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Queens of the Stone Age - Villains |OT| One Last Feel-Good Hit of the Summer

M

Maridia

Member
Robot Pants said:
Yea that's right
I think as a band they get better and better with each new album. Except with Era Vulgaris. That was a step back
Click to expand...

That's my order, as well. I actually got into them with Era Vulgaris, or, more accurately, the live bonus disc that it came with, which showed that they had a lot more to offer than the seemingly pretty tossed together album.
 
K

[KoRp]Jazzman

Member
Forgot this was coming out today, but man is this the definition of short and sweet.

Really need to see them live at some point in my life.
 
O

Ocara

Member
Great album, not the usual qotsa sound but homme provides some solid vocals that keeps it grounded. Lots of vultures-sounding influence to the music which is great. Lyrics are overall pretty good and lots of great wordplay which i love about their songs.

Kinda like the slower clockwork-like songs such as fortress too. Theres a good mix of the various styles theyve tried over the years. I think whatever style you liked this is a good grab-bag thatll have at least one thing for everyone. (Except maybe the really chuggy metal guitars and lightning-fast drums they had back when which are sadly absent here.)
 
S

sasliquid

Member
Third listen and it's growing a bit on me but it's no Like Clockwork,nothing as instantly enjoyable as fairweather friends or smooth sailing
 
L

Lightningboalt

Neo Member
Not the best QOTSA album but still a damn fun one. I'm just glad to have more QOTSA to listen to, I like a lot of music but Josh Homme's various projects are pretty much the one thing I get really excited for. I enjoy all the songs but I think Head Like a Haunted House is a bit weaker, I like the fast paced energy of it but something about the opening doesn't work for me. Still an enjoyable song but it doesn't quite click, I guess. And I'll just add myself to the pile of people who love Feet Don't Fail Me, its opening is ridiculously good. If I have one complaint about Villains, I wish it had one or two more songs on it - album feels pretty brief. But hey, it brought me Feet Don't Fail Me and Villains of Circumstance so it was well worth the wait.

Seemingly unpopular opinion though, I really like The Way You Used To Do and think it's a pretty good single. At first I didn't care for it but it has grown on me quite a bit. On a similar note, I actually wasn't a huge fan of My God is the Sun, solid song but probably my least favorite Queens single and the only song on Like Clockwork that I don't love.
 
N

Nothus

Member
Villains of Circumstance is a pretty cool track, has a nice atmosphere to it.
But yeah I have to echo what a few others have said, QOTSAs first three albums are just completely untouchable in my eyes and nothing they've put out post SFTD has even come close.
But I can't really blame Josh too much for it either, life just went on for him and of course that will have an effect on his music. He's been married with kids for a while now so if he was still writing tracks like You Would Know then it would just be fucking weird.

I'm just grateful that we got those three stellar albums from them, and the Kyuss albums too.

I'll always support what Josh and QOTSA do going forward.

Now excuse me while I go listen to Better Living Through Chemistry :)
 
V

Veal

Member
Feet Don't Fail Me is exactly what I wanted. Is that Nick
Oliveri screaming at the end of Domesticated Animals??
 
G

GeeTeeCee

Member
I've just gone through my first listen of the album, and while it'll take a few more plays to figure out how it compares to previous albums, I really enjoyed it.

Feet Don't Fail Me was almost exactly the song I've been wanting since I first heard the riff, and at the moment I'm also liking Domesticated Animals and Un-Reborn Again.
 
F

flipp_jackson

Neo Member
it's not bad but a bit of a let down. i'll have to give it a few more spins to get a final verdict though. i've been listening to them since rated r so i think my order would be something like:

songs for the deaf > rated R > self titled > like clockwork > lullabies > villains > era vulgaris

it depresses me how much their output has slowed down in the past decade. the first half of their career was pretty prolific. 5 of their 7 albums came out in those first ten years. and yeah, homme's side projects are cool (post pop depression was one of my favorite albums from last year), but i'd rather get a queens album more often than every 4-5 years
 
N

Neith

Banned
He'll never top the first three albums IMO. They are still a great band though. Every time I listen to their new record it just kind of is a decent record and nothing more. Like a bunch of talented guys got together to put some tracks down. But what can you do they have proved all they need to prove.

