Queens of the Stone Age

Some nice but generic 2000s rock. Honestly, it feels more like a promising demo than a complete album. I liked it, but really not a ton draws me back. (Also, Josh Homme always feels like a dollar store Chris Cornell to me lol)

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive/hallucinogenic brew made from various plants and considered among the indigenous people of South America’s Amazon basin to be a ceremonial spiritual medicine. It is purported by many to be effective in treating things like chronic depression and addiction. Author Michael Pollan wrote an excellent book in 2018, 'How to Change Your Mind,' in which he also advocates the use of other psychedelics (namely, L.S.D. and psilocybin mushrooms) in treating disorders as well as offering spiritual insight and transcendence. Both shamans and modern scientific researchers, however, insist that these substances are only a first step, a jump start if you will, into a more sustainable practice of things like daily meditation for life-long wellness. And neither condone hallucinogens for purely recreational purposes. I got very close to taking an ayahuasca treatment a while back, met the requirements and had all but signed up and made travel plans to a location here in the U.S, but then finally decided against it. I was scared of the possibility of persistent psychosis that is also reported among persons who may have a history of psychiatric disorders. I have shown symptoms of mild borderline personality disorder, but this is only a self-diagnosis, unconfirmed by medical professionals. My personal belief, gut reaction/intuition, is that my emotional and behavioral issues are more accurately spiritual disorders, which I’ve been treating for the last few years with a twice daily practice of Sahaja Yoga meditation, among other things. It’s a slow, lengthy process, but I am making significant recovery back to health and wellness. The reason I bring this up is because of the nature of the ayahuasca experience as differentiated from L.S.D. and mushroom. Acid and ‘shroom trips can be both frightening but also quite pleasurable, ecstatic even. But ayahuasca, by contrast, is designed to plunge the recipient into the very heart of terror. The guidance being not to flee from one’s demons (and I’m using that term in a more Hindu/Buddhist/Taoist way rather than a traditional Jewish/Christian/Muslim understanding) but to face them and allow these deeply buried entities, now unearthed, to guide you to a better place. This is exactly what my meditative practice is also accomplishing, albeit in a much gentler, gradual, and less frightening way. As I was listening to 'Queens of the Stone Age,' I was very aware of lyricists Josh Homme and Alfredo Hernandez’s own potential disordered (perhaps even sociopathic, or worse, psychopathic) thoughts, at least as revealed in their lyrics, which are by design subject to a variety of interpretations. These fellas are talented and creative lyricists, no doubt. Still, there is a tremendous amount of violent cutting going on in this LP, among both the objects and subjects of the hellish scenarios they present. In ‘Avon,’ for example, the ‘Free range humans (are) all cooped up… I string ‘em up, I cut ‘em down.’ On the final track, ‘I Was a Teenage Hand Model,’ the protagonist peaks in the window, ‘lookin’ inside, the butcher’s got a fork in your face. I’m standin’ alive, and I was singin’…’ Most disturbing of all, on ‘You Can’t Quit Me Baby,’ we experience the actions of a ‘psycho in love,’ who breaks into his ex-lover’s home and kills himself: ‘I slashed and I cut and I do it for you. I want you to notice when I’m not around.’ And, ‘I’ll see you in hell.’ This is accompanied by a guitar solo that literally evokes a disturbed mind, and then an accelerated tempo at the end concluding in a cacophony of sounds which is quite effective in its artistic representation of insanity, despair, and bloody suicide. It was scary, and not in a fun-scary rollercoaster ride kind of way. (Allow me to make a quick comment here, off the subject. On the final track, a reference is made to the patience of Job. The intent of the story of Job has very little to do with patience, at least as I understand it. Furthermore, as much as I adore Pink Floyd’s 'Dark Side of the Moon,' the Bible reads the love of money as the root of all evil, not simply money itself. I wouldn’t expect casual readers of either the Hebrew or Christian scriptures to know that, nor do I blame them for the mistake, but I just had to get that off my chest. You know, for the record. Ok, back to 'Queens of the Stone Age.') Musically, these boys are in my sweet spot. I do love me some stoner rock, man But these fellas have lifted their version up from the sludge of the Wishkah river where most play, and rinsed theirs off until its squeaky cleanier, sleeker even, and much closer to that wonderfully rich, deep Black Sabbath-esque vibe that is so influential to stoner rock bands, rather than the full-fledged grunge of, say, Nirvana. Josh Homme, while not as good a singer as Soundgarden’s late vocalist Chris Cornell, definitely echoes a similar mood. And he (also playing guitar, bass, and keyboards) and drummer Hernandez share musical surprises galore throughout, including an excellent understanding of dynamics, melodic guitar solos that are more concerned with serving the song rather than showing off (‘If Only’ is a good, but hardly the only, example), and even a taste of prog metal- a quirky 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, 4/4, 4/5 time signature on the LP’s sole instrumental, ‘Hispanic Impressions.’ I’m also a real sucker for that repetitive groove so common to the stoner rockers. ‘Walking On the Sidewalks’ produces a near trance-like state towards the end. They could’ve played that thing for ten more minutes (I’m guessing they just might in concert) and I would’ve been more than content to listen. Seeing as how the folks who create the 1001 LP list did not see fit to include any Melvins recordings (a true loss and major disappointment) I’m pleasantly surprised and relieved to discover this LP, 'Queens of the Stone Age,' as a close alternative. I love everything about this album, despite approaching the lyrics with a bit of caution. I’m emotionally mature enough, now, to take it. However, I would most certainly not recommend this while taking a hallucinogenic trip. It pretty much serves that purpose just fine all by itself. And sometimes the trip soars like an angel, but then it just as quickly takes an awfully scary descent. To smooth out the whole thing, I would recommend a big ol’ bong hit or two before dropping the needle to vinyl, or whatever musical platform you’re on (they’ve never come up with a term descriptive of the playing of virtual music that’s as good as the needle to vinyl image.) I mean, there’s a reason why they call this ‘stoner rock.’ Turn it up real fucking loud, too.

