Villains is the new studio by the American Stoner rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which was released on August 25, 2017. It is the seventh record from the band, and was produced by English DJ, musician, producer and singer Mark Ronson (Uptown Funk).
Sound of the Album 8.5/10
The band has been dominating the rock scene the last decade with albums Rated R, Songs for the Deaf and this decade with their great comeback record ...Like Clockwork, which featured a more mature style of stoner rock than the previous records.
With this record, I feel that the band still kept a lot of the sound of their previous album (...Like Clockwork), while still going back to the basics featured on the earlier QOTSA albums. Villains also feature a lot more songs that are really dancable to (like Feet Don't Fail Me and The Way You Used To Do), which is something that Josh Homme stated he wanted in his new songs. While some of them are dancable, the album also features more slow songs (like Villains of Circumstance and Hideaway) and are reminiscent of some of the material from Them Crooked Vultures (2009).
The only complaint I have is about the album's sound is that the mixing done by Ronson is a bit muddy from time to time, but besides that it is great.
Lyrics 8/10
Josh Homme's songwritting has also definitely matured in the aspect of the lyrics. The last album tackled the topics of depression, isolation and loneliness. The record Villains is a sequel to ...Like Clockwork, but the themes of lyrics are different. In this record, Josh talks about life as a grown man that has overcome a lot of things and is evident of the record. It talks about how even though things might seem dark and terrible, you must keep going and believing in yourself and you will overcome all of your problems.
For instance the main single of the record »The Way You Used To Do«, might make you think it is a love song, but reading the lyrics it is about his wife and three kids (»When I first met her she was seventeen, jump like an arsonist to a perfect match, burned alive« and "Gave birth to monsters who will terrorize normalcy, yeah they'll terrorize"). And at the end of the song in the bridge of the song when the drums start beating like a heart, while Josh sings "So, lay your hands across my beating heart, love", made me see how clever the lyrics are both musically and lyrically.
Overall 8/10
I have listened to the album a good number of times, and I can comfortably say that the album is a REALLY good competitor to their last album. The songs have a really good swing to them and are only lacking on the mixing at some parts. Though it might not be as good as their previous studio effort, it really isn't very far off, and I definitely recommend it to any person who likes QOTSA or any modern rock music for that matter.
Great. Thanks for sharing. I'm starting to follow you.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Hey, thank you so much for reading!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit