Will there ever be a second Them Crooked Vultures album?
It appeared that Josh Homme could do no wrong at the tail end of the 2000s.
Across a decade where much of what was deemed alternative amounted to frat boy nu-metal or a gloop of massively overhyped indie, Homme’s steering of the Queens of the Stone Age juggernaut hurtled straight toward an unabashed realm of rock at its most vintage, gunning straight for a time when the likes of ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin were strutting their 1970s pomp.
Homme had cracked a pop formula, conjuring a primal and deeply infectious riff attack that rumbled along with almost hypnotic propulsion, a trick he had learnt before even dropping Queens of the Stone Age’s 1998 debut LP. Before long, Rated R would drop and propel Homme and his new band to a stardom that not even he was likely anticipating.
After a string of massive monster albums, Homme followed Era Vulgaris by corralling a supergroup trio to further evoke some of the magic of rock’s yesteryear. Having worked so well on Songs for the Deaf, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl stepped behind the drum kit once again, and, luck of all luck, old Led Zeppelin bassist and multi-instrumental maestro John Paul Jones joined forces for the Them Crooked Vultures project. Dropping their eponymous debut in 2009 and embarking on the Deserve the Future Tour the following year, it seemed like the trio’s supergroup venture had serious wings.
Yet, fans were left wanting, as Them Crooked Vultures seemed to take an indefinite backseat while Grohl and Homme cracked on with their two mammoth bands, leaving their side-hustle to the wayside.
Will there be a second Vultures album?
It was a question put to Jones at the time. “I think there will, but we just couldn’t fit it in before Josh and Dave went back to their day jobs,” he revealed to Classic Rock. “We do mean to, and it may be in a year or so. The will is definitely there, but they’ll have to finish what they have to do first. It was always thus. It was never going to be just a one-off, but at the same time, it was never going to be a full-time thing. The Vultures sit somewhere in the middle. But yes, there’s certainly more to come.”
The fact is, Them Crooked Vultures’ sophomore had been repeatedly teased over the years, initially expressed with utmost certitude, before eventually petering out to a ‘maybe’ sentiment by the end of the 2010s. “We’ve talked,” Grohl told NME. “We’ve got together. I never say never.” As time passed, hope was looking ever dimmer.
Unfortunately, the time the three finally reignited Them Crooked Vulture was bittersweet. In September 2022, the trio played ‘Gunman’ as well as Elton John’s ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘Long Slow Goodbye’ at London’s Wembley, before repeating the set at Los Angeles Kia Forum, swapping ‘Gunman’ for ‘Dead End Friends’ in honour of the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
