly released demo-quality swansong album is amazing. This sounds like a garage band playing through an AM radio. It's not to the level of outright stupidity that St. Anger was, but considering that is the only album's sound I can come up with for partial comparison, the outcome is quite bleak.
This album is not terrible, and I find myself spinning it on occasion, but I'm much more pre-occupied by their other works, including the initial Kyuss - Queens of the Stone Age and later Complication EPs, which are pretty second rate compared to the Era Oliveri full-lengths. Speaking of that crazy bald bastard, when Mondo left the Generator, myself and a few friends were nervous about what the future held for Queens, but other than lacking a great bass tone, Lullabies to Paralyze was yet another stellar album. Era Vulgaris is not.
Disappointed, but not angry.
Queens of the Stone Age
Era Vulgaris
What happened? Probably my least favorite phrase when listening to a new album by an old favourite. At least if you think "man, what the fuck is this?!" it means there's something a little different that might have caught you off guard, and hey who knows, innovative stuff, even seemingly bad at first, might reveal itself to be brilliant upon proper absorbtion. Unfortunately this is not the case with Era Vulgaris, as all I can think is "what happened?" when I spin this one.
I've spent about a month with the album, and the first few times I thought my ears were deceiving me, but I still haven't heard a geniune riff. Considering Josh Homme is arguably (by me at least) the most riff-oriented dude since Tony Iommi, I find this perplexing. The alleged guitar lines are chaotic, but not in a fun King Crimson sort of way, but rather in a bad hardcore group trying to sound edgy while eschewing all things 4/4. At best it sounds noisy, and at worst it makes you want punch a cat.
There are songs that should be better, falling flat under the pressure of what, I don't know. Poorly timed harmonics in place of good leads, uninspired performances all around, and other problems plague what could be great, such as Make It Wit Chu and 3's and 7's. Nearly classic Queens simply isn't, although for no immediately discernable reasons. Giving the stuff a chance does not reveal creativity or solidarity (brother), but rather exposes the realization of just how meaningless the entire affair sounds. Things lag. Where's the love?
The production is awful. I am a big fan of dirty, raw recordings. Listening to as much underground black metal and stoner rock as I do, it simply could be no other way. Nattens Madrigal by Ulver sounds fantasting. Unida's ill-fated ne'er properly released demo-quality swansong album is amazing. This sounds like a garage band playing through an AM radio. It's not to the level of outright stupidity that St. Anger was, but considering that is the only album's sound I can come up with for partial comparison, the outcome is quite bleak.
This album is not terrible, and I find myself spinning it on occasion, but I'm much more pre-occupied by their other works, including the initial Kyuss - Queens of the Stone Age and later Complication EPs, which are pretty second rate compared to the Era Oliveri full-lengths. Speaking of that crazy bald bastard, when Mondo left the Generator, myself and a few friends were nervous about what the future held for Queens, but other than lacking a great bass tone, Lullabies to Paralyze was yet another stellar album. Era Vulgaris is not.
Disappointed, but not angry.
