Album Review: Queens Of The Stone Age, In Times New Roman...

It’s no secret that QOTSA head honcho Josh Homme has been through hell over the last six years. The former Kyuss guitarist has weathered not just one winter of discontent, but a life time’s worth. There have been multiple court cases, controversies, scandals and, sadly, deaths (including the shock passing of former Queens member Mark Lanegan), all of which forced Homme into what he described as a “self imposed exile.”

Every storm ends, though, and last year the musician finally got the band back together, in a bid to exorcise past demons and help him forge a new path for the future. In Times New Roman... goes some way to doing just that. After more than a few years stuck in a creative rut, the hunger is back and so are the hooks, especially on the razor sharp ‘Paper Machete’. Granted there’s nothing on the record that will touch their holy trinity (i.e. their first three LPs), but when the band formerly known as Gamma Ray hit full gear they sound glorious (‘What The Peephole Say’).

The time off has done Josh’s pipes the world of good too, and his inimitable vocals are very strong, particularly on the string-laden stomper ‘Obscenery.’ “We’ll never get back to where we were,” Homme tellingly croons on ‘Negative Space’, and while that’s most likely true, their comeback album is a step in the right direction.

7/10