piss shit cum

“Queens of the Stone Age” by Queens of the Stone Age (1998) Marginally competent stoner rock, but this ain’t Nirvana. Composition needlessly repetitive. Too much l/r separation and hanky-panky in the mix. Pathetic vocals. Senseless lyrics. I preferred the original vinyl LP cover art. 2/5

I like the dusty desert sluggishness of the album, and think with a bit more refinement this could be an excellent album.

2.7 - Really nothing special. It's got a straightforward, commercial hard rock sound. Vocals never grabbed me. Uninteresting guitar parts - just a generic high gain drone with the same patterns: power chord-power chord-riff. Songs don't land anywhere emotionally. I'd hear this at a head shop and not give it a second thought. Chuck this album and listen to Superunknown instead.

I love QOTSA. I would rate songs for the deaf, like clockwork and r rated above this album though. It’s a shame they are not on the list. But in there absence their debut is getting a 5. So much sex and swagger to this.

I consider myself a fan, but I must not be a true fan because I have to admit I started at Songs for the Deaf and never looked backward in their discography. This sounds fantastic. Weird to think that Josh Homme was only like, 25 when he made this. The QOTSA sound was already fully formed.

Too serious to make a virtue of their dumbness, too dumb to conceive of seriousness as anything other than vocal lassitude and fuzzy guitars. More proof that whoever wrote this book used spin the bottle to choose albums from the 90's.

There's just something about the way this sounds that's so pleasing to my ears

This record, along with Rated R got a lot of play from me back when they were released, and I got to see them on the Rated R tour, naked-ass Nick Oliveri and all. With each subsequent record following Rated R, my interest in this band began to wane exponentially, but these first two are records I really like and will revisit every once in a while. 4 stars. Rated R is the one that should be on the list, though.

Not my cup of tea; I like the general sound of QotSA, but this album feels boring, like the same bass and drums lines continue throughout the album. Meh.

We fuck to QOTSA

What a cracker of a first album. Still lots of Kyuss vibes but completely Josh starting something fresh.

Weirdly had QotSA grouped with a bunch of forgettable post-grunge bands without really having listened to much. Turns out this is a actually a really good lo-fi garage rock album. Pleasantly surprising.