And what the fuck is with the debut. They remastered it, but you can't find it anywhere AGAIN lol. Try printing more than 2000 copies guys. Jesus.
 
A

AcridMeat

Banned
On second listen. I'm in a more relaxed mood and this is hitting well. Still don't like TWYUTD but I can tolerate it.

I think Domesticated Animals is a bit too simplistic in layout for how long it is. The chorus is solid though.

Then the breakdown hits around 3 minutes and the song gets real good.

I do really like the violin at the end too.


Fortress owns
 
M

mreddie

Member
Clockwork > Deaf > Villains > Lullabies > R > Vulgaris > QOTSA

Villains is fun to listen when listened to whole, there are some eh songs but nothing that sounds like filler. Feet is solid opener and Villains, fuck, that is almost as solid as a closer as Song for the Deaf

Overall 4/5.
 
F

Floex

Member
I was kinda worried, wasn't really feeling the singles they put online and Mark Ronsons involvement had me scratching my head but given it a full play through and absolutely loving it. Feels like an extension of 'Like Clockwork', perhaps a tad poppier than that though. More upbeat too but that classic Queens darkness has its greasy paws all over it.
 
I

itwasTuesday

He wasn't alone.
dizzy dizzy dizzy
we all fall down

Feet don't fail me is such a grabber at the start. I don't see it as a single, but I really like it so far.

Domesticated Animals is really good, and flows right into Fortress which I haven't formed a good idea what it is yet.

Un-Reborn Again has that slide they love

Enjoying this so far.
 
R

Rock And Roll

Member
I really enjoyed this album. Don't know where it will end up in the all time QoTSA ranking list but it's another solid album. Feet Don't Fail Me, Domesticated Animals and Head Like A Haunted House are all top tier.
 
P

Polari

Member
As I said in the other thread, I reckon this is their best since Lullabies, maybe Songs. I don't like the openers much (TWYUTD sounds like it was written to soundtrack a car or mobile phone ad), but everything from "Domesticated Animals" on is a winner.
 
F

FrenchMovieTheme

Member
Polari said:
As I said in the other thread, I reckon this is their best since Lullabies, maybe Songs. I don't like the openers much (TWYUTD sounds like it was written to soundtrack a car or mobile phone ad), but everything from "Domesticated Animals" on is a winner.
Click to expand...

The way you used to is my least favorite but it sounds nothing like a typical car ad (although Zeppelin and the stones have been in car ads)
 
greyshark

greyshark

Member
Finally got to listen to the whole thing - have mixed feelings about the single but I really liked the album. Head Like a Haunted House is my initial favorite.
 
A

Ash735

Member
Will drop my thoughts on the album later but just a heads up that they've uploaded all of the album onto their YouTube.
 
S

seldead

Member
Rated R was THE album that like actually got me into music as a kid. Life changing stuff. In saying that I don't understand how like clockwork was so well received here and everywhere else I've looked on the internet. Whole album sounded like B side filler tracks to SFTD and Lullabies. As a result I set the bar pretty low for Villains and after a couple of listens its about met it.

HOT TAKE: The era vulgaris hate here is insane, turning on the screw and misfit love have more groove, licks and musical interest than the entirety of like clockwork and villains combined.

Rated R > SFTD > QOTSA > Era Vulgaris > Lullabies >>>>> Like Clockwork = Villains
 
N

Nothus

Member
seldead said:
Rated R was THE album that like actually got me into music as a kid. Life changing stuff. In saying that I don't understand how like clockwork was so well received here and everywhere else I've looked on the internet. Whole album sounded like B side filler tracks to SFTD and Lullabies. As a result I set the bar pretty low for Villains and after a couple of listens its about met it.

HOT TAKE: The era vulgaris hate here is insane, turning on the screw and misfit love have more groove, licks and musical interest than the entirety of like clockwork and villains combined.

