VILLAINS | QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

Artist: Queens of the Stone Age Album: Villains Release date: Aug. 25th, 2017

Alternative-metal band Queens of the Stone Age collaborated with producer and musician Mark Ronson to work on Villains, QOTSA’S seventh album. The rockers revamped their own musical style by embracing the stylistic renderings of Ronson’s poppy vibes to create a killer soundtrack from a carnival for hell, in true QOTSA fashion.

Most of the tracks heard on this album are softened and clean cut. The grit-stricken style heard in their previous albums is not as blatant. Four years later, hints of the style fans of QOTSA expect has shifted and smoothly coalesces with Ronson’s flavor.

Listeners should not fear as the band’s signature sound is still present with only slight alterations. Flourishes of QOTSA’s moody rock ‘n’ roll riffs are heard in “The Evil Has Landed.” The track includes Josh Homme’s signature guitar solos paired with his classic falsetto vocals.

Some of the songs carry a little surprise in them. The song “Domesticated Animals” closes with the sound of soft piano notes reminiscent of an instrumental version of a Radiohead song. The violin then slowly merges into the beginning of the following song, “Fortress.”

QOTSA enjoys defying people’s expectations. Homme told Billboard.com, “I have no interest fitting in. I want to fuck with people at every stage.”