Great riffs drive every song. A little too long and I’m quite glad I can’t understand those bizarrely written lyrics when he’s singing but overall excellent (and I despise hard rock)! The finish is nice and soft. 5 stars.

I've been listening to QOTSA nonstop for like 6 months so this is fitting. Great album. Josh with a guitar is even sexier than this cover.

This album smells like oil and gasoline

So I was bemoaning that this was the only Queens album on the list, despite Rated R being one of the most well reviewed rock albums of the 2000s and Songs for the Deaf I think now generally considered a landmark. This is great, I cannot deny. I don’t have the same love as their next two albums but I can’t disagree with it’s inclusion

SUBLIME

Some good old rock. It got alot of energy, cool riffs and overall enjoyed the album. I will gladly hear it again

Fucking good band my friends, fucking good band indeed.

Fantastic effort

QotSA is incredible and are one of my favorite bands. This album is very good, but not as polished as their later work. I love Josh's vocals - they compliment the heavy instrumentals perfectly. The album is long enough, so there is no need for bonus tracks from the reissue, but they are great nonetheless. The music only gets better from here and I would rather the list have included Songs for the Deaf and Like Clockwork, which are absolute masterpieces. Fave songs: Regular John, Avon, If Only, Mexicola

Disclaimer: dit is een rating voor Songs for the Deaf van QotSA. Waarom? Lees vooral verder. We kennen inmiddels de bizarre obsessie van de makers van deze snoblijst met debuutalbums. Debuutalbums zijn soort van heilig. Maar laat me dan bij dit album uitleggen, waarom dat niet terecht is. Overigens, vind ik dit helemaal geen slecht album, ik zou het prima een 4 kunnen geven. Maar dit is by far niet het beste album van QotSA. De kenners weten dat deze band voortkomt uit het roemruchte Kyuss, een soort grondlegger van de desert- en stonerrock. Als je die stroming in deze lijst wil hebben of dit QotSA-album ziet als een soort grondlegger, pak dan een album van Kyuss. De muziek van QotSA evolueert juist verder in een meer radiovriendelijk geluid en gaat via Rated R, door naar het hoogtepunt van Songs for the Deaf. Vervolgens worden er nog een paar prima albums gemaakt (die niet het niveau hebben van Songs for the Deaf) en inmiddels is er net weer een nieuw album uit. Als je dan slechts 1 album wil pakken van QotSA (ook daarover kunnen de meningen verschillen), dan zou dat voor de meeste mensen Songs for the Deaf zijn. Maar nee, deze snoblijst moet weer alleen het debuutalbum in de lijst zetten. Volstrekt onbegrijpelijk. Gelukkig is de muziek te lekker om er lang in te blijven en geef ik dus 5 sterren. Voor Songs of the Deaf.

Another one that I've never listened to at all before. I've always enjoyed QOTSA singles but never really understood why they got so much attention. However, I do now! Listening to this at full blast in the car on a hot sticky summer's day made me feel like I was driving across the deserts of New Mexico instead of semi rural Leinster. It's such a unique sound, I'm going to have to go and listen to their other albums now and see how they hold up. If I can stop listening to this one that is, just finished my 4th listen!

I love Queens of the Stone Age but for some reason haven't listened to this album. I wish I would have sooner! Listened to it twice in a row today.

Fuck yeah QotSA

cool

Fuzz stoner rock, very cool. Classic queens

This group is so good, especially in their early days. Granted, this is their debut album and I would say that it takes them 2-3 albums to really hit their stride and start to define the QOTSA signature sound. I can't get enough of this dirty, loud, garage-style sound that comes out of the guitar through this entire album. The drums fills, the guitar solos, and the added synthetic effects in spots all marry together so well. Really fun listen, gets me fired up. Fave tracks: Walkin on the Sidewalks, Mexicola, You Can't Quit Me Baby, Spiders and Vinegaroons

Never listened to QOTSA's debut since it didn't really have any notable singles, but damn is it good!

