Queens Of The Stone Age have carved their name among the most influential, genre-bending, death-defying groups in music.
2023's 'In Times New Roman...' exemplifies this tightrope act – it is beguiling, brash, groovy, tight, and just the right kind of sloppy. But there will never be an adjective pointy enough to pin down the world's most slippery band."It's late night here on the east coast in America," shares the group's legendary drummer Jon Theodore, who's on the phone to discuss the new record, their upcoming Australian tour, and what's next for QOTSA.
"I'm just hanging with my dog, drinking some tea. My girl's in the tub – we're planning a baby shower for tomorrow. She's going to give birth in another six weeks – so when I see you next, I will be a proud father!"
'In Times New Roman...' is at once a gamble, a voyage, a heist, and a return to roots for QOTSA. Throwing caution to the wind in which their freak flag flies, the band have drastically expanded their sonic parameters, whilst creating something distinctly, unmistakably QOTSA.
"We basically finally found, as a group, the courage to really be ourselves without judgement. Like, we don't need to 'write' Queens music – we are Queens music."
New tracks, like the Kraut-trance blur of 'Time And Place' and the sickeningly raucous 'Straight Jacket Fitting', have found themselves right at home on the band's already stacked live set list. "We usually play something from every record, or we try to. We try to mix it up all the time – it's fun for us, and it's fun for our fans.
"It's just been a pleasure. The crowds are getting bigger, and our show is as good as it could ever be right now. With the way the band is playing, the lights, the sound – it's top notch. And people are responding to us in a way that certainly feels different to the entire ten years that I've been in the band."
Ten years may sound like a long time, but for an act that's been going strong since 1996, it's a testament to the group's enduring relevance that their shows, and fans, are still on a steady incline.
"We were talking about it the other day. It's like, normally you just get big – either you do, or you don't. You come out and you are what you are, and then you struggle to maintain.
"But we have just continued to do whatever the f... we want, and it continues to grow. After so many years, to still be growing, is a really unusual thing, I think."
QOTSA have recently played a string of USA shows with the deliciously greasy Viagra Boys. "It was incredible, man," Jon says discussing the North American leg of 'The End Is Nero' tour.
"Those guys are a true joy to be around. Those dudes, they get on the bus, and it's just like 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' [the 1986 underground classic metal documentary].
"It's what I love the most about music. There's nothing homogenous about it. It's like a f...ed up boy band! You know? Everyone couldn't be more different. It's the biggest collection of misfit toys, and they come together, and they do something that's so elemental, and so special.
"Every night I watched, and they'd start their first song, and there were some people who already knew them, going crazy. But every night new people would be like 'damn, alright,' after the first song. And then by the end of the set, they were taking their shirts off!
"The thing [Viagra Boys] do – it's all muscle and no fat. It's so scumbag-ish, and it's the best type of postmodern. They're like the Basquiat of scum rockers, and they couldn't be nicer people. They were a joy to be around, and to share the stage with."
It's no surprise that a band with such staying power has caught the attention of leading names in music, with Josh Homme having worked with the likes of Iggy Pop, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Lady Gaga, and John Paul Jones.
In 2021, Homme was invited to record a version of The Beatles' legend Paul McCartney's 'Lavatory Lil' for his 'McCartney III Imagined' remix album. While it doesn't get much bigger than working with a Beatle, QOTSA have a reputation for being down-to-earth captains of industry.
The group have developed a strong connection to nourishing both the historic and current pulse of rock, having toured with the likes of Phantogram, Nine Inch Nails, and Australia's own C. W. Stoneking.
"We had Jehnny Beth out there too, who is incredible. We had a couple shows that were just home runs. We're in rare air right now – we're playing better than we ever have before. Every night it felt like we kept levelling up.
"There were some shows in our traditional spots, like Portland and Vancouver. We played Riot Fest in Chicago, which was really fun. We played Aftershock and got to spend some time with the Guns 'N' Roses guys, which was awesome."
Other recent collaborations have included longstanding guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen's work with The Armed, and as touring guitarist for The Damned and Jane's Addiction. Multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita is a longstanding member of The Dead Weather, alongside Jack White of The White Stripes and Alison Mosshart of The Kills.
Theodore himself is no stranger to working with major names. He's been a defining element of the early albums of The Mars Volta, in addition to recording with the likes of Trans Am, Kirk Hammett, and Bright Eyes.
On the band's longevity and shared successes, Jon says QOSTA are simply all in. "Ya know, we're just slaves to the rock & roll – we dedicate our lives to it. There's just no other option, you've got to press on."
Recently, Queens have been shuffling their set list, bringing back deeper cuts from their 2007 robot rock masterpiece 'Era Vulgaris', including 'Misfit Love' and 'Turnin' On The Screw'.
