studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Sick, Sick, Sick "Sick, Sick, Sick" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. It was released as a digital download from the U.S. iTunes Store on May 8, 2007. The song features Julian Casablancas of The Str ...

3's & 7's "3's & 7's" is the second single by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. It was released on June 4, 2007 and followed the digital download-only "Sick, Sick, Sick". and third single "

Make It wit Chu "Make It wit Chu" is the third single by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. Background The song was originally a track on The Desert Sessions '' Volumes 9 & 10'', entitled "I Wanna Make It wit Chu" and with PJ Harv ...

" in October. The album debuted at No. 14 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 charts, selling 52,000 copies in its first week. It reached top ten positions in other countries, such as No. 7 in the UK, No. 5 in Canada, and No. 4 in Australia. It was the band's last album with Interscope Records.

Overview and background

While 2002's ''

Songs for the Deaf ''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 drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Stone ...

'' was said to be inspired by frontman

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

's tedious drives through the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

n desert, the inspiration for ''Era Vulgaris'' came from his daily drives through

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. He described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker" and said "it's like dirt, clearly seen". The album's title refers to the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

term for

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

. The title was chosen by Homme because he thought "it sounds like 'the Vulgar Era', which I like, because that sounds like something that I would like to be part of... I mean I think we're in it, and I'm stoked". Two tracks from the album had previously been released or performed elsewhere. "Into the Hollow" had been performed by Homme and

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and deser ...

as The Fififf Teeners (with the two also producing ''Era Vulgaris''), and "

Make It wit Chu "Make It wit Chu" is the third single by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. Background The song was originally a track on The Desert Sessions '' Volumes 9 & 10'', entitled "I Wanna Make It wit Chu" and with PJ Harv ...

" had been recorded as a

Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain Jo ...

track, as well as appearing on the live album ''

Over the Years and Through the Woods ''Over the Years and Through the Woods'' is the title of a live album and video by Queens of the Stone Age. The release features material on audio CD as well as video DVD—both recorded at London's Carling Academy Brixton, Brixton Academy on Mon ...

''.

Production

Pre-production speculation and contributors

In June 2006, in an interview on the Australian radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

, bassist

Jesse F. Keeler Jesse Frederick Keeler (born 11 November 1976) is a Canadian musician. He is known as the bassist, backing vocalist, and synthesist of Canadian dance-punk duo Death from Above and one half of the electronic music duo MSTRKRFT. In addition t ...

from

Death from Above 1979 Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, '' You're ...

revealed that he would be playing bass on an upcoming Queens of the Stone Age album, but that he would more than likely not be touring with the band due to his desire to spend more time with his girlfriend. Eventually, on his band's internet forum, Keeler revealed that he would not be appearing on the album due to conflicting schedules. In a July interview with ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Homme confirmed that the band was back in the studio and writing, but he remained unwilling to reveal who would appear in the band on the new record, stating, "That's not a healthy question. You'll ruin the surprise. We've gotta keep our cool." The album was expected to include guest performances by

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

,

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of Rock music, rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since the ...

,

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

,

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

, and (jokingly) deceased humorist

Erma Bombeck Erma Louise Bombeck (''née'' Fiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She also published 15 bo ...

. Of these, however, only Casablancas' and Lanegan's tracks appear on the U.S. release: Casablancas performed synth guitar and backing vocals on "Sick, Sick, Sick", while Lanegan sang backing vocals on "River in the Road". Scheduling conflicts prevented Gibbons from appearing on the record, while the album's title track (featuring Reznor) was released separately on the ''You Know What You Did'' promotional CD and the UK edition of the album.

Recording

The album was recorded with "exactly zero input from ecord labelInterscope Records" between July 2006 and April 2007 at Cherokee Studios in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Steakhouse Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

Sound City Studios Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...

in

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

. It was mixed at Bay 7 Studios in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. The album was recorded and mixed by

Alain Johannes Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...

,Liner notes of ''Era Vulgaris''
from Qotsa.com and produced by

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

and

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and deser ...

under the name The Fififf Teeners. The primary contributors to the recording were Homme,

Troy van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the ba ...

,

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

, Johannes, and Goss. In an interview with

SuicideGirls SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls. The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky"). Most of the site ...

on June 16, 2007, Van Leeuwen said, "We basically started a year ago. And like I said, we didn't really have anything written. So it was a long process. It was the longest I've ever taken to make a record, frankly. I've made records over the process of a year but this was the first time it's ever been my total focus for that long. This was the first time I've ever done that... total focus for 10 months." Goss and Johannes were replaced by

Dean Fertita Dean Anthony Fertita (born September 6, 1970) is an American rock multi-instrumentalist.Brian McColluMetro Detroit musician Dean Fertita moves to the front lines with the Dead Weatherfreep.com Retrieved: 2009-07-25 He is best known as a member of ...

(keyboard) and

Michael Shuman Michael Jay Shuman (born August 20, 1985), also known as Mikey Shoes,Michael Shuman biography
th ...