Desert Rock \m/,

Better every listen

Queens of the Stone Age - Self-Titled - 1998 This album came out the year I graduated from high school. I had stoner friends that loved Kyuss, so when Kyuss/QOTSA released a split EP in ’97, the stoner music crowd was excited for a new Josh Homme-fronted project hailing once again from the California desert. I didn’t give QOTSA much thought for a long time. One day I was watching one of Anthony Bourdain’s food-related travel shows and he was hanging out with Josh Homme in the desert. They were cooking, drinking, playing music, and having a great time. I loved that Bourdain was so into Homme and his music. So I decided to give QOTSA a proper listen. They have been in my regular rotation ever since. This is their first full-length album. It is more polished than a lot of stoner/rock freshman releases. That is likely due to years of experience touring and recording as Kyuss. Out of all their albums, this isn’t the ONE album I would choose from their discography, but it is 100% QOTSA. It is funny, loud, groovy, danceable, and at times a little annoying. Picking a favorite track is hard, but because of the wicked bass intro, and because it has everything I love about the band in one song, I have to go with Mexicola. Also, I might have a bit of a man crush on Homme. 5 out of 5 stars.

landmark riffy stoner rock. i really love this album, but QOTSA would scale to more glorious heights on subsequent releases.

Regular John is such a strong opener - one of my favorite rock songs period. So danceable, I have hard time staying in my seat with this one. If Only has a similar vibe. Other gems: You Would Know (starts slow & builds really nicely). How to Handle a Rope Mexicola Give the Mule What He Wants Spiders and Vinegaroons I Was a Teenage Hand Model Picking up where Kyuss left off and getting more experimental, this is an iconic stoner rock album that defined the palm desert scene. The album is a bit uneven though. Not all songs go down smoothly. Some songs are experimental, as QOTSA find their sound. Some songs are just repetitive & boring. Also... as far as I can tell this is the only real Stoner/Desert Rock album on this list... so here's my ten-and-one Desert Rock albums to listen to before you get bored of the genre: 1/ this one. congrats you've probably already listened to it. 2/ "Vols. 11 & 12" by Desert Sessions ("Crucifire" if one song) 3/ "Sleep's Holy Mountain" by Sleep ("Dragonaut" if only one song) (San Jose's finest represent!) 4/ "Jalamanta" by Brant Bjork ("Too Many Chiefs - Not Enough Indians" if only one song) 5/ "Clutch" by Clutch ("Spacegrass" if only one song) 6/ "Welcome to Sky Valley" by Kyuss ("Demon Cleaner" if only one song) 7/ "Saint Vitus" by Saint Vitus (title track if you only listen to one song). This album was way ahead of its time. Early 80s. 8/ "Sunrise on the Sufferbus" by Masters of Reality ("Rabbit One" if only one song). 9/ "Dopethrone" by Electric Wizard ("Funeralopolis" if only one song) 10/ "Peace Love Death Metal" by Eagles of Death Metal ("Miss Alissa" if only one song) 11/ "Dead Roots Stirring" by Elder ("Gemini" if only one song... but it's 9 mins long!)

A great first album that I think gets overlooked a lot with QOTSA. I liked the raw grittiness of this.

Despite dismissing QotSA back in the day, I've mostly enjoyed this. Not ultra-keen on the novelty album aspect, but the tracks that rock rock hard. People who enjoyed this, be sure to listen to The Divine Comedy's version of Noone Knows. It's extraordinary.

Yarp

A personal 5/5

Josh Homme's voice soars above the howling guitars. What a fantastic debut! And they went from strength to strength too.

Contains two of my favorite rock songs of all time, "If Only" and "You Can't Quit Me Baby." When the album came out, it was more accessible than Kyuss, far less cheesy/repetitive than Fu Manchu, and just odd enough - sonically and lyrically - to be cooler than mainstream hard rock.

There is no QOTSA track that I don't like. They are one of my more favorite bands. Have been listening since Kyuss.

Crushing stoner rock. More refined and polished and less sprawling than Kyuss and probably better for it.

brutal y sexy.

Awesome album. Some incredibly good songs. Doesn't get boring at all.

