Lullabies to Paralyze [CD + DVD] [CD+DVD, Limited Edition]

The rush of lengthy reviews for this album are a little tiresome, as is the ridiculous snobery of the reviewer who assumes that a fellow reviewer hasn't listened to QOTSA albums before 'Songs for the Deaf'simply because he alludes to the absence of Dave Grohl- get over yourself man!! The politics aside, this album is a joy. Guitar heaven from start to finish; highlights are the lush 'I never came' which does not 'drag on' as stated by a previous reviewer, but highlights the versatility of Nick's voice, and in placing this track straight after the excellent lead single 'Little Sister' ensures maximum impact. Other high points include CD opener 'This Lullaby' and the fantastic 'Broken Box'. As a whole, the album flows beautifully, yet is more experimental than 'Rated R' and 'SFTD'. Personally speaking I would say 'Lullabies To Paralyze' is the most complete QOTSA album. Bring on Carling Leeds 2005....

Initial signs for this album weren't promising. The sudden departure of Nick Olivieri marked the departure of the only constant member of Josh Homme's ever-changing QOTSA line-up, and Olivieri seemed as essential to the band as Homme himself. Things could've gone so easily awry for album number 4.
However Josh Homme's track record with other projects (notably Desert Sessions) should've been enough to confirm that he is more than capable of going it alone. Lullabies to Paralyze is a testament to this.
Impressively, the first two songs are knocked off within little more than 3 minutes. The gentle acoustics and tortured-larynx Mark Lanegan vocals of This Lullaby give way to the chugging, razor-sharp Medication, which sounds like a two-minute statement of intent.
The following track is arguably the album's highlight. Everybody Knows That You're Insane starts up as a wailing rock dirge, before a neat shift in tempo takes you into the simple and insanely catchy chorus. Tangled Up In Plaid and Burn The Witch are also superb, both stomp-along anthems of the highest order, before the album's most accessible poppy moment, In Your Head (which also appeared in the Desert Sessions).
Little Sister is fine, if somewhat underwhelming as a lead-off single, whilst I Never Came portrays a subtlety previously unregistered in QOTSA's past works. But it's the next two tracks, Someone's In The Wolf and The Blood Is Love that provide the album's backbone. Both lengthy, brooding, power-chord heavy anthems, they sit perfectly alongside one another. Both recall QOTSA's ability to find a great riff, and then completely bludgeon you with it.
The next three tracks show a dramatic shift in mood, and are amongst the sleaziest things QOTSA have done. The fuzzed out Skin On Skin is a lust fuelled romp, "I hate to see you leave, but I like to watch you go" being one of its more subtle lyrics. Broken Box is like Skin On Skin's angry hangover, whilst You Got A Killer Scene slows things down, but is no less sexy.
That leaves Long Slow Goodbye to tie things up. It's a fitting end, beautiful, but forlorn, and complete with trumpet dirge. Oh, and as ever, the bonus tracks are worthwhile additions as well, Like A Drug portraying Homme's songwriting range in the same way The Mosquito Song did on Songs For The Deaf.
To say that Olivieri isn't missed from proceedings would be a little naïve. Ultimately the album lacks a moment as unhinged as, say, Millionaire. But without Nick, Josh Homme has been able to seize the reins fully, and as a result this is QOTSA's most diverse work to date. To say it's better or worse than anything else they've done is like comparing coffee with tea: it's purely a matter of taste. But whether you regard QOTSA as a band or a Josh Homme side-project, the QOTSA name remains a stamp of quality.

Key moments: Everybody Knows That You're Insane, Tangled Up In Plaid, Someone's In The Wolf, Long Slow Goodbye

Over the last ten years The Queens of the Stone Age have consistently offered the perfect blend of talent and originality. With each new album, a new mesh of fragmented perverse thoughts have been combined with mold-breaking visions of song structure. In each of these albums artist line-ups have changed, but the core structure, Nick Oliveri and Josh Holmes, has remained constant. And with Nick's forced departure from the band, cynics have predicted the downfall of one of the modern great rock bands. However, Josh's perservering genious in Lullabies to Paralyze has proven the resilience of Queens.

Their fourth and newest album, Lullabies to Paralyze, contains more simple, less guitar heavy songs. The first single, Little Sister, represents the change in direction of the band. In it a repititious riff is combined with a cowbell, which can best be described as a metronome. The song ends with a radio unfriendly, wonderfully perverse minute long guitar solo.

Everybody Know's Your Insane is the only noticable departure from this catalyst, containing a soft and screechy one minute entrance. It then hurls into a pounding chorus, leading into two minutes of fast paced, guitar driven bliss.

While many claim this simplicity to be the demise of the band, it is in fact the repositioning of a band never meant for mainstream America. Every album they made, including Lullabies to Paralyze, has contained a coherence of darkness that, if noticed by TRL motivated listeners, would only last briefly.

The popularity of Lullabies to Paralyze will most likely reflect this unpopularity, especially since their next single appears to be Someone's in the Wolf. This seven minute song is the darkest on the album, containing hounding vocals and a twisted ringing guitar melody. A sixty second preview of the video can be seen at www.qotsa.com. The video contains knives, wolves, and a defenseless woman. Need I say more?

And to Kyuss fans who need Queens to be heavier, Nick may still have a future with Josh and the band. The legendary duo have agreed to work with each other on Nick's new Mondo Generator album, and express a desire to work together on other future projects.

Expect to see more from Queens of the Stone Age, just not on MTV.