Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes. The current line-up consists of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboard, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). The band also have a large pool of contributors and collaborators.[1] Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.
Formed after the dissolution of Homme's previous band Kyuss,[2] the band originated from the Palm Desert music scene. Their self-titled debut album was recorded with former Kyuss members Alfredo Hernández on drums and Homme on all other instruments. It was well received by critics for its stoner rock sound which Homme has described as "robot rock". Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan joined as additional vocalists for Rated R, which was commercially and critically successful. Rated R diversified their musical palette with forays into psychedelic rock, punk rock and heavy metal, and featured their breakout single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", which lists six recreational drugs. Songs for the Deaf was released in 2002 to universal acclaim and commercial success. Featuring Dave Grohl on drums and contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider, the album saw the band further experiment with instrumentation, such as string and horn arrangements, and featured some of the band's most enduring singles "No One Knows" and "Go with the Flow". By this time, the band had achieved considerable international recognition, and have since embarked on successive world tours. Following Oliveri and Lanegan's departures, Homme was the primary singer for 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze and 2007's electronic-influenced Era Vulgaris.
After a few years of inactivity, the more sombre and introspective ...Like Clockwork was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. The band released Villains in 2017 with Mark Ronson as producer.[1]
The band have been nominated for Grammy Awards seven times; four times for Best Hard Rock Performance, twice for Best Rock Album, and once for Best Rock Performance.[3]
After the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, in 1995, Josh Homme briefly joined Screaming Trees as a touring guitarist,[4] before deciding to form a new band, Gamma Ray. In 1996 they released the eponymous Gamma Ray EP, featuring "Born to Hula" and "If Only Everything" (which would later appear on their self-titled debut as "If Only"). The EP featured Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Van Conner from Screaming Trees, and percussionist Victor Indrizzo.[5]
Gamma Ray changed their name in 1997 after the German power metal band Gamma Ray threatened to sue. The name "Queens of the Stone Age" came from a nickname given to Kyuss by their producer Chris Goss. Homme said of the name: "Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle ... Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided."[6]