“Just ballistic”: The drummer Josh Homme felt matched Dave Grohl
For anybody in their mid-teens across the early 2000s doldrums, the Queens of the Stone Age line-up burned into the consciousness will always be 2002’s Songs for the Deaf.
Dropped during a moment of serious insecurity in the world of rock, when nu-metal’s frosted-tipped buffoonery was mugging 24/7 on Kerrang! TV and tepid Britpop hangovers like Travis or Starsailor were clogging the charts, ‘No One Knows’ jabbing strut and fierce garage pop hook – coupled with Dean Karr and Michel Gondry’s memorable disorderly deer video – breathed a much-needed dose of electric rock ‘n roll that authentically channelled an aura of vintage without ever reeking of retro.
While making splashes with 2000s Rated R, and frontman Josh Homme enjoying a cult status as guitarist for desert rockers Kyuss and briefly Screaming Trees, it was Songs for the Deaf that pushed Queens of the Stone Age to a hard rock royalty they’ve enjoyed ever since.
Five records would follow but in the eyes of many millennials today, the quartet of Homme, bassist Nick Oliveri, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl behind the drum kit outlined with colourful vapour on the ‘No One Knows’ video—Mark Lanegan appears in the driving segments—is likely the image of the band defaulted to.
Grohl was the only drummer for that one album until 2013’s …Like Clockwork, however, one of many percussion cameos around that time, along with Killing Joke, Tenacious D, and the heavy metal side-project Probot. Touring during the Songs for the Deaf supporting tour and playing on every Queens of the Stone Age album until his dismissal halfway through…Like Clockwork‘s production was former Danzig drummer Joey Castillo. Gifted with powerhouse volatility as well as dependable timing, Castillo grew instrumental in guiding the sound across Lullabies to Paralyze and Era Vulgaris.
“It’s really shaped by Troy and Joey and myself,” Homme revealed to Alternative Press in 2007 on the eve of Era Vulgaris‘ release. “I think this is a chance for me to show people what Troy and Joey can do. I think the drumming is just fucking out of control on this. It’s very specific. On the last record, it was about asking Joey to be contained and straighten out and I think coming off of [Songs for the] Deaf where the drumming was just fucking ballistic, this is like Joey’s ‘Deaf.'”
Following Grohl’s example is no mean feat, but Castillo proved a deft drummer, capable of anchoring two very different records’ sonic characters. 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze evoked some Black Sabbath witches’ coven metal, a loose and nebulous hard rock shroud that inversely flexed Castillo’s tight but elastic interlock with the band. Era Vulgaris two years later brightened the mood but dialled down the fidelity, a choppier and gurgly lo-fi film coating the album, all punctuated by Castillo’s heavy-handed drum pummel.
Castillo’s departure from Queens of the Stone Age also neatly coincided with the band’s magic ebb, a string of albums that began to veer into clichéd rock and a hype Homme became lost in. Perhaps a coincidence, but Castillo’s departure certainly spelt the end of Queens of the Stone Age’s classic tenure.
