I absolutely think Era Vulgaris is the most under appreciated rock album. Not in the American release, The Fun Machine Took A Shit and Died. Is a masterpiece of headbanging fun. The complexity of turning on the screw, 3s and 7s? Come on! If you are a Queens fan. Listen to that again.

I'll never understand the lack of appreciation for Era. It's easily my favorite Queens album, followed closely by SftD. I think Lullabies to Paralyze was their weakest album. It's still really good, but compared to what they'd released before, felt a bit less exciting.

See, Lullabies is my favorite, and Era is their weakest imo. Era Vulgaris has some heavier stuff on it, but it felt less cohesive than all their previous stuff, and Like Clockwork after (verdict is still out on Villains). Lullabies hit the sweet spot for me, where there was some heavy stuff on there, but mixed with that dark, weird waltzy stuff that QotSA is so good at. Lullabies also has several of their best songs, imo, with Tangled Up in Plaid (my favorite Queens song), Burn the Witch, Medication, Broken Box, and Long Slow Goodbye (the whole album is great, but those tracks stand with the absolute best of their entire discography). Era had some great stuff as well, with Make It Witchu, River in the Road, Run Pig Run, and Suture Up My Future, but songs like Turnin' on the Screw, Battery Acid, and Misfit Love are, imo, probably the worst in their discography. This is all just how I feel though. I brought it up, because I think there is a common thing I've seen from a few people here, where people who really dig Lullabies tend to like Era less, and people who like Era tend to like Lullabies less. There seems to be big difference in taste between QotSA fans and those two specific albums.

I think both Era Vulgaris and Lullabies To Paralyze are among the most underrated albums of all time. Some of my favorite tracks ever: Someone's In The Wolf, Suture Your Future, Battery Acid, Skin On Skin, I'm Designer, Burn The Witch etc etc etc... Josh doesn't release an album that isn't vital, especially upon repeated listening. Their albums only get better with age.

P.S. I absolutely agree, Era Vulgaris isn't complete without "The Fun Machine Took A Shit & Died". It's a crime for that song to be so unknown among Queens fans

Run, Pig, Run is the shit!

Not really. Nothing beats the self titled and SFTD in terms of heaviness.

those are the best man but era vulgaris is not bad at all. i prefere the termn misunderstood. I always get an electric shock with run pig run

E Vent I'm not saying they are better, just heavier. Era Vulgaris showcases more of a electronic inspired sound for the most part done with rock instrumentation and some synths.

It's still a very good release. But it is their weakest.

Yes I’m amazed anyone one could hate on Clutch.

VaNSaNT85 Bold statement.

They are not alternative.

I hear Bowie on this record too. It's the way he sings I think

Agreed, The best track by far imo.

Alden Legge i love that song too. I DO wish he'd kept that one the same as it started out (acoustic stripped), but that being said I still like the album version

Alden Legge Villians of Circumstances was the first song that impressed meof this album. I had the acoustic version, but was blown away with the album version. I really been digging Hideaway and Un Reborn Again alot lately.

Alden Legge I have had it going around my head for about 24 hours now! Theres so much going on in every song on this album, I love it

Ditto! I can't get that chorus out of my head! Definitely one of my favorites along with Un-Reborn Again and Domesticated Animals which is probably tied for favorite. Oh, and Fortress is damn good too.

Ryan Mckay go buy it. It's awesome

kaide melloch just got off the phone with my local record store, unfortunately I have to wait a week because I'm picky and needed it on vinyl. But thank you for your vote of confidence much appreciated.

All Clutch is fucking great. Same with all QOTSA.

BurningBeard22 couldn't agree more sir. If you don't like em, oh well your loss.

C L U T C H !

Hehehehehe! Nice.

David DiDonato what's the first one

Self Titled. "Queens of the Stone Age"

David DiDonato I see what you did there, but to be serious: I think 'Like Clockwork' is QOTSA's masterpiece.

Free Information Hmm

Free Information Yeah trying to pick favourites is ridiculously hard with QOTSA

Daniël Van Rossum I love Era Vulgaris and I also love Rated R. There is no bad QOTSA album to me

Daniël Van Rossum I do agree that some people who listen to a lot of metal dont seem to appreciate melodies though. Villains is chock full of great hooks. People who look down their nose at catchy melodies dont know shit

Anyone who gets qotsa gets era vulgaris

Daniël Van Rossum Ohband you're absolutely right about Into The Hollow. I remember it didn't stand out to me on first listen but man what a song

steve fred Its a beast of an album

Cooper Correct.

1. ...Like Clockwork 2. Songs for the Deaf 3. Rated R 4. Villains 5. Era Vulgaris 6. Lullabies to Paralyze 7. Queens

Bradley Burns Lullabies so low?

I'm sorry man, I mean it was the first album of their's I listened to, some pretty great tracks like You Gotta Killer Scene and Tangled Up in Plaid but honestly I find the other ones capturing me much more

Bradley Burns Nah I feel that. Nice top pick though, "...like clockwork" is one of my favorite albums of all time.

What do you think of Villains? I like it a lot because it carries resemblance to Like Clockwork (Villains of Circumstance, Hideaway, even Fortress) but it could be stronger, favorite track? (Mine is the opener)

Just out of curiosity, +BANGER, how do you guys choose which records you're going to review from week to week? It would be interesting to know what your process is.

Whores are great. Just saw them in Toronto last week. For choosing reviews first off we can tell you it's a rare week when it's easy. So many interesting good records to choose from, and we only have space for one. (For now.) Often, there is a very high profile band/record that is an obvious choice. Our reviewers also pitch us the things they have heard in advance and are excited about. And we read all the fan comments and respond to requests when we can. Hope that helps shed some light.

BANGER. Thanks for the reply. Been a fan since, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. I'm digging everything you're doing with BANGER TV.

Dave Obsessed used to work at Hmv, Qotsa were in the metal section which I didn't quite understand. Eventually got it moved to the rock section!

Dave Obsessed Music categories are really just a waste of time. I feel this more and more as I get older. People squabbling about "thats not metal" or "thats not punk". Its like - Just get up and dance fuckers!

It's because Nick Oliveris image during their early years pretty much assigned them a label.

steve fred Thats a good point. He did most of the screamy metal songs too

Will Watt I got confused a month or so ago when I went to buy Songs For The Deaf in HMV and it wasn't in the metal section anymore 😂