Songs For The Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age

Songs For The Deaf

Queens of the Stone Age

2002
3.56
Rating
16
Votes
1
0%
2
19%
3
38%
4
13%
5
31%
Distribution
User Submitted Album

Album Summary

Songs for the Deaf is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002, by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including Dave Grohl on drums, and was the last Queens of the Stone Age album to feature Nick Oliveri on bass. Songs for the Deaf is a loose concept album, taking the listener on a drive through the California desert from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree, tuning into radio stations from towns along the way such as Banning and Chino Hills. Songs for the Deaf received critical acclaim and earned Queens of the Stone Age their first gold certification in the United States. One million copies were sold in Europe, earning a platinum certification from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in 2008. "No One Knows", "Go with the Flow" and "First It Giveth" were released as singles. The cover art for the US double LP version of the album is different from the CD version, featuring a red Q (with a sperm cell as the line in the Q and an egg cell as the circle) on a black background with no other text. It was released on red vinyl. The UK vinyl version cover is the same as the CD cover except with the colors reversed. The person on the album disc is musician Dave Catching, who performs on the album. Both the CD and LP cover have a Parental Advisory seal on most copies, due to the word "fuck" appearing in the tracks "Song for the Dead", "Song for the Deaf" and "Six Shooter", as well as for the violent lyrics of the latter track. There were also three different album covers that were made for the CD version of Songs for the Deaf. All of the interior artwork for each of the three versions is the same, but there were covers printed in red, magenta, and orange. The most common copy of the album sleeve is the red cover.

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Reviews

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Dec 17 2025 Author
5
Songs For The Deaf is a fabulous desert rock album. The songs "No One Knows", "First It Giveth" and "Go with the Flow" are modern rock classics. Great rock riffs, drums by Dave Grohl and guest vocals by Mark Lanegan.
Dec 18 2025 Author
5
I've done that very drive while listening to the radio, and it's pretty damn accurate. This is a fun ass hard rock album for the 21st century, and has stood the test of time as a modern classic.
Dec 18 2025 Author
4
Love a bit of QOTSA. Obviously No One Knows is a banger. I remember fondly the BBC Radio 1 Live lounge version. Classic.
Dec 18 2025 Author
3
So I never got into QOTSA because the stuff I heard off Songs For The Deaf weren't really to my tastes even though they ostensibly should've been at face value, and listening back through the whole album now I'm more confident they're not for me. It's weird, because there are elements throughout that are okay but it's a mix of a little bit too grungy, a bit too proggy, a a bit too indie-influenced as a lot of 'rock' from the 00s tended to be, none of it egregious or dominant over the course of the record but the cumulative effect is that I just don't really enjoy it even if I recognise that it's good and occasionally appealing to my ear. Josh Homme's vocals annoy me though, especially in the upper register, and I'm also annoyed by the interludes/skits that I've marked down many a rap album for having as a waste of time and there are a few in here too. I think it gets a 3 because it's never bad and occasionallly good but this is more alt/stoner than heavy rock and that pretty much explains it for me.
Dec 19 2025 Author
5
This album is amazing! The radio interjections are weird, but fit strangely. The heavy songs are all bangers. and the last song starts very calmly but ends in a bombastic conclusion
Dec 17 2025 Author
3
I cannot describe for you the differences between most of the tracks here. Modern alt rock radio. Some of it is fun don’t get me wrong
Dec 19 2025 Author
3
Decent album. Maybe liked this a smidge more than the other QOTSA album on the list.