After a six-year absence, Queens of the Stone Age are back with a new sound on their latest record, Like Clockwork. The ten-track album came with its fair share of trials and tribulations, though. Complications from a knee surgery back in 2010 left frontman Josh Homme hospitalized for thirteen days and bedridden afterward for four months, falling into a deep depression.
.Like Clockwork. Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita, who both joined the band in 2007 to tour in support of the band's fifth studio album, Era Vulgaris, and record its bonus tracks.
While he was reluctant at first, at the urging of his bandmates he agreed to return for a new album. This undoubtedly made it that much harder for Homme to let go longtime drummer Joey Castillo halfway through the recording process (even though the split was amicable, according to a Spin interview).
So what did Homme do? He called in a buddy, mega rock star Dave Grohl, to finish up the tracks. Grohl lends his skills to five songs out of the ten, while Castillo is on four and the band’s new touring drummer, Jon Theodore (of Mars Volta fame), plays on the title track. Homme’s all-star cast doesn’t stop there, with big talents such as Trent Reznor, Alex Turner, Jake Shears, and Elton John (of all people!) adding their names to the Clockwork credits. What we’re left with is an intimate album that touches on dark and sensitive themes such as death and lost love, clothed in the hard rock you’d expect from QOTSA. The result has certainly resonated with fans; Like Clockwork earned the band its first number-one debut on the Billboard charts. One highlight of the album is the opening track, “Keep Your Eyes Peeled,” which is driven by a hulking ogre of a bass line.
The beast trudges on with a laboring groove that’s cemented by Castillo’s 6/8 drumbeat. The rhythms are accented nicely with an open hi-hat on the upbeats and an anchoring bass drum to match up with the riff. Homme periodically slices the melody with his cutting wah pedal, which Castillo mirrors perfectly with some quick snare hits. The single “My God Is the Sun” features a surf-rock-reminiscent guitar riff from Homme over a 6/4 beat.
Grohl gives the song a slithering triplet feel on the verse and a quarter-note crash-and-snare beat on the chorus, recalling the most brutal of his Nevermind aggressions. The rest of the album ranges from hauntingly contemplative on “Kalopsia” (a word that refers to the delusion that things are more beautiful than they really are), which is paired with a disturbing yet peaceful music video, to downright funky on “Smooth Sailing,” which adds a grounded drumbeat, some clapping snare, and quick block strikes to Homme’s mischievous falsetto vocals. There’s plenty of variation from track to track, while the vibe of the album still screams Queens of the Stone Age.
The band explores many sounds on the music spectrum, from pummeling hard rock to sensitive ballads. The outcome is a solid showing from the reliable rockers—there’s plenty to pass the time to on Like Clockwork. Alex Fredkin.
The frontman cites this event as a key inspiration for Like Clockwork, the bands sixth studio album. Incapacitated and unable to get up for four months following the operation, he had a spiritual awakening of sorts. He started thinking about the things that matter: mortality, friendship, love, faith.
When he was finally able to pick up a guitar, it all surfaced. The Vampyre of Time and Memory was Hommes first post-surgery composition. I want God to come/ And take me home/ Because Im all alone in this crowd, he sings to the soft pattering of a piano. Who are you to me?/ Who were supposed to be/ Not exactly sure. This is a changed man writing songs from the heart. Not that he wasnt doing so before, but now the symbolism is eschewed and the sentiments are plain. When the press releases for the album kept calling it an audio documentary of a manic year, they were referring directly to Hommes circumstances.
Clockwork is an intensely personal record. Its also an extremely satisfying one to listen to. The man lost none of his musical prowess during his dark period; in fact, he evolved as a songwriter, taking his patented stoner rock and imbuing it with a variety of pop sensibilities. Clockwork is so far removed from Era Vulgaris that youll wonder if its the same band. Bluesy opener Keep Your Eyes Peeled and the ultra-catchy I Sat By the Ocean offer familiar reminders of Hommes best traits searing guitar work and memorable hooks, respectively but then the band dives into Vampyre and an assortment of equally idiosyncratic tunes. The albums pre-release buildup didnt prepare us for this, as Clockwork was shaping up to be a return to Songs for the Deaf-era Queens of the Stone Age. All the major players were coming back: Dave Grohl on drums, Nick Oliveri on vocals, and Mark Lanegan as a co-songwriter.
But while their collective presence is definitely felt, the spotlight remains on Homme, who relishes the moment. Hes made considerable leaps as both a vocalist and lyricist best showcased by the Elton John collab Fairweather Friends.
Johns piano is vital to the songs anthemic chorus, providing a momentous backbone to Hommes croons: Is there anyone out there, or am I walking alone?/ I turned around and found that you’d gone before the first rain could fall. Hes always had a tight turn-of-phrase, but with emotion driving his concepts, the clever wordplay cuts with poignancy. Hommes themes circulate between betrayal, anger, and reconciliation; theyre presented as anecdotes, with the singer as the protagonist. On I Sat By the Ocean, hes drinking to forget the girl who just broke up with him. On I Appear Missing, he cowers, avoiding the conflict entirely.
Notice the use of the first person I. And its not always down-and-out. Smooth Sailing, which touts a filthy guitar lick, sees Homme driving off into the sunset without a worry in the world: Fuck it, bon voyage/ Its smoooooth sailing from here on out. Like Clockwork was a huge risk.
Its one of the most hyped rock albums in recent memory (due in part to a big budget publicity campaign that included everything from a to and ). Yet its also the most ambitious Queens of the Stone Age record both sonically and conceptually. It takes confidence to sing about your own demons when thousands of people are listening. Homme doesnt waver. As he explained:
in all honesty, the last couple of years of failure and anguish have been the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me a chance to figure out whats really important to me. Like Clockwork is one of the years finer rock albums an exercise in songwriting, production, and musicianship. But above all, its the story of a man persevering through a dark time, staying true to himself, and coming out a hero.
Essential Tracks: I Sat By the Ocean, The Vampyre of Time and Memory, and Fairweather Friends Feature artwork by Austin James: Purchase this artwork (via ):.