Josh Homme has always been an innovator. When he was a teenager he formed Kyuss, the seminal stoner rock band. Not only did the band pioneer a sound, but their live shows established them as legends of the
underground. They played in isolated parts of the California desert and the band would run
their equipment entirely off generators. The combination of original music presented in an original way never resulted in commercial success. However, they have been highly inspirational for scores of underground metal bands, and the band's influence is still held in high regards today.
After Kyuss disbanded, Homme started his own project Queens of the Stone Age. Homme has been the only constant member through five studio albums and a wide array of sounds. Starting off as a riff rock band in the late 90's, Queens of the Stone Age has evolved into a band that pushes the limits of mainstream rock music. Their latest album, 2007's Era Vulgaris, is an unique and captivating album. The guitars are sparse, but somehow sound huge. The drums are mechanical, but somehow groove. The album is simple and complex at the same time, and took Queens to a whole new level of weird.
Era Vulgaris features songs with huge hooks revolving around repeating guitar riffs and odd vocal melodies. The drums are electronic sounding at times, but focus on snare and kick drum grooves that encourage head nodding and body moving. The sparse use of toms and cymbals make the drums sound more like a beat machine than a live drummer, but somehow it only adds to the groovy nature of the record. The vocals are densely layered with harmonies and backgrounds, and the guitars make the most of effects and feedback to give the album a truly distinctive sound. An odd album for sure, but without being weird just for the sake of eccentricity. The album is a puzzle made of many complicated pieces to show a simple picture. Era Vulgaris is like a coloring book comprised of fine art.
Josh Homme, a self-diagnosed musical schizophrenic, not only breaks new ground with his group Queens of the Stone Age, but also stays busy with a wide variety of projects. His group The Eagles of Death Metal have released 3 albums in the last 6 years and in his newest group Them Crooked Vultures he is joined by rock legends Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones, and Alain Johannes. Homme also runs his own studio Rancho de la Luna in the California desert. There he has recorded and released 10 volumes of “The Desert Sessions," impromptu writing and recording sessions featuring other well known musicians. 2009 also saw Homme producing music other than his own for the first time, the Arctic Monkeys wonderfully bizarre 3rd album Humbug. A true musical polyglot, there seems to be no instrument or piece of music that Josh Homme can't totally rock out.
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