Rated R > SFTD > QOTSA > Era Vulgaris > Lullabies >>>>> Like Clockwork = Villains
Click to expand...

Agree with pretty much all of this. I think I prefer Lullabies over Era Vulgaris though, just slightly. But yeah Clockwork did nothing for me either.
 
F

FrenchMovieTheme

Member
seldead said:
Rated R was THE album that like actually got me into music as a kid. Life changing stuff. In saying that I don't understand how like clockwork was so well received here and everywhere else I've looked on the internet. Whole album sounded like B side filler tracks to SFTD and Lullabies. As a result I set the bar pretty low for Villains and after a couple of listens its about met it.

HOT TAKE: The era vulgaris hate here is insane, turning on the screw and misfit love have more groove, licks and musical interest than the entirety of like clockwork and villains combined.

Rated R > SFTD > QOTSA > Era Vulgaris > Lullabies >>>>> Like Clockwork = Villains
Click to expand...

Era Vulgaris is their weakest album. There are some standouts, but overall below par for queens. It's still a good album but I think it's clearly below the rest. If I had to rate them:

Sftd > qotsa > rated r = lullabies > LC > villains >>>> ev

Also, where were the bsides for LC? There has to be something out there. Kinda crummy to think after EV we've gotten 18 new queens songs in the past 10 years. I know TCV came out too but still :/
 
F

FrenchMovieTheme

Member
Ash735 said:
Villains of Circumstance is a leftover from TCV, Josh played it acoustically a few times around 2014/5.
Click to expand...

I sometimes wonder how often bands do this. There is some queens in tcv and vice versa. I remember a story Iggy pop told about David Bowie and the song scary monsters. Bowie had been working on the song off and on for the better part of a decade. Collaborated with Iggy on how to get the song improved but he had nothing. Then 7 or 8 years later Bowie finally got it right and the song was released. I love reading about stuff like that. Makes me wish I had that type of dedication and vision in music
 
3

31GhostsIV

Banned
FrenchMovieTheme said:
I sometimes wonder how often bands do this. There is some queens in tcv and vice versa. I remember a story Iggy pop told about David Bowie and the song scary monsters. Bowie had been working on the song off and on for the better part of a decade. Collaborated with Iggy on how to get the song improved but he had nothing. Then 7 or 8 years later Bowie finally got it right and the song was released. I love reading about stuff like that. Makes me wish I had that type of dedication and vision in music
Click to expand...

Radiohead's catalogue is full of songs like this, with various arrangements popping up for years before they even find their way on to an album.

I love Scary Monsters, that's one of my favourite Bowie albums (might even be my favourite).
 
K

Karspankey

Banned
FrenchMovieTheme said:
I sometimes wonder how often bands do this. There is some queens in tcv and vice versa. I remember a story Iggy pop told about David Bowie and the song scary monsters. Bowie had been working on the song off and on for the better part of a decade. Collaborated with Iggy on how to get the song improved but he had nothing. Then 7 or 8 years later Bowie finally got it right and the song was released. I love reading about stuff like that. Makes me wish I had that type of dedication and vision in music
Click to expand...

Kinda related: I found a clip of STP rehearsing for their SNL performance and actually noticed them playing a song called Hollywood Bitch that came out in 2001. These rehearsals took place in 1993

Here is the SNL clip (27:20 if it doesn't link right): https://youtu.be/NgOvgeavyOE?t=27m20s

And here is the song that released in 2001: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihOkHV70F-8

Some musicians sit on stuff for a long time
 
N

Ninhead

Member
"Un-Reborn Again" finally clicked for me. Wow. "...LC" was my favorite album before (and nothing here touches "I Appear Missing" or "Kalopsia") but this is making an argument.
 
Robot Pants

Robot Pants

Member
Ninhead said:
"Un-Reborn Again" finally clicked for me. Wow. "...LC" was my favorite album before (and nothing here touches "I Appear Missing" or "Kalopsia") but this is making an argument.
Click to expand...
All the songs will eventually click for you. Trust me. For all of you
 
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