Queens of the Stone Age (1998)

Queens of the Stone Age is the debut studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on September 22, 1998, through Loosegroove Records in the United States, Roadrunner Records internationally, and Man's Ruin Records on vinyl. It was primarily written and recorded in April 1998 by founding member Josh Homme and his former Kyuss bandmate Alfredo Hernández, with Hernández playing drums and Homme singing and playing the rest of the instruments. Homme also produced the album alongside Joe Barresi. Bassist Nick Oliveri, also a former member of Kyuss, would join the band by the time of the album's release. Queens of the Stone Age received generally positive reviews from critics, who placed it in the stoner rock genre and drew comparisons to krautrock bands such as Neu! and Can, as well as to Kyuss and other metal bands.

In 2011, Homme reissued Queens of the Stone Age through his Rekords Rekords label, having it remastered and adding three additional tracks–two from the album's recording sessions and one from two years earlier. The reissue received a positive critical response and was accompanied by a supporting concert tour. Working on the reissue and subsequent tour also inspired part of the band's approach to recording its sixth album, ...Like Clockwork, released in 2013. In 2022, the album was reissued again on Matador Records with its original LP artwork.

Background and recording

Following the breakup of Kyuss in 1995, guitarist Josh Homme recorded new material in Seattle with producer Chris Goss, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Victor Indrizzo under the name Gamma Ray. The results, including the song "If Only Everything", were released as the Gamma Ray EP in 1996. Homme subsequently toured as a guitarist with Screaming Trees and started The Desert Sessions, a series of jam sessions involving many musicians including former Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernández. The song "Avon" originated from the Desert Sessions, appearing on Volume 3 in 1998. After receiving a cease and desist order because the name Gamma Ray was already in use by a German band, Homme changed the name to Queens of the Stone Age. The Gamma Ray material was re-released in 1997 on the Kyuss / Queens of the Stone Age split EP, along with the additional track "Spiders and Vinegaroons" from the Gamma Ray sessions; the release featured some of the final studio recordings by Kyuss while debuting the "Queens of the Stone Age" moniker for Homme's new project.

Reflecting on this period in 2011, Homme remarked:

I just remember thinking I hadn't played for about a year and I started writing songs. The first song I wrote was "Regular John", which is the first song on the album, and I remember thinking "no-one's playing this trance rock music that you can dance to", but that's primarily because I hadn't heard bands like Can. I thought I could try to do this thing that hadn't really been done, and then I found out it had kind of been done but not very much. You just kind of try to carve your own space. I just wanted to start a band that within three seconds of listening, people knew what band it was.

The first ten tracks on Queens of the Stone Age were recorded in April 1998 at Monkey Studios in Homme's hometown of Palm Desert, California. Hernández played drums on the tracks and Goss performed on "You Would Know" and "Give the Mule What He Wants", playing bass guitar and singing backing vocals. Homme sang lead vocals and played the rest of the instruments on the recordings, crediting himself under the pseudonym "Carlo" for his bass guitar, keyboard, and piano work. He also served as a producer on the album, alongside Joe Barresi. The Gamma Ray song "If Only Everything" was re-recorded during these sessions and its title shortened to "If Only", and the Desert Sessions song "Avon" was also re-recorded. "I Was a Teenage Hand Model" was recorded separately at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California, with the studio's personnel contributing as performers: studio owner Fred Drake sang and played drums, co-owner Dave Catching played percussion, and sound engineer Patrick "Hutch" Hutchinson played piano. Former Dinosaur Jr. bassist Mike Johnson is credited with "sofa" on the track. Hutch, who served as live sound engineer for both Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, is credited as a member of the group on the album, with the roles "FOH" (front of house), "guru", "HardWalls", and "back of door".