Queens of the Stone Age

After the breakup of his previous band, Josh Homme formed Gamma Ray in 1996, and later changed the name to Queens of The Stone Age; said to be named so because “rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls.” The band released their self-titled album in 1998, which was mostly recorded by Homme himself, with the appearance Alfredo Hernandez on drums and Chris Goss on backing vocals. Shortly after it’s release, Homme’s former Kyuss band mate, bassist Nick Oliveri joined the band, shortly followed by guitarist Dave Catching, as well as drummer Joey Castillo.

With the help of various other artists, “Rated R” was released in 2000, garnering a lot more attention than their debut album. Frequent touring helped the band gain more support, but they were still able to get time in the studio and released “Songs For The Deaf.” The record was extremely well received and saw to the addition of guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (previously a part of A Perfect Circle). The band was on a constant tour, and due to issues, Oliveri ended up leaving the band in 2004.

Due to a leak, their 2005 album “Lullabies to Paralyze” debuted on the Billboard charts at the Number 5 slot, making it their most successful album to date. Later that same year, the band released a live album from their performances in London, England. With a slate of guest appearances, the band’s album “Era Vulgaris” was completed and released in 2007, followed by a tour where bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist Dean Fertita took over touring duties.

During the span of 2009-2010, the band took a hiatus for members to work on their solo projects. While other members joined other bands, Homme suffered an unfortunate near death experience during a knee surgery, forcing him into bed rest for three months. This caused a plunge into depression where Homme almost considered quitting music altogether; however, once he recovered, Queens of the Stone Age re-released their self-titled album and included a tour and a few large festivals, one of which was the last show with drummer Joey Castillo.

With the loss of Castillo and a new album in the works in 2012, Homme announced that Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl was filling in on the recording sessions for the drum parts, and by summer of 2013 “…Like Clockwork” was released, first in the UK, followed by a US release with the debut reaching Number 1. Homme announced that at the end of their “…Like Clockwork” tour, the band will return to the studio at the end of 2014 to start recording their next album.