QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - ...Like Clockwork

Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Stoner/Desertrock | Heft: Jahrgang 2013, eclipsed Nr. 151 / 6-2013 | VÖ-Jahr: 2013 | Wertung: 8/10 | Label: Matador | Autor: WK


It's been six years since the Queens Of The Stone Age last heard of themselves. Josh Homme and his men do not bear their names by accident. They're a band that likes to leave things as they are. Fortunately, you could say that. How many groups have done themselves lasting harm by always trying to adapt their sound to the zeitgeist? QOTSA do nothing of the sort. On the contrary, they remain true to each other, even though there are some swings in the direction of electronic music and the contrasts between straightforwardness and complexity are more pronounced than ever. But the dark glow of the guitars, the sluggish heaviness of the grooves, the precision-hewn riffs and hooks, and the upbeat hovering in Homme's voice sound as if the band hadn't split a day after the last record. Passion in calculation and perfection in implementation have always been their hallmarks. No indulgence, not a single note too much, not a second of reverberation when it was said what had to be said. QOTSA is not the band whose songs you could just let go of to, this time even less than before. When the troupe works with Latin grooves or jazz harmonies, of course, it seems as strange as a piano record of them. The rich guest list ranges from Elton John to Trent Reznor and James Lavelle as well as members of the Scissor Sisters and Arctic Monkeys to old acquaintances like Nick Oliveri, Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan. The song "Smooth Sailing" reminds of Led Zeppelin. The red and black basic colour costume of the Queens does not change, only the intermediate colour tones change from song to song. Prehistoric things continue to collide with poetry and force, rubbing against the futuristic. The intentions of the individual songs drift against each other like continental plates, their collision triggers powerful earth shocks.

Top Track: Keep Your Eyes Peeled

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