Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from the United States. The band was formed in 1996, originally under the name Gamma Ray. Seeking to outgrow the stoner rock label that had begun to envelop previous band Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age (at the time singer/guitarist Josh Homme, and drummer Alfredo Hernandez ) developed a style of riff-oriented, monotonous, heavy and repetitious sound, which Homme described as robot rock, saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, and just pound it into your head". This label no longer holds true and has since been discarded.

Current lineup:

• Josh Homme - Vocals/Guitar/Bass
• Troy Van Leeuwen - Guitar/Bass
• Alain Johannes - Bass/Guitar
• Joey Castillo - Drums
• Natasha Shneider - Keyboards/Vocals
• Mark Lanegan - Guest vocals

History

Their self-titled debut album, Queens of the Stone Age was recorded and released in the spring of 1998, at which time former Kyuss bassist Nick Oliveri joined and touring commenced.

2000's Rated R featured a plethora of musicians familiar with Homme and Oliveri's work and "crew" of sorts: among others, drummers Nick Lucero and Gene Trautman , guitarists Dave Catching, Brendon McNichol and Chris Goss contributed, and even former Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, recording next door, stepped in for a guest spot on "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer". The album was critically successful but found little commercial success, aside from notable opening slots with the Foo Fighters, Hole, and at Ozzfest 2000.

Frequent touring generated support for the band, and grew with former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's addition in late 2001/early 2002. The release of third album Songs for the Deaf that August, brought major attention. Grohl had already been replaced by former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo (ex-Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan, a floater since Rated R, joined as well), but the infection spread by hit "No One Knows" spread to radio and even MTV as Deaf reached gold status in 2003.

Constant touring continued, culminating with a string of headline dates in Australia in January of 2004, after which Oliveri was fired for what boiled down to alleged fan disrespect and excessive partying. Homme, along with Eleven multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes , guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Castillo have recorded a new album for 2005 called Lullabies to Paralyze. Despite Mark Lanegan reportedly turning down an invitation to remain with the band, he has recorded vocals on new tracks and is appearing with the band on tour as scheduling and his health permit.

Lullabies to Paralyze was leaked onto the internet during Feb 2005, and then officially released on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005 in the USA, debuting in the number 5 slot on the Billboard Music Chart.

See also: Kyuss, The Eagles of Death Metal, The Dwarves, Mondo Generator, The Desert Sessions

Musical Equipment

Josh favours Ampeg amplifiers, and can be seen using both an Ovation GP while playing live. He also uses a Maton Mastersound MS520 electric guitar, which he can be seen playing in the video clip for No One Knows.

Troy has been using several guitars, among them a Yamaha AES1500, a Gibson Les Paul and also a Chandler lap steel guitar.

Discography

• Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
• R (2000)
• Songs For The Deaf (2002) UK #4
• Stone Age Complications (2004)
• Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
• untitled DVD ("the tentative release date is November" 2005, according to qotsa.com)

Singles

• 1999 - "If Only "
• 2000 - "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret " UK #31
• 2000 - "Feel Good Hit of the Summer " (EU and Australia only, released in Australia in 2001)
• 2002 - "No One Knows" US #51, UK #15
• 2003 - "Go With the Flow" UK #21
• 2003 - "First It Giveth " UK #33
• 2005 - "Little Sister" US #89, UK #18
• 2005 - "Burn the Witch " (rumoured second single, played by radio airplay in early April, also played live on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on March 25th)

External links

• The Official QOTSA Site (Flash required)
• TheFade.Net (Unofficial. Lyrics, tabs, equipment and more)
• Qotsa-News.Com (Unofficial. News and lyrics)