Huge QOTSA fan,so obviously biased here

Queens of the Stone Age debut album, 1998. Desert rock / Stoner rock / Hard rock. Album received generally positive reviews from the critics. Homme remarked that he "just wanted to start a band that within three seconds of listening, people knew what band it was". And it is really damn good! Please generate me more stoner rock albums in this list! :)

Probably my second favorite QOTSA album, but goddamn it gets me pumped. A near perfect combo of simple and repetitive structures with complex and intricate arrangements and rhythms and great melodies. The instrumental bonus tracks are unnecessary though and it’s weird that the reissue is the only version on streaming

Wooooow

Очень стоунер)

Steengoed album met vettig gitaarwerk. Nogal vreemd einde. Maar I like it.

I consider "...like clockwork" to be one of my formative albums and myself as a QOTSA fan but I had never listen to this one. Maybe I'm biased but this was excellent. strong and meaningful although that last track was confusing and uncomfortable with the headphones lol

I've listened to a fair share of Queens of the Stone Age and I think there's definitely better albums from them with Songs for the Deaf being a prime example. This one got some nice tunes with good riffs here and there but lack something and it's a step down from Josh Homes previous band Kyuss.

Ces reines de l'âge de pierre ont su faire un album tout à fait convenable. Je me rappelle très bien l'époque de sa sortie, j'avais quatorze mois passés et des problèmes totalement différents de ceux que j'ai aujourd'hui. À propos, vous avez été nombreux à me demander des explications au sujet des appels entre le patron d'eltrapeze et moi-même, robcelluliaire, que j'ai rapidement évoqué dans ma critique d'Arcade Fire. Je me suis sans doute mal exprimé. Le patron dudit eltrapeze m'appelle chaque jour en sanglot car ce dernier lui fait des misères ; il réclame l'installation d'énormes baffles dans l'espace de co-working, ordonne que toute l'équipe se taise lorsqu'un album est joué, harcèle sexuellement ses collègues avec des citations de Marvin Gaye... ce brave monsieur est à bout. Comme je le disais déjà très bien dans ma critique de Supertramp, je ne cesse de lui suggérer la solution d'un licenciement pour faute lourde mais il tarde à passer à l'action. Je vous tiendrai au courant dès que j'aurai du nouveau.

DK // 1. Catchy little song. Something fun nothing too crazy or out there. 2. Nice guitar and drums, not the biggest fan of this song. 3. Why does the guitar only play in my right ear most of the song? If this is an intentional choice it is a horrible one when the best part of your instrumental is limited to only one ear, made it a painful listen with headphones. Shame because the guitar is amazing and in the middle when there's two separate guitar tracks playing one in each ear, it actually works and is really cool. Such an amazing track ruined by what I feel is a mixing mishap. 4. Cool track, nothing really stands out for me maybe the little guitar solo at the end. 5. Not really my vibe, probably the first song on this album I actively disliked, didn't like the vocal performance, and the guitar seemed very repetitive. *6. My favorite song so far, full of energy and the GUITARRRRRRR. Great song however as far as I understand, this was only included in the 2011 re-release of the album. 7. Cool track, loving the guitar solo's in the outro's. 8. Nice sonically sounding track. 9. Not really impressed at all by this instrumental track. 10. Definitely a song. 11. Borrrringggggggg, another bad instrumental track 12. Actually liked this one, the chorus was catchy and the guitar sounded groovy. 13. the first half of this instrumental track I disliked, but the second half definitely had something really nice going to it. **14. This song was pretty great and I liked the story behind it too. Honestly, it felt like the latter half of this album wanting it to just finish, every single song just seemed so lifeless with no changes, no real direction, they all really blended in with each other. Maybe stoner rock just isn't for me but I definitely did not enjoy this. Favourite Tracks: 1. The Bronze 2. Give the Mule What He Wants 2. I Was a Teenage Hand Model Rating - 1/5 // Being partial to 90s rock I imagined I'd really love this album. After listening to the first song I thought I was right, however, The rest of the LP feels pretty uninspired. This project doesn't include anything you wouldn't have heard before. Thematically very similar OK Computer, another 90s rock classic, however, Queens of the Stone Age is far less introspective and feels much more shallow. Didn't finish, didn't enjoy it. Only enjoyable songs were Regular John and The Bronze. 1/5