(bass) for later bonus track recordings and the subsequent supporting tour. Regarding the band's line-up changes for ''Era Vulgaris'', Homme commented, "I like combinations that no one would expect... it's the cool part of any surprise party."

Musical style and influences

''Era Vulgaris'' displays influences from many different genres. The album departs from the softer,

hollow-body guitar A semi-acoustic guitar, hollow-body electric, or thinline is a type of electric guitar that was first created in the 1930s. It has a sound box and at least one electric pickup. The semi-acoustic guitar is different to an acoustic-electric guita ...

sound of their previous album ''

Lullabies to Paralyze ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on March 22, 2005. The album debuted at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 97,000 copies in America during its first week of release, ...

'' with heavy, crunchy guitars and some

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

influences. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted the influence of

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

"all over this record". Musically, the album has been described as "brand new retro", a fusion of "punk, rock, blues, and southern grit" (in an ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' review), and slower, moodier, and groggier than the band's previous efforts.

Marketing and promotion

Behind the scenes and promotional contest

Shortly after the album's announcement in February 2007, a video was posted on the band's official website showing Homme, Castillo, and Van Leeuwen jamming. Along with brief footage of the recording session for "Misfit Love", the last six or seven seconds of the video contained footage of the recording of "

3's & 7's "3's & 7's" is the second single by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. It was released on June 4, 2007 and followed the digital download-only "Sick, Sick, Sick". A second video of the recording of the album surfaced subsequently on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, depicting the band (this time including Johannes) recording a new track, "Turning on the Screw", in the studio. In early April, the band's website was updated with a 37-second excerpt from "Sick, Sick, Sick". This was replaced by the song "3's and 7's" in its entirety, which was later removed. Fan sit
thefade.net
announced a promotional contest for fans to win a "special package" from the band, confirmed as legitimate by the band's webmaster. On April 13, packages were sent to selected winners containing a CD entitled ''You Know What You Did'' with the sole track "Era Vulgaris", which Homme confirmed would not be appearing on the record despite being the title track, although it was included as a bonus track on the UK edition. The CD was accompanied by a handwritten letter asking fans to share the song in any way possible: The song "

The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died "The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died" is a song by Queens of the Stone Age, intended for the band's 2005 album, ''Lullabies to Paralyze.'' In 2005, a rough studio version of the song was handed out to those who had tickets to the cancelled London s ...

" was recorded for a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

released with pre-ordered copies of the album at Insound.com and

Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...

, and it later appeared as a bonus track on the Brazilian, German, and Japanese editions of the album.

Bulby, Xfm and soundtracks

The full track "Sick, Sick, Sick" was leaked online, countered by the posting of a promotional video to the band's site featuring a "sales pitch" for ''Era Vulgaris'' by two anthropomorphic lightbulbs, followed by an official streaming of "Sick, Sick, Sick" with lyrics displayed in the background. On May 2, 2007, Homme, Van Leeuwen, and new band member Dean Fertita appeared on London radio station

Xfm Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

, performing an acoustic set that included the tracks "3's & 7's", "Into the Hollow", and "Suture Up Your Future". It was announced that songs would appear in the video games ''

Madden NFL 08 ''Madden NFL 08'' is a 2007 American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It features the former Tennessee Titan ...

'', '' Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'', and ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'', specifically that the track "

3's & 7's "3's & 7's" is the second single by Queens of the Stone Age from their 2007 album '' Era Vulgaris''. It was released on June 4, 2007 and followed the digital download-only "Sick, Sick, Sick".Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' and '' Rock Band 2''. In addition, "Make It wit Chu" was later included in ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...

''.

Artwork

The album's cover features the two lightbulbs from the promotional video, Bulby and his pirate accomplice (pictured right), marking a change from the plainer designs of the bands' previous albums. According to Homme, the light bulb represented "…what you perceive to be a ''great'' idea that really is not that great of an idea". The cover was a slip of paper, with a simplified credits page on the back side, marked with the outline of the record. The typography follows an Old English style font; Blackmoor, with the 'Spermy Q' seen on their album ''Songs for the Deaf''. An art booklet was also included, featuring "Bulby" and several other characters which unfolded to display a pin-up advertisement for the album, following the 1950s advertising satire as the rest of the album art followed. The lack of liner notes for the album was remedied when the official website allowed users to view an e-booklet, containing more detailed liner notes, lyrics, and previously unseen artwork. The green light bulb with the pirate hat, eye patch and peg leg is known as "Stumpy". Some copies of the album cover contain a red and yellow rectangle spoofing the

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

seal, reading "Rental Advisory: Freedom Not for Purchase". Coincidentally, it was the first Queens of the Stone Age album since

Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...

to not bear a genuine Parental Advisory seal. The lightbulb characters were created by Morning Breath Inc. with overall art direction from Jason Noto and Doug Cunningham o
Morning Breath Inc

Reception

Reviews for the album were generally mixed to positive, earning a rating of 75 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, a decline from their previous two

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s. ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' and

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's reviews were particularly glowing, with the latter noting how ''Era Vulgaris'' is "as different from ''

Lullabies A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...

