Queens of the Stone Age Lullabies for the Paralyze (2005) Genre: Stoner Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock

Queens of the Stone Age

Lullabies for the Paralyze (2005)

Genre: Stoner Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock

Man it’s a hard act to follow “Songs for the Deaf”, and to be honest this album is somewhat of let down but it grows on you over time, from what I’ve read band was going through some turmoil and Nick Oliveri was fired from the group, so we have Queens in a transition phase, good thing Era Vulgaris is just around the corner.

Vocals and Lyrics: Josh does his traditional trademark vocals, nothing to breath taking for this album. While Mark Lanegan doesn’t participate as much on this album as he did on the previous ones.  9 

Instrumentation:

Guitar: Good guitar work on this album, plus the addition of Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and Lap Steel.

Bass: Oliveri is gone, so his  lumbering bass lines are too.

Drums: Joe Castillo is on the Drums, does a good Job. 7

Melody and/or Structure: Josh keeps this album interesting structure wise and his use of melody is masterful. 9

Sound, Production and Feeling: There isn’t that much attention to detail that they had on the previous album, it sound pretty much like a straight up rock album with a stoner twist. 8.5 

Songs: Even though I’ve been bitching about this album, but I must say  it's solid as hell, its good from start to finish. 14

The Bad: Not much experimentation or super rockers -1

Originality: It’s a transition album 8

Overall:  54.5

Queens of the Stone Age, Review of Songs for the Deaf Genre: Stoner, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock/Metal

Queens of the Stone Age

Songs for the Deaf (2001)

Genre: Stones Metal, Hard Rock, Alternative Rock/Metal

Man this album blew me away the first time I heard it, and it pretty much blows me away each time a listen to it now. I had to go to work to Paso de los Libres for a month this year, it’s a very isolated city here in Argentina near Brazil and Uruguay, which has no rock music, what so ever, and much less a live music scene, so I had this album and Slipknots Chapter 5 running 24/7 on my tablet, this help me rediscover the brilliance of this production.

Vocals and Lyrics: Josh’s trademark is vocals are fantastic as usual and the guest appearance of Mark Lanegan on a couple really helps the albums dark and somber moodiness. 10

Instrumentation:

Guitar: The guitars on this album are great Josh’s riffs, licks and solos serve perfectly each song, and as a nice plus Dean Ween plays on a couple tracks.

Bass: Nick Oliveri’s simple but lumbering bass playing was the basic model for me to copy when I had my own stoner metal band.

Drums: Dave Grohl should scrap the Foo’s and start drumming full time for these guys.  7.8

Melody and/or Structure: The equilibrium between these two aspects is what sets this band from the rest Josh use of melody is enviable, and the guy can pack some really interesting riffs in each song.  10

Sound, Production and Feeling: This is the first album that I have encountered the stoner sound, and it fascinates me, the dark, low end sounding production. Josh manages perfectly the dark and sexy mood of the album not letting you have everything at once, and there are a ton of production treats in this album. 10

Songs: Every song on this album is a classic. You can divided the songs in two groups: the Rocker and the experimental stuff, it’s all good.  14

The Bad: Nothing. 

Originality: This album probably is a defining record for Stoner Metal, a album that tons of bands use for reference and it was a break though album for these guys they gain relatively mainstream status.  10

Overall: 61.8