#160 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

One David gave me at IBM that I just now found time for.

I think I let Dave Grohl's association with this band, not to mention the distinctly Weilandian quality of the singers voice, lead me to peg this band as a middle-of-the-road stoner hard rock band. I don't think I ever really gave them much of a chance, just assuming they weren't "respectable". Does this make sense? Surely you've done this to a band before.

So what do I think now? Let's say this, if these guys are a middle-of-the-road stoner hard rock band, they're kind of the best one ever. The guitar sound is excellent, the drums propulsive and strong, and the riffs are solid, if not overly inventive. Overall, the band does remind me a lot of the Stone Temple Pilots, and I mean that in a good way. They are good at what they do, with just enough artfulness to keep it interesting.

On the downside, it is a punishing album. The allmusic review makes a good point, that the mix is pushed all the way to the top at all times, with much of the character of the sounds pulled out. It is sort of tiring. But I'd say that its tiring in a rewarding way. I actually think its best listened to as an album, as an endurance test of kinds; the result is cathartic somehow. My main real, actual complaint is the little radio station interludes, which are distracting and annoying, not unlike the skits that pepper hip hop albums. Maybe the whole thing would be unlistenably constant in its volume without them, maybe they're a necessary evil, but I don't love them. Overall, this is a solid album with some good full-leg-foot-tap moments, the epitome of a 4/5