"There are so many [QOTSA] records now, there are so many songs – it's hard to get everything in there. We all love everything, and we change the set – at least some – every night.
"At this point, we have a couple handfuls of songs we've been pulling from. But part of the fun is to dust something off and have a challenge to relearn something new, and it feels like you're playing it for the first time all over again."
Other recent live resurrections have included the likes of 'First It Giveth' and 'God Is In The Radio', both from 2002's classic, 'Songs For The Deaf'.
"I mean, I still haven't played all the songs [from the band's discography]! At some point, we probably will. We frisbee around ideas all the time. We've been playing 'Battery Acid' [from 'Era Vulgaris'] again. We've been putting first record songs in there again recently.
"All of the records, they're all unique – they're eight little weird children. So it varies from night to night – but we usually get something from every record, or we try to. But it's hard now because there are so many records!"
'In Times New Roman...' takes chances from the first note, opening with the Bowie-fied freak funk of 'Obscenery'. From there the road riskily twists, veering into baroque rock on 'Made To Parade' to the orchestrally sexy, Radiohead-esque 'Sicily'.
"It's actually impossible to pick a favourite song, because the thing I love the most about this record is that we really had this great flash of inspiration," Jon says.
"After a significant amount of time beating our heads against the wall, the heavens broke, and a big lightning bolt of inspiration came down. You know, almost all the final songs are between the first and third takes. They're just all of us playing together in the room – very few overdubs."
Jon regularly makes lists of the greatest living drummers. As a musician, he cites Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Elvin Jones, and John McEntire of Tortoise among his influences.
His drums on 'In Times New Roman...' are a remarkable blend of classic rock power and deceptive intricacy. "On the drums, I used more or less the same set between songs – but they all took a different approach. I love 'Obscenery'. . . it's a totally weird beat, and I put a hi-hat over on the right [of the drum kit], because I couldn't play it solid with my hands crossed! It was totally whackadoodle.
"But I remember 'Paper Machete' only took like 15 minutes to get together. . . And on 'Emotion Sickness', we were stumbling around, and suddenly it was like, 'let's just try it'. We did a couple of takes, and it was like, 'I don't think we need to try this again'. So, they all have their unique qualities that make them important to me for one reason or another, musically."
The band have implemented countless styles, production and recording devices over their eight LPs. The first of the group's latest trilogy was 2013's operatic '...Like Clockwork', a family affair featuring Elton John, Trent Reznor, Alex Turner, Dave Grohl, and more.
Conversely, 2017's air-tight 'Villains' had minimal featured artists, and was produced by pop mastermind Mark Ronson. As per usual with Queens, nothing is as per usual, and the self-produced 'In Times New Roman...' took yet another left turn.
"The recording process was something special and memorable. We really were all over each other, synergistic, making moves together in this natural flow state that I had never experienced with those guys before. Especially coming off 'Villains', which was so hyper-produced, and every single hit was mixed and EQd.
"So, to have it be the opposite where it's just like – throw it against the wall, put the tapes on, like 'we know what we're doing – let's do it'. That made it this beautiful, immediate, brutal triumph – personally and musically too.
"It really was a memorable recording experience. I feel like the way we're playing now on stage – it originated there. We're still carrying the flame that lit during those sessions."
Nothing says rock & roll like QOTSA. With 8 albums released in 25 years, the band have become an amorphous solid, mutating far beyond the desert rock sound of songwriter Josh Homme's seminal group, Kyuss.
When pressed on where he'd like the band to go next, Jon seems happy to go with the flow. "That's interesting man – I mean, like I said, 'Villains' was heavily produced, everything was mapped and scripted.
"The reason why 'In Times New Roman...' stands apart from that, and feels more natural to me, is because it was. It was like, 'Everybody love everybody. Okay, recording? Let's go.' So, I think I'd like to see it go even further that way.
"So, I think moving forward, anything is possible. We could do a record of ten-minute Kraut groovers, like some sort of techno rave rock first record vibes. Or we could make an album of you know, piano and guitar ballads, where I play like bongos or some sh.t. We can do whatever the f... we want!
"The thing that I do know it will be, is that it'll be the five of us."
Queens Of The Stone Age 2024 Tour Dates
Sat 10 Feb - Red Hill Auditorium (Perth)Tue 13 Feb - The Drive (Adelaide)
Fri 16 Feb - Mona Lawns (Hobart)
Sun 18 Feb - Torquay Common (Torquay)
Mon 19 Feb - Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Melbourne)
Wed 21 Feb - Hordern Pavilion (Sydney)
Thu 22 Feb - Horden Pavilion (Sydney)
Sat 24 Feb - Broadwater Parklands (Gold Coast)
Sun 25 Feb - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
Mon 26 Feb - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
