Formed from the ashes of stoner rock icons
Kyuss,
Queens of the Stone Age reunited the group's singer/guitarist
Josh Homme, drummer
Alfredo Hernandez, and bassist
Nick Oliveri along with new guitarist/keyboardist Dave Catching. The project's origins date back to
Homme, who in the wake of
Kyuss' 1995 demise relocated to Seattle to tour with
the Screaming Trees; he soon began working with a revolving lineup of musicians including
the Trees'
Van Conner,
Soundgarden's
Matt Cameron, and
Dinosaur Jr.'s
Mike Johnson, recording a series of 7"s originally issued under the name Gamma Ray. After rechristening the group
Queens of the Stone Age,
Homme recruited
Hernandez to begin work on their self-titled debut LP, issued in late 1998 on Loosegroove; after the album was completed,
Oliveri left
the Dwarves to rejoin his former bandmates, with the subsequent addition of Catching rounding out the roster. In addition to extensive touring,
Homme put together a series of albums for the indie label Man's Ruin; the various volumes of
the Desert Sessions feature
Homme's collaborations with a loose-knit lineup of like-minded musicians, some from bands like
Soundgarden,
Fu Manchu, and
Monster Magnet.
In mid-2000,
Queens of the Stone Age issued their sophomore album,
Rated R (as in the movie rating; some promo copies were distributed with the original title, II), before appearing on that year's Ozzfest tour. By that point, drummer
Hernandez had been replaced by a tag-team combo of Gene Troutman and
Nicky Lucero. The group built a healthy buzz courtesy of accolades from such renowned publications as Rolling Stone, and good old-fashioned touring. 2001 saw the group perform at the massive Rock in Rio festival (after which
Oliveri was arrested by the Brazilian police for performing nude) and a spot on the year's Ozzfest. The same year,
Homme and
Oliveri put together yet another volume of the
Desert Sessions series, while
QOTSA assembled a third studio album.
Ex-
Nirvana drummer
Dave Grohl was very vocal in the press about his admiration of
the Queens, which led to an invitation for him to join the group for the third album's recording and, subsequently, supporting tour. Surprisingly,
Grohl accepted, putting
the Foo Fighters on hold (despite having a new album completed and ready to go). One of the year's most eagerly anticipated hard rock albums,
Songs for the Deaf was issued in August 2002 and was preceded by a tour that saw
Oliveri and
Homme joined by
Grohl on drums, ex-
Screaming Trees vocalist
Mark Lanegan, and
A Perfect Circle guitarist/keyboardist
Troy Van Leeuwen. As if their schedules weren't busy enough between
QOTSA and their other projects,
Oliveri and
Homme signed on to pen the musical score to the movie The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (with backing by
Rage Against the Machine drummer
Brad Wilk), and formed a new project,
Headband, with ex-
Marilyn Manson bassist
Twiggy Ramirez and
Amen frontman
Casey Chaos.
Homme also hooked up with old friend Jesse Hughes for
Eagles of Death Metal, which issued the
Peace Love Death Metal LP in 2004. (
Homme played drums.)
When
QOTSA reconvened for the March 2005 LP
Lullabies to Paralyze, the lineup featured
Homme,
Joey Castillo,
Alain Johannes,
Van Leeuwan, and
Lanegan. The
Over the Years and Through the Woods CD/DVD appeared in November that same year. It featured live material from the band's tour for
Lullabies, but also included rare and archival
Queens footage. In 2007, the band (
Lanegan at this point was only a guest) released the excellent Era Vulgaris, which also included contributions from
the Strokes'
Julian Casablancas, among others.
Era Vulgaris wrapped up
QOTSA's contract with Interscope and the group went into a period of inactivity as
Homme pursued other projects over the next few years. Chief among these was
Them Crooked Vultures, a power trio also featuring
Dave Grohl and
Led Zeppelin bassist
John Paul Jones, who released an eponymous album in 2009. The next year saw a deluxe reissue of
Rated R and in 2011, the band reissued their hard-to-find debut and did a small supporting tour behind this deluxe edition.
QOTSA began recording a new album in 2012, bringing
Grohl back into the fold and also finding spots for
Mark Lanegan,
Trent Reznor,
Jake Shears, and
Elton John, as well as
Nick Oliveri.
Queens of the Stone Age signed with Matador in 2013 and the
...Like Clockwork album was released in June of that year.
...Like Clockwork topped the Billboard 200, as well as the Alternative, Digital, Hard Rock, Independent, and Top Rock charts. Following the success of
...Like Clockwork,
Homme and various
Queens members participated in the Sound City documentary project and
Iggy Pop's 2016
Post Pop Depression album and tour.
QOTSA's seventh set,
Villains, arrived in August 2017, preceded by the singles "The Way You Used to Do" and "The Evil Has Landed." ~ Jason Ankeny & Greg Prato