Činjenice su sljedeće: QOTSA je bez ikakve sumnje jedan od najboljih i pogotovo meni najdražih bendova na svijetu, ovo je monstruozan debi koji je uspio zauvijek definisati njihov zvuk koji cijelih sedam albuma poslije nije uspio dosaditi ni zastarjeti, skoro da je sam Josh radio na albumu što sve čini još impresivnijim. Iznenadila sam se da je od svih njihovih albuma baš ovaj na listi (a nadam se da će ih biti još, moralo bi) ali sad kad ga opet vrlo pažljivo slušam postaje mi jedan od njihovih najboljih. A konkurencija je žestoka. Zaključak je da je raspad Kyussa bio jedan od ključnih trenutaka za muziku, rezultat je formacija benda boljeg od većine.

I love this album, though Songs For The Deaf would have been my choice in its place. 5 stars for the band though, even though I got tinnitus at their concert which is still the loudest one I've ever been to.

Some bands just fucking nail it on the first album… this one is one of my all time favorites, Homme is one hell of a songwriter. Top 3. IDK man pretty much every song from front to back

YES

While not as well known as something like Songs For The Deaf, this still kicks a whole load of ass, through and through. Solid 5 Stars.

One of the best bands of all time

absolute classic

Slick licks! Tasty vocals! Rad! Enjoyed that it starts as rock and by the very end was this weird hypnotic electro stuff

One of the best "recent" rock bands. Kinda weird that this made the list over R Rated, Like Clockwork and Songs for the Deaf though. Those are much better albums.

Interesting album. Unexpected but brilliant.

Omfg that bass tone is killing me! The drums are so hypnotizing, the guitar is a defining factor of my general music taste! This is so fucking good!

Just loved it... what's more to say?!?! ;-)

5/5. This album does not get boring despite it's length and lack of diversity. Each song still feels unique and actually heavy while still being accessible. The desert stoner metal is strong in this one and several genres I'm already a fan of. I have listened to the hits before but never the full album. Glad this came up so I could experience it. Awesome stuff and great concept as well, dark and foreboding throughout while still being manic and wild. Best Song: No One Knows, First It Giveth, Mosquito Song

Not familiar with their first album, but it already rocks!

Bloody banger after banger!!! Way more adventurous than I thought even they might go, and it worked! I've hardly listened to them before - I guess I was scared that their distinctive edgy sound I heard in the few songs I came across would be a fluke, and I'd be let down. Literally the opposite! THIS SLAPPED. 5++++ STARS

Setting sun deals hands of gold there's velvet eyes in Mexico Just a fall away and all she said was true Speak in tongues speak in lies drooling livers born to die It's a wonder that those guns don't point at you Keep sayin Go on Keep sayin You won't live forever Point and shoot I know just what you mean In a world that's full of shit and gasoline babe One dogs dead ones on the phone just leave a lung or leave it alone Its that same old song again I hate it cause it's true Absolute world heavyweight champion of some primal, soul-grabbing driving beat shit that will change the way you look at the world. Or not. Its a hell of a good album, though. 5/5

Powerful and catchy. There were a couple of riffs I remember from when my friends used to listen a lot to this, but a lot of new stuff for me as well.

This is something you should get on your knees for. And beg

Klasse Album.

Such a damn good album! Thank the lord for Josh Homme!

Queens of the Stone Age are one of my favorite bands, as well as being one of the absolute best damn live acts I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in recent years. Even if not as acclaimed as their later work, this was an INCREDIBLY strong debut and already laid the foundations for their signature rocking sound.

Great album, would definitely listen to it again. Liked the different kind of sounds in the music, the playfulness, but also lazy, in a way, but that's just stoner rock, as it should be. The song, You would know, is going on one of my playlist

QOTSA's first album is their least ambitious. It may also be their best.

Now Queens of the Stone Age is my kind of jam. It had all sorts of great guitar riffs through out all of the songs from more simple rock out faster riffs and also more technical and slow-moving riffs. The album also got really bizarre towards the end by introducing a lot of electronic elements with all different sorts of sounds, and more Primus-style guitar playing both of which i also really enjoyed. The album could get a little repetitive but far from enough to make me not love it. It is one of the most weird yet wonderful albums i have done on this project. Best Song: If Only Worst Song: Hispanic Impressions

Already knew it, loved it, brilliant!!

