This week Queens of The Stone Age released their latest work Alive in the Catacombs. The 5 track EP is the audio to their earlier released film and contains re-recordings and re-imaginings of some of their best tracks – live at the catacombs.
The AITC film and subsequent audio release is QOTSA distilled down to their most elemental form: Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore augmented by a three-piece string section, employing chains and chopsticks as makeshift percussion instruments. Entirely unfiltered, as every song was recorded live in a complete take with no overdubs or edits.
One of the things that has always drawn me to Queens of The Stone Age is their energy. They’re an incredible band live and it’s their rock guitars or fast drums throughout their most famous tracks that are the first things I think most people think of when you mention QOTSA. So this reimagining cracked open everything I thought about the band. And it’s just lovely.
It’s melodic and mellow, but not melancholy. Josh’s voice carries the tracks far better than expected (and while I don’t like the man’s personal life choices, his musical talent is undeniable). The gentle percussion elements and the beautiful strings bring out different elements of the tracks and allow you to hear them in a new way.
Kalopsia is probably my highlight on the album – the whiny strings, the fervent energy, but more in a phantom of the opera way than a rock show way. I love that reworking the song in this way didn’t equate to “slowly crooning it”. It’s like the band still manage to create some of their traditional live stage momentum but in a wholly new, never seen before way!
Alive in the Catacombs doesn’t just offer a new way to hear these songs; it offers a new way to feel them. It’s haunting, raw, and intimate. QOTSA without the bravado, but with all the bite.