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Thursday April 7, 2011
The expanded, remastered reissue of Queens Of The Stone Age's classic 1998 debut out digitally March 8 and on CD and vinyl April 19 on Rekords Rekords/Domino can now be streamed in its entirety at the band's website and social media channels, as well via the site of the band's own Rekords Rekords imprint and label partner Domino.
Queens Of The Stone Age will be available on CD (REK001CD), double vinyl LP (REK001LP) and via digital download (REK001D). Pre-orders for the vinyl or CD formats will receive an instantly available digital download of the full record. Queens Of The Stone Age is commemorating the upcoming reissue with a limited series of intimate shows at which the band will play the record in its entirety, plus B-sides and other rarities and hits from the early Queens catalogue up to the present. The tour kicks off March 16 in Austin TX and will now conclude with a just-added second Los Angeles show on April 13, the day after which Queens will appear on CONAN. At press time, the tour was nearly completely sold out, with tickets remaining for only four dates (Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis and Kansas City). The genesis of Queens Of The Stone Age-the band and this first album-goes back to the 1995 dissolution of the criminally overlooked Kyuss, specifically founding guitarist Homme's migration from the California Desert to the Pacific Northwest to work on a new project concurrent with spending time on the road as second guitarist in Screaming Trees. Homme discarded the sludgy low-end expanses of his former band for much tighter song structure (for the most part) and honest-to-goodness capital 'H' hooks and what was originally christened Gamma Ray was quickly changed to Queens Of The Stone Age shortly after its 1996 birth. Homme returned to his old stomping grounds and reunited with latter day Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernandez to record as a fake trio (bass player "Carlo Von Sexron" is a nom-de-boom for Homme) and QOTSA came into full bloom, releasing the original version of this first album in 1998. If this re-issue doesn't document "hour zero," it's only a few minutes past. "Regular John" introduces Homme as a smooth and assured vocalist with great melodic instinct. Tracks like "Avon" and "Walkin On Sidewalks" lock into heavy riffs that are in entrancing in their repetition and subtle shifts. And it's hard to believe that insistently catchy "How To Handle A Rope" didn't make a greater impact on mainstream radio upon its initial release. The Rekords Rekords/Domino re-issue has been fully remastered from the original tapes and expanded by three tracks: "The Bronze" and "These Aren't the Droids Your Looking For" from the long out of print 1998 QOTSA/Beaver split EP and "Spiders and Vinegaroons" from the posthumous Kyuss/QOTSA split EP. The album will be the first released via a worldwide alliance between Queens' Joshua Homme's own Rekords Rekords and Domino to market, promote and distribute selected titles from their catalogue. biography
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE came to bury NuMetal, not to praise it. While the current crop of black shirted crybabies strap on their 7-string guitars and warmed over hip/hop, frontmen Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri have opted to turn the QUEENS into an unpredictable, ever-changing unit, a kind of Q-Tang Clan of Rock.
Emerging from the California desert in 1998 their debut (QOTSA- Loosegroove Records) picked up where the ruins of KYUSS left off, incorporating more pop and soul elements into a psychedelic, trance-inducing genre that came to be known as ‘Stoner Rock.’ Their next release (Rated R- Interscope) further plumbed the depths of this amorphous style and created a mind expanding soundtrack that left critics and audiences wowed on both sides of the Atlantic. Homme and Oliveri took the act on the road and left a trail of dazed converts wherever they went on the two-year tour blitz that followed. Performing with acts all across the musical landscape (Foo Fighters, Ween, Smashing Pumpkins, Pantera, Ozzy) the QUEENS quickly built a reputation as an uncategorizable and highly original act in a sea of drum-programmed sheep. Homme also launched a label (Rekords Rekords) to showcase his DESERT SESSIONS series and various gems from the vault. Armed with a wealth of new material (and producer Eric Valentine) the QUEENS are now completing their new record (Songs for the Deaf- Interscope) and once again they’ve confounded expectations with an audacious, challenging release. In addition to Oliveri (bass/vox) and Homme (gtr/vox) rock legends Dave Grohl (drums) and Mark Lanegan (vox) grace the new LP. Adding further depth to the sonic arsenal are live stalwarts Brendon McNichol, Gene Trautman, and ‘Diamond’ Dave Catching, all long-time collaborators and original players in their own right. What’s next for the unrepentant Kings of Stoner Rock? According to Oliveri- "The QUEENS of the STONEAGE are gonna keep putting out new music and touring the world. Get up on it or get left behind!" |

