The moment that “Millionaire” kicked in, my mind was blown. Everyone in the immediate vicinity was gawking at the asshole (me) playing music at an obnoxious volume. What they didn’t understand was that I was listening to the best album of 2002. The race is over. Nothing is going to touch Songs For The Deaf. This album is masterful, loud and most of all, it rocks harder than anything that’s been released in recent memory. You can argue with me all you want, but I’m just going to turn it up and drown your worthless opinion out.
How am I supposed to convey exactly how astonishing this album is? I can’t. As I sit hear and write this with Queens Of The Stone Age encompassing every bit of my sonic space, I am literally at a loss for words. I could make some feeble attempt to dissect the instrumentation and tell you that everything sounds just right, but you need to listen to this album.
Aside from Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri (the constant members), the skills of Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan help to make this album nothing short of incredible. Dave hits with such force and love, you’d think he’d been saving up his wad for this record (oh right, he does have that other band). And Mark Lanegan…well, no one can come close to the spooky, nearly sub-sonic quality that is his signature.
I must confess that I’ve had this album in one form or another for several months. Since the day it was handed to me, I have listened to it several times a week, sometimes all day. I didn’t expect to be so blown away by the final version, but I am. And honestly, I won’t name bands or albums, but there’s only been one other band I have felt so passionately about. My hunch is that Queens Of The Stone Age will change music. If they don’t, well, then they will continue to make some of the most towering music in rock. And I do mean R O C K.
[Note: Get the album ASAP. The limited-edition DVD that comes with the album has some amazing live footage, especially from the Troubadour show they played earlier this year. Also, put the CD in your computer and it doesn’t work, that’s because you have a copy protected version of it. It seems that Interscope/Universal are trying out some new technology to keep people from ripping the album. If you end up with one of these albums, promptly return it and say it’s defective. Fuck Interscope and fuck Universal. How dare they.]
