An opinion piece from Jay Kirby

Queens of the Stone Age, despite their rampant commercial success, are an exceedingly difficult band to pin down— Josh Homme and company have never been ones to let an idea overstay its welcome, continually dismantling and rearranging the core tenants of their distinctive desert rock sound. The group only have eight records to their name, but the well of interesting ideas runs deep: here is my ranking of every Queens of the Stone Age album.

#8: Queens of the Stone Age (1998)

Every band must start somewhere, and very few hit their stride from the off. Queens’ self-titled debut is respectable in its own right, especially given that it was essentially a Homme solo-project at the time, and has its fair share of highlights: the Kyuss influences shine through on groovy numbers ‘If Only’ and ‘Give The Mule What He Wants,’ while the instrumental ‘Spiders and Vinegaroons’ hints at the more experimental offerings to come. Front-to-back though, the band’s debut release just isn’t all-too exciting, meandering its way through a series of interchangeable, middle-of-the-road rock tunes. By most groups’ standards, this self-titled effort would be quite noteworthy: for Queens of the Stone Age, it lacks the energy and the character to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with its successors.

#7: Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)

At a certain point, every successful band is met with the painful question of how to make a worthy follow up to their first masterpiece. In Queens of the Stone Age’s case, the answer was simple: don’t. ‘Lullabies to Paralyze’ is the first of the band’s releases to feel largely unsure of itself, no doubt as a result of significant lineup changes— it’s very long and very slow, grinding itself to a halt via cuts like ‘Skin On Skin’ and ‘Broken Box’ that really should’ve been left on the cutting room floor. Even despite the project’s uninviting presentation though, ‘Lullabies to Paralyze’ manages to rekindle just enough magic to save it from the bottom spot: between its classic rock-ragers (‘Everybody Knows That You’re Insane,’ ‘Little Sister’) and haunting cuts (‘Burn The Witch,’ ‘I Never Came’), there’s just enough strong material here to keep you coming back.

#6: Era Vulgaris (2007)

‘Era Vulgaris’ sounds like the album Josh Homme always wanted to make: it’s an auditory torture chamber, burying the listener under harsh walls of industrial rock and dissonant writing. As you might expect, the band’s fifth album may be their least accessible, save for the adorable shuffle of breakout single ‘Make It Wit Chu’— it’s certainly one of their least consistent. At times, ‘Era Vulgaris’ sees Queens of the Stone Age at their most inspired: ‘Turnin On The Screw,’ ‘Into The Hollow’ and ‘3’s & 7’s’ are a welcome twist on the band’s classic formula, and ‘Suture Up Your Future’ is a cream-of-the-crop cut across the entire discography. It’s just a shame that experiments like ‘I’m Designer,’ ‘Battery Acid’ and ‘Run, Pig, Run’ didn’t pan out in a similar way, leaving the listener with a mixed bag of tracks to explore.

#5: Villains (2017)

The seventh Queens record is often touted as their weakest, and it’s not hard to see why: after the band’s triumphant return to form in 2013, ‘Villains’ can often sound overly safe and predictable (a feeling no doubt reinforced by the terribly uninteresting production Mark Ronson brought to the project). Meeting it on its own terms though, the album is an incredibly sharp crop of tunes that keeps up with the classics. ‘Villains’ has everything you could want from Queens of the Stone Age; the bouncy grooves of ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me’ and ‘The Evil Has Landed;’ the gentle balladry of ‘Fortress’ and ‘Villains of Circumstance;’ the ominous melodies of ‘Un-Reborn Again’ and ‘Hideaway;’ there really isn’t a weak track in the bunch. Even if it isn’t the most impressive or daring release, ‘Villains’ earns its keep, acting as the dark horse of the group’s catalogue.

#4: Rated R (2000)

If the self-titled debut was a hint at Queens’ underlying potential, their sophomore release put the band’s talents on full display. ‘Rated R’ smashes its way through an outrageous number of all-timers— the infectious feel of ‘The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret,’ furious playing of ‘Monsters In The Parasol’ and heartfelt introspections of ‘In The Fade’ are just a handful of its best moments— exhibiting an unrestrained, desperate energy that makes the record absolutely fly by. There’s very little room to breathe here, despite a number of interludes and shorter cuts that break up the track list: the contributions of Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan are positively electrifying, making this album 'Rated R' in more than just name. Even with its very occasional mishaps, the second Queens of the Stone Age record absolutely nails that desert rock style.

#3: In Times New Roman… (2023)

More than any other, the latest Queens album feels aware of the band’s legendary status— it isn’t a record that rests on those laurels, but celebrates the unique sound that put the group on the map. Between its sludgy Josh Homme production and off-the-wall song ideas, ‘In Times New Roman…’ is an album making no compromises: it’s ten tracks of pure, delightful chaos, steeped in divorce-borne bitterness. Cuts like ‘Obscenery,’ ‘Paper Machete’ and ‘Emotion Sickness’ would have been lauded as classics if they’d released two decades prior, while the danceable polyrhythms of ‘Time & Place,’ Bowie-esque excesses of ‘Carnavoyeur’ and unsettling soundscapes of ‘Sicily’ reaffirm Queens’ commitment to pushing themselves forward. Put simply, you can never go wrong with ‘In Times New Roman…’

#2: Songs for the Deaf (2002)

One thing cannot be denied: ‘Songs for the Deaf’— the record that pushed Queens of the Stone Age into the stratosphere— lives up to its name. Their third record is likely the one you know best, and it’s no accident: it’s positively overflowing with legendary hits, from the anthemic riffs of ‘No One Knows’ to the explosive ‘Go With The Flow,’ yet places itself about as far from radio rock as a band of this size could ever achieve. ‘Songs for the Deaf’ is the dark, twisted soundtrack to a lonely drive across the American outback, and it’s a concept the band (complete with the percussive flair of Dave Grohl) throw themselves at with vigour. Even if it just missed out on this list’s #1 placing, this is certainly the definitive Queens of the Stone Age release— tracks like ‘Song for the Dead’ and ‘Hanging Tree’ simply cannot be denied.

#1: …Like Clockwork (2013)

If a brush with death doesn’t spark inspiration, nothing will: for Queens of the Stone Age, it set the cogs of their magnum opus into motion. ‘…Like Clockwork’ is a haunting meditation on mortality, providing a more unflinching look into Homme’s nihilist perspective than you knew you wanted— it’s positively claustrophobic, grinding its way through the grim rumblings of ‘Keep Your Eyes Peeled,’ uneasy calm of ‘Kalopsia’ and despairing balladry of ‘The Vampyre of Time and Memory.’ Between those moments of agony though, Queens retain their grasp on raucous rock’n’roll, melding the bouncy rhythms of ‘I Sat by the Ocean’ and balls-to-the-wall rampage of ‘My God is the Sun’ into this stunning cohesive experience. ‘…Like Clockwork’ is all killer, no filler, absolute thriller from start to finish, cementing itself as one of the most brilliant rock albums you could hope to discover.