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76 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange "Lullabies", March 22, 2005
The last album by the Queens of the Stone Age was "Songs for the Deaf," a frenetic collection of the hardest kind of rock. It was a thrilling, visceral experience, not one soon forgotten. Then nude bassist Nick Oliveri departed from the band, taking the wilder edge of the band with him. Oh, what would become of the Queens of the Stone Age?
Well, if "Lullabies to Paralyze" is any indication, then they are doing fine. This album relies on Josh Homme, and it's stripped down to... well, not down to the bare bones, but some very strong, lean sinew. The albums opens with a little acoustic ballad, "Lullaby," which starts things off on a strong footing.
From there on, things get stranger -- fast paced songs that just keep speeding up, ominous buildups, and nightmarish undertones.There are moments of quieter catchiness -- "Little Sister" seems perfect for the album's first single. And a few tracks feel a bit like filler. But overall, "Lullabies" is very much in the flavour of the Queens' second album, "Rated R." Only darker and somehow more whimsical.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Josh Homme gets to rule in this one. Truth be told, he ruled all through the Desert Sessions, Kyuss, and now he sits in the middle of the Queens of the Stone Age, like a sinister-but-not-evil mastermind. Oliveri's manic style and gimmicks are gone, and in their place is steady, dark rock'n'roll that takes strange and unexpected twists.
It's not a concept album, but it feels that way -- the mood gets generally creepier as "Lullabies" goes on. Fuzzy guitars, dark metallic riffs, and eerie harmonies get a few unusual flourishes, such as that broken music box. And Homme's vocals blend into the songs like another instrument -- great stuff. It only emphasizes how central he is to the band's unique sound.
Queens of the Stone Age seemed to be endangered when Oliveri departed, but "Lullabies to Paralyze" shows that the band is just fine. Not quite perfect, but a solid creation.
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49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nick Who? Queens Still Rule. , March 28, 2005
Whoever was concerned what a post-Oliveri "QOTSA" would sound like need fear no more: the future is here and it's solid. There is a deceptive "easy" quality to the work, but trust me it is deceptive. Repeated listenings of "Lullabies" reveal a growing "adult" quality to the Queens work, but the intensity that attracted so many fans is still at work here and Homme and Company give everything they have to the project with the ensuing result being: one of the best rock albums to come out this year. (Granted, the year is still young, but my comment about "Lullabies" will be just as valid come December.)
Even more, unlike other "QOTSA" that held (in my humble opinion) a few misses as well as hits, there isn't a single bad moment on "Lullabies."
Although everyone is saying this isn't a concept album, "Lullabies to Paralyze" has a strong feeling all the way through it that make it nearly impossible not to want to listen to the entire thing. Over and over. A+ Effort!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Album, March 22, 2005
This album is great. It grows on you the more you listen to it. In my opinion, it's better than Songs for the Deaf, and much much better than R (which I thought only had a few good songs). This album however is a great overall album - good songs the whole way through. Especially tracks like 'Everybody Knows That You Are Insane', 'I Never Came', 'Medication', and 'Someones In The Wolf' for which there's a film clip on the bonus dvd (in Australia). I think this album is a little darker and more melodic, which is a good thing in my book. It's also sounds more like their classic self-titled album (I need to listen to this new one a bit more before saying it's better than their first album, as it one of my all-time favourites). The absense of Nick Oliveri seems it will now prove what Kyuss fans have known all along that Josh is a very talented musician, as the first QOTSA album also proved (I'm not saying that Nick isn't very talented himself).
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