Josh Homme reveals cancer diagnosis: “This has been the darkest four years of my life”
Josh Homme is set to bring the signature stoner rock of Queens of the Stone Age back this year for the album In Times New Roman. As they prepare for the upcoming, Homme recently opened up about being diagnosed with cancer.
The frontman had originally been diagnosed back in 2022, but did not disclose anything to the public following his legal battle with ex-wife Brody Dalle. Homme expressed hitting different lows in the past few years, telling Revolver, “I never say it can’t get any worse. I never say that, and I wouldn’t advise it. But I do say it can get better. Cancer is just the cherry on top of an interesting time period, you know?”
Homme had also encountered a similar incident when working on the album Like Clockwork, where he almost died on the operating table during surgery. After the ordeal, Homme then worked on their next record, informed by the near-death experience and including guests like Elton John and Dave Grohl.
To deal with his issues, Homme went on to say that he sought refuge in music, continuing, “I’ve got nothing against therapy. I just don’t go because I play music instead. I understand how to proceed, moving forward with the religion that I use — music”.
Having come out on the other side, Homme remains thankful for where he is today, saying, “I’m extremely thankful that I’ll get through this, and I’ll look back at this as something that’s fucked up — but will have made me better”.
Although Homme has talked about the traumatic experiences that got him to this latest Queens record, he knows that he has become a stronger person for it, recalling, “This has been the darkest four years of my life. But that’s OK, too. Even though all that has occurred and smashed my old life to pieces, those pieces I’ve been able to build into a ship that’s about to launch”.
This comes right as the band are set to release new music after the promotional singles ‘Emotion Sickness’ and ‘Carnavoyeur’ last month. In Times New Roman… is set to be released on June 16th, 2023.
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