Hundreds of epic shows, memory lapses, unexplained injuries, one yearlong detour with Iggy Pop and multiple Grammy nominations later, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE re-emerge from the desert newly scarred and somehow strangely prettier with lucky seventh album, "Villains", out August 25 on Matador Records. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE leader Joshua Homme said: "The title 'Villains' isn't a political statement. It has nothing to do with Trump or any of that shit. It's simply 1) a word that looks fantastic and 2) a comment on the three versions of every scenario: yours, mine and what actually happened… Everyone needs someone or something to rail against—their villain — same as it ever was. You can't control that. The only thing you can really control is when you let go." Now available for preorder on deluxe vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digital (all formats include an instant download of first single "The Way You Used To Do"), "Villains" consists of the following songs: 01. Feet Don't Fail Me 02. The Way You Used To Do 03. Domesticated Animals 04. Fortress 05. Head Like A Haunted House 06. Un-Reborn Again 07. Hideaway 08. The Evil Has Landed 09. Villains Of Circumstance Produced by Mark Ronson and co-produced by Mark Rankin and mixed by Alan Moulder, "Villains" is the first full album offering from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE since 2013's "…Like Clockwork" gave the band its first No. 1 album in the U.S. Like the stunning artwork of returning illustrator Boneface, the sonic signatures of the lineup that took "…Like Clockwork" around the world and back are as unmistakable as ever, though coexisting with sufficient new twists to induce recurring double takes. As Homme himself puts it: "The most important aspect of making this record was redefining our sound, asking and answering the question 'what do we sound like now?' If you can't make a great first record, you should just stop — but if you can make a great record but you keep making records and your sound doesn't evolve, you become a parody of that original sound." Of his role working within such a closed and confident ecosystem as QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, Ronson says: "QUEENS are and have always been my favorite rock n roll band ever since I walked into Tower on Sunset and bought 'Rated R' in the summer of 2000, so it was incredibly surreal to be welcomed into their secret, pirate clan — or the 'jacuzzi,' as Josh likes to call it. I also knew that my super fandom alone would not keep me in the jacuzzi. There were moments during the making of the album in which i was aware i was watching my musical heroes craft something that was sure to become one of my favorite moments on any QUEENS album. And to have some part in that felt like being in a dream — a very heavy, dark, wonderful dream." Longtime QUEENS cohort co-producer Mark Rankin added: "After the baptism of fire that was '…Like Clockwork', I was excited to get into the studio again with the challenge of pushing the sound for this record, especially with the the addition of Ronson into the creative mix. We wanted to evolve the production to be processed in a modern way yet be totally organic and still performed fully live, like lifting a veil and what you thought was electronic is actually live and things are not as they first appear… What we've made is forward looking yet unmistakably QUEENS." QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE have also confirmed a slew of North American dates filling in the space between and beyond their previously announced appearances at Outside Lands and Riot Fest. The new shows, which include QUEENS' first-ever Madison Square Garden headline, are detailed below. Jun. 22 - Rapids Theater -Niagara Falls, NY Jun. 24 - Amnesia Rockfest 2017 -Montebello, QC Aug. 10 - Majestic Ventura Theater - Ventura, CA Aug. 12 - Outside Lands - San Francisco, CA Sep. 06 - Capitol Theatre - Port Chester, NY Sep. 07 - Festival Pier - Philadelphia, PA Sep. 09 - Budweiser Stage - Toronto, ON Sep. 10 - 20 Monroe Live - Grand Rapids, MI Sep. 12 - Express Live! Outdoor Pavilion - Columbus, OH Sep. 13 - Stage AE (Outdoors) - Pittsburgh, PA Sep. 15 - Agora Theater - Cleveland, OH Sep. 16 - Riot Fest - Chicago, IL Oct. 09 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT Oct. 10 - Red Rocks - Morrison, CO Oct. 12 - Peabody - St. Louis, MO Oct. 13 - Crossroads KC - Kansas City, MO Oct. 14 - Roy Wilkins Auditorium - Saint Paul, MN Oct. 15 - Eagles Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI Oct. 17 - Fox Theatre - Detroit, MI Oct. 18 - Old National Centre - Murat Theatre - Indianapolis, IN Oct. 20 - [to be confirmed] - Washington, DC Oct. 21 - Agganis Arena - Boston, MA Oct. 22 - State Theatre - Portland, ME Oct. 24 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
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