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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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35610
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Fri May 20, 2005
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$19.99
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5.0
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Description:
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Marijuana Extacy and Alcohol... C-C-C-C-C-C Cocaine..." It is this mantra, repeated over and over and over with an unrelenting and unbelievably simple rat-tat tat bazooka bass one note monster rock rhythm figure that begins the new Queens of the Stone Age disc, Rated R. It is "The Feelgood Hit of the Summer," literally. If this doesn't suck you into the Queens' vortex, I will pray for you.
Oh, and Rob Halford sings on it as well. Sultry desert grooves ensue. Pulsing like the waves of heat coming off a long empty road in the middle of nowhere, the songs slither in and out, entrancing the listener like some kind of guitar-rock snake charmer. Beefheart-style squalls of guitar noise or punked out screeching may break the spell momentarily, but in the end, the Queens' specialty is mesmerizing space rock. The tough part is figuring if there's more rock or more space.
The Queens of the Stone Age are masters of lean songwriting and fat tone. Nothing they do gets too complicated or mucked up with sonic excess. The guitar sounds pour out of the amps like dense warm molasses. The drum beats are all organic and classic and thick. The vocals are tough and smooth, like a rusty old razor blade that can still cut just fine. Harldly anyone does riff-rock this well anymore.
The Queens primary members are guitarist and most-times lead singer Josh Homme and bassist and other-times singer Nick Oliveri, both former prime movers in that other "desert/stoner rock" band, Kyuss. Classifications, yeah, whatever. Rated R is more of a collaborative studio record than their previous LP. Produced by Homme and Master of Reality Chris Goss, the record features a variety of guests and studio musicians, including Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan and Barrett Martin, as well as the aforementioned Judas Priest frontman.
The resulting textures and timbres build on the existing QOTSA sound and push it into previously unexplored regions: both harder rocking and more spaced out. In addition, they add a more reflective, brooding style with the beautiful ballad on which Lanegan takes lead vocals, "In the Fade". While their chemical excesses may be similar to 70's and 80's metal and hard rock acts, in contrast QOTSA's presentation is clean, and their sound is still evolving, much to the dismay of some Kyuss fans.
In my opinion, Rated R is a much needed shot in the arm for the contemporary hard rock genre, and every time I see or hear one of the horribly untalented uber-pop boy girl psuedo rap crap fluff acts that these days generate all the cash for the big four entertainment conglomerates, I begin to think in my head...rat-tat-tat- "Nicotine Valium Vicodin Marijuana Extacy and Alcohol.....C-C-C-C-C-C-Coke...."
It's the real thing.
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Keywords:
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Queens of Stone Age - Rated R
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Gonger
Registered: May 2005
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Fri May 20, 2005
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $19.99
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Great rock band
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Cons:
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None
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