Queens of the Stone Age take the throne once and for all with their sixth record, …Like Clockwork, a forty-five minute and fifty-nine second trip through Palm Desert and Josh Homme’s dark side. After an extended break due to a deep depression QOTSA founder and frontman Josh Homme endured after a knee surgery that went wrong back in 2012, him and his team of rock pioneers are back with a record that will blow you so far away, you wouldn’t believe this was the same band who composed a song with the only lyrics being “nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol.”    

Comprised of founder Josh Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, Michael Shuman on bass, Dean Fertita on keyboards, and Jon Theodore on drums, Queens have come a long way since producing their best-known album, Songs for the Deaf, as you can truly hear the growth and maturity in …Like Clockwork with wistful songs like “I Appear Missing”, “If I Had A Tail”, and of course the track that named the masterpiece. Prior to this, the lyrics have always been incidental but in this album, the lyrics carry the same if not more weight than the guitar riffs. This may very well be the first time that a QOTSA album is equally driven by sick riffs and thought-inducing lyrics. 

For example, take a look at the lyrics in the first track, “Keep Your Eyes Peeled”; “And I know you’ll never believe/I play this as though I’m alright/If life is but a dream/Wake me.” Or the reminiscent ballad “…Like Clockwork”; “Holding on too long is just/ A fear of letting go/Because/Not everything that goes around/Comes back around, you know.” This album is a rollercoaster of emotions through and through, both for the band and for the audience.  

With guest features by other rock’n’roll legends such as Trent Reznor, Alex Turner, Jake Shears, Mark Lanegan, Alain Johannes, and Elton John, it is no surprise that this wonderfully recorded mixture of gothic ballads and sweet grooves was nominated for three Grammy awards, including Best Rock Album. On the other hand however, this album will bitter-sweetly bid farewell to drummer Joey Castillo as they introduce Jon Theodore as the newest member to take his place while Castillo moves on to other projects. 

To allow time for the band’s chemistry to fall back into place, however, Josh Homme called on none other than Foo Fighters frontman and his best bud Dave Grohl to join and make the largest drumming contributions on the record. Grohl has not been featured on any QOTSA work since 2002 when he drummed for them on Songs for the Deaf alongside bassist Nick Oliveri who also lent his talent on backing vocals for the new record. Basically, those fans whose favorite album is the classic Songs for the Deaf will be very pleased to see a reunion that matches the band’s original lineup. 

With so many high-end guests, it is no wonder that the finished product would be an intensely unique concoction of sounds and styles. This eclectic layering of sounds was produced by instruments that include pianos, synthesizers, guitars, maracas, shakers, scrapers, cowbells, drums, a string orchestra, and some clapping. The assemblage of these instruments and of these people serves a rock and roll stew in which the main ingredients include a back-and-forth exchange between low-key piano pulses, ferocious guitar solos, sentimental lyrics, and synths that blast you into limbo. This production is a dreamy state that when in contrast to their previous records – which were made all in the name of fun and pleasure – embarks on an entirely new creative journey in rock, and subsequently crowns the Queens of the Stone Age as the leaders of the voyage.