Before heading into the studio in early 2004 to record the fourth {|Queens of the Stone Age|} album {|Lullabies to Paralyze|}, the band's guitarist/vocalist/chief songwriter, {|Josh Homme|}, kicked out bassist {|Nick Oliveri|} for undisclosed reasons... Read more

Before heading into the studio in early 2004 to record the fourth {|Queens of the Stone Age|} album {|Lullabies to Paralyze|}, the band's guitarist/vocalist/chief songwriter, {|Josh Homme|}, kicked out bassist {|Nick Oliveri|} for undisclosed reasons. Since {|Homme|} and {|Oliveri|} were longtime collaborators, dating back to the 1990 formation of their previous band, {|Kyuss|}, this could have been a cause for concern, but {|QOTSA|} is not an ordinary band, so ordinary rules do not apply. Throughout their history, from {|Kyuss|} through {|Queens of the Stone Age|}'s 2002 breakthrough {|Songs for the Deaf|}, {|Homme|} and {|Oliveri|} have been in bands whose lineups were as steady as quicksand; their projects were designed to have a revolving lineup of musicians, so they can withstand the departure of key musicians, even one as seemingly integral to the grand scheme as {|Oliveri|} -- after all, he left {|Kyuss|} in 1994 and the band carried on without him. Truth is, the mastermind behind {|QOTSA|} has always been {|Josh Homme|} -- he's the common thread through the {|Kyuss|} and {|QOTSA|} albums, the guy who has explored a similar musical vision on his side project {|Desert Sessions|} -- and since he's wildly indulging his obsessions on {|Lullabies to Paralyze|}, even hardcore fans will be hard-pressed to notice the absence of {|Oliveri|} here. Sure, there are some differences -- most notably, {|Lullabies|} lacks the manic metallic flourishes of their earlier work, and the gonzo humor and gimmicks, such as the radio DJ banter on {|Deaf|}, are gone -- but it all sounds like an assured, natural progression from the tightly wound, relentless {|Songs for the Deaf|}. That album contained genuine crossover {|pop|} tunes in {|No One Knows|} and {|Go with the Flow,|} songs that retained {|QOTSA|}'s fuzzy, heavy {|neo-psychedelic|} {|hard rock|} and were channeled through an irresistible melodic filter that gave the music a serious sexiness that was nearly as foreign to the band as the undeniable {|pop|} hooks. {|Homme|} has pulled off a surprise of a similar magnitude on {|Lullabies to Paralyze|}; he doesn't walk away from these breakthroughs but marries them to the widescreen {|art rock|} of {|R|} and the dark, foreboding {|metal|} of {|Kyuss|}, resulting in a rich, late-night, cinematic masterpiece. One of the reasons {|QOTSA|} have always been considered a musician's band is that they are masters of mood, either sustaining tension over the course of a six-minute epic or ratcheting up excitement in the course of a two-minute blast, all while using a familiar palette of warm, fuzz-toned guitars, ghostly harmonies, and minor-key melodies. While {|Lullabies|} is hardly a concept album, its songs play off each other as if it were a song cycle, progressing from the somber {|Mark Lanegan|}-sung opening salvo of {|This Lullaby|} and steadily growing spookier with each track, culminating in the scary centerpiece {|Someone's in the Wolf.|} The key to {|QOTSA|}'s darkness is that it's delivered seductively -- this isn't an exercise in shallow nihilism, there's pleasure in succumbing to its eerie, sexy fantasies -- and that seductiveness is all musical. Specific lyrics don't matter as much as how {|Homme|}'s voice blends into the band as all the instruments bleed together as one, creating an elastic, hypnotic force that finds endless, fascinating variations on a seemingly simple sound. Simply put, there is no other {|rock|} band in 2005 that is as pleasurable to hear play as {|QOTSA|} -- others may rock harder or take more risks, but no one has the command and authority of {|QOTSA|} at their peak, which they're certainly at here. They are so good, so natural on {|Lullabies to Paralyze|}, that it's easy to forget that they just lost {|Oliveri|}, but that just makes {|Homme|}'s triumph here all the more remarkable. He's not only proven that he is the driving force of {|Queens of the Stone Age|}, but he's made an addictive album that begs listeners to get lost in its ever-shifting moods and slyly sinister sensuality. [The German release (on {|Universal International|}) contains one bonus track.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Less