Bangin

5/5 - rad

This triggered some very weird, specific memories for me; the last time I heard it was probably 20 years ago, and I was probably baked. As I should have been! This was the album that legalized stoner rock, taking the filthy bong water of Kyuss and diluting it into something that would play nicely on radio waves. It's long, but there's enough variation here to ensure it never outstays its welcome.

Quick story before my review: this album was once pretty hard to get a hold of, so I resorted to Limewire to get my tracks. I had trouble finding one track in particular, and only years later did I realize the site I was looking at had the title wrong. They had it as "You Can't Quit Mr Baby", which, I mean, isn't a crazy obvious misspelling. Anyway. The birth of a band. It's not flawless, but it is, distinctly, Queens Of the Stone Age. I've been a fan since first hearing "Little Sister" and digging through their discography, so I'm definitely biased in this fact. It's a solid album with a lot of piss and vinegar to it. You can hear when Homme was attempting to make "robot rock", especially on tracks like "Mexicali" and "Walkin' On the Sidewalks". It's not their best, by a long shot (and I honestly couldn't tell you which I think it is, that changes frequently), but it's still an extremely solid showing for a debut. Granted, it loses steam a little near the end, mostly relying on jamming to fill the latter half. However, Homme had been around the block with Kyuss, but to still hear this and hear where they've gone since, it's impressive to hear the connections. And Christ, can Homme write a hook. Favorite tracks: "Avon", "If Only", "Mexicola", "Walkin' On the Sidewalks"

great album still after all these years Queens of the Stone Age have stayed close to their first album, and keeps in the trend that self titled albums are normally the best albums

Perfectly heavy.

I effin’ love this album and I had no clue it existed. I dig a good Josh Homme-riff but good god this thing is chock full of that and more. Interesting - I didn’t understand the ‘stoner rock’ genre tag, but hearing this disc - and hearing that it represented the hybrid of Homme’s Kyuss days and the QOTSA evolution - it makes me think that this is the acme of that genre. For that, and all the goodness that QOTSA brings, I can do no more.

Brilliant alt rick

First time listening to their debut. Didn't disappoint

Era defining

A gem. 5/5

I really like this album. I am a fan of QOTSA and discovered this quite late. The low fi qualities and its simplicity really appealed to me, but I understand these are drawbacks to other listeners. QOTSA definitely forged their own style of groovy stoner rock, and there are some catchy choruses too. It is refreshing to hear rock albums that don’t have overblown production, I feel like you can appreciate the songs in their raw form. I’d put this in the same category as the first foo fighters album (also all the instruments on both albums were mostly played by one person). It is a bit of a weird choice for the list though.

If it’s your thing this is great

Zo’n lekker album! Vette sound, veel goede nummers, weinig filler (in de oorspronkelijke tracklist). Maar niet het beste van QOTSA.

Grunge at its best.

Super ! Mes préférées : You would know Spider +vinegaroons I was a teenager hand model If only

pretty gnarly, cool drum sound, songs are pretty good not stellar, would probs try again

Josh Homme makes jukebox songs for a rundown bar in Georgia where the devil bartends. This album doesn’t have the same hook for me as the next three albums (R, Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, all three get 5 stars from me)but I can appreciate the grunge roots here. In a primordial soup of reverb I can see the artifacts of the future QotSA start to surface. Album pairs nice with copious amounts of substance abuse, as all QotSA albums do. You Can’t Quit Me Baby shows off Homme’s entrancing voice the best in my opinion, and the guitar play here sounds like the first dabbles in a direction that gets perfected in “Little Sister” on Lullabies to Paralyze. Sidebar - If you enjoy his sustained notes, do your self a favor and enjoy the entire Lullabies album. One last note about You Can’t Quit Me Baby: the guitars screaming off of each other at the end was uncomfortably awesome and leads into the haggardness of the next song perfectly. I Was A Teenage Hand Model was a great pick for an ending song. It’s an odd goodbye. 3 stars.