'' as that was to their dramatic widescreen breakthrough, ''

Songs for the Deaf ''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 drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Stone ...

''". Originally awarding the album with a four-and-a-half star rating, Allmusic changed this to a four-star rating in 2013 upon the release of the band's follow-up '' ...Like Clockwork''. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' also commented on the album's change in direction, commenting that the band had "turned its back on the mainstream" and that the album was "uneasy and brooding" and "gripping stuff". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the album four stars for the first time since the band's self titled debut, commenting that "''Era Vulgaris'' is Homme's fifth Queens album, and like the others, it's intricately crafted, meticulously polished and ruthlessly efficient in its pursuit of depraved rock thrills." Critic Jon Pareles of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' selected the album as the tenth best release of 2007. A number of reviews were negative, however; '' Q'' magazine gave the album two stars out of five, while ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' criticized Homme for lack of originality, describing the record's sound as "listless and drained of ideas". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' slated the record as lyrically clichéd and lacking the input of former bassist

Nick Oliveri Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist and ...

, and ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' delivered the closing indictment that "there isn't a single song here that you'll remember, or want to return to, two summers hence." ''Era Vulgaris'' had sold 198,000 copies in the US, and 521,000 copies worldwide before falling off the charts. The US sales are a decline from their previous album, as ''

Lullabies to Paralyze ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on March 22, 2005. The album debuted at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 97,000 copies in America during its first week of release, ...

'', had sold 342,000 copies in the US by March 2007. Neither album achieved the commercial success of the band's 2002 release, ''

Songs for the Deaf ''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 drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Stone ...

'', which had sold 986,000 copies in the US alone as of June 2007.

Track listing

All tracks were written by

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

,

Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the ba ...

, and

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

, except for "Sick, Sick, Sick" (Homme, Goss, Van Leeuwen, Castillo) and "Make It wit Chu" (Homme, Johannes, Melchiondo).

Personnel

According to the album liner notes, the contributors were as follows:

Queens of the Stone Age

*

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

– lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1, 3, 7, and 8), acoustic guitar ("Battery Acid"), percussion ("Turnin' on the Screw"), bass guitar (tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11),

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

("Into the Hollow"), keyboard ("Into the Hollow"), electric piano (tracks 8 and 9),

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

("Make It wit Chu"), "badly tuned" piano ("Run, Pig, Run"), organ ("River in the Road"), "percussion ball" ("Run, Pig, Run") *

Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Joining the ba ...

– keyboard (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 6), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 11), lead guitar (tracks 5, 6, and 9), "crazy delay" guitar ("River in the Road"), lap steel guitar ("3's & 7's"), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 6, and 7), bass (tracks 2 and 7), "the percussion part that's a bitch" ("Turnin' on the Screw"), Moog ("I'm Designer"), Rhodes piano ("Into the Hollow") *

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

– drums, percussion (tracks 1 and 7), "percussion ball" ("Run, Pig, Run")

Guest appearances

*

Alain Johannes Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...

– bass guitar (tracks 1 and 3), acoustic guitar ("Run, Pig, Run"), counterpoint guitar ("Misfit Love"), harmonic guitar ("Make It wit Chu"), counterpoint fiddle ("Misfit Love"), "cig" fiddle ("Run, Pig, Run"), marxaphone ("Run, Pig, Run"), backing vocals ("Run, Pig, Run") *

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and deser ...

– keyboard ("Into the Hollow"), "the chicken pluckin' guitar" ("Turnin' on the Screw"), "twinkley bits" ("Sick, Sick, Sick"), organ ("Misfit Love"), electric piano ("Suture Up Your Future"), "eclectic piano" ("Battery Acid"), bass ("River in the Road"), backing vocals (tracks 7 and 11) *

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of Rock music, rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since the ...

–

synth guitar A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnersh ...

and vocals ("Sick, Sick, Sick") *

Serrina Sims Sweethead is an American alternative rock band formed in 2008. The group's lineup consists of singer Serrina Sims and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Troy Van Leeuwen (of Queens of the Stone Age, formerly of A Perfect Circle, Enemy and Failure). ...

– backing vocals ("Make It wit Chu") * Brody Dalle-Homme – backing vocals ("Make It wit Chu") * Liam Lynch – backing vocals ("Make It wit Chu") *

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

– harmony vocals ("River in the Road")

Technical

* Chris Goss & Josh Homme (as The Fififf Teeners) − producers * Alain Johannes −

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

and mixing *

Joe Barresi Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, Ba ...

− mixing * Justin Smith − mixing assistant * Stephen Marcussen − mastering * Jason Noto − design, illustrations * Dr. Mark A. Williams − A&R

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Singles chart positions

References

External links

* {{Good article Queens of the Stone Age albums 2007 albums Albums produced by Josh Homme Albums produced by Chris Goss Interscope Records albums