This album is beginning to end a sonic work of art. I don't think I would call it a concept album, but it certainly has a cohesive feel that makes listening to it end too soon. Maybe it's a hint of classic progressive rock attitude. At the conclusion of this CD...I hit play again. I have liked QOTSA albums before, but I don't remember being as addicted to anything they have done like this album. There are great guitar parts, soulful singing by Josh Homme and Mark Lannegan, searing six string solos, layered sound textures, rock solid rhythm/percussion, burning bluesy roots, quirky thoughtful lyrics and melodic growling bass. They threw everything in but the kitchen sink into this amazing sonic brew...buy it and put it on repeat!

An excellent new Queens of the Stone age album every two-and-a-half years or so has become something of a tradition, so while the high quality of their most recent release is no surprise, it's certainly no less pleasant for it. QOTSA have always been able to maintain a balance between rock's opposite poles--arty without being pretentious, technically proficient without being mechanical, heavy without being angry--and Era Vulgaris does nothing to interrupt that streak, delivering more of the narcotizing, classic-minded hard rock that Josh Homme has been delivering since he formed the band out of the ashes of the even-greater Kyuss. Building on the sounds of the band's previous four albums without cannibalizing them, Era Vulgaris is yet another excellent album in the QOTSA tradition--loosely constructed, wide-ranging, and determinedly rocking, with none of the woe-is-me drivel that weighs down so much of what passes for rock music these days. And as usual, it's littered with the muscular, surging guitars and smart melodies that have become Josh's stock in trade, making this yet another classic album for blasting in your car with the windows open. Despite their well-documented history of heavy turnover, the band actually sounds as tight as ever here, taking about ten seconds of the opening Turnin' On the Screw to lock into a killer groove that never quite lets up until the album ends. The following Sick, Sick, Sick is even better, bringing a manic, rapid-fire energy to the proceedings, with vocals that are less sung than declaimed over a backup of speedy metallic riffage. Some might proclaim Make it Wit Chu too mellow and playful to fit on a QOTSA album, but I actually found its bouncy, piano-tinged arrangements and insinuating crooned refrain to be perfectly in keeping with the band's traditional good time-oriented approach. Of course, just in case anyone does find that track overly lightweight, Josh & Co. follow it up the with the memorably intense riff-rock of 3's and 7's before skidding into the laid-back, trippy haze of Suture up Your Future. And while many QOTSA albums have petered out on the final few tracks, Era Vulgaris is not one of them--Run, Pig, Run fires out of the blocks with a wall of thick, hard-pounding riffs and harsh noises backing a winding, ominous vocal. It's certainly not the first song to highlight a darker, more visceral aspect to the Queens' sound, but with the possible exception of the last album's Someone's in the Wolf it may be best, and it brings a suitable conclusion to yet another top-notch album in Josh Homme's ever-expanding catalogue.

If the Queens do anything well it's evolving and progressing without completely changing there sound. Josh Homme and the boys have moved away from the darker tones of Lullabies to Paralyze and have crafted an album in Era Vulgaris that jerks its way through fuzzed out guitars and somewhat more upbeat vocal harmonies. That's not to say that other Queens of the Stone Age albums lacked harmony, it just seems to be more upfront on this album. There seems to be more a glam rock element to this album as opposed to the grittier sound of there previous work. There are still hard chunky guitar riffs here, but they seem much more danceable and less heart pounding. Even the album cover seems brighter, with pink and purple colors all over the place. The Queens haven't gone soft, they just appear to have returned to the hedonistic and celebratory rock of their second album Rated R.

The album opens with the best song on the album, Turnin on the Screw. Turnin on the Screw is unlike any other song in their catalogue. It's an easy rocker with reverb heavy guitars with Josh singing in a high register. It throws the listener a curve ball because most Queens fans are programmed to expect their albums to start off with a bang. The other high point is the Desert Sessions tune Make It Wit Chu. Make It With Chu is a sleazy lounge song that seems almost effortless. It's strange that I like the two slowest songs on the album best. Maybe the next album will be full of easy going dirty lounge songs.

Most of the songs are good, but as a general complaint the rockers seem less interesting than on pervious albums. All of the buzzy guitars seem to melt together in to a stew of noise. Battery Acid is guilty of this as well as Misfit Love, I'm Designer, and Sick Sick Sick. Repeated listens allow these songs to open up a bit, but they are not as rewarding as you'd expect. The only true misstep is Into the Hollow. With the plinky guitar at the start, it sounds like a b-side from Lullabies. It never really clicks like some of there other slower songs, it just seems to stagnate.

This album is recommended for fans of the band and anyone who wants to add a little hedonistic rock to their diet. It's not as good as R, Songs for the Deaf, or Lullabies to Paralyze, but it's still a solid album that's easily on par with their self titled debut album.

Crap on a crap cracker, this album just gets better and better when I listen to it. If this is the direction the Queens are taking themselves musically; then damn. This is what rock should sound like. From the robotic repetitiveness of the guitar riffs, to the face melting buttery smoothness of the solo's. The keyboard, drums, bass; everything is just clicking. Era Vulgaris is definitely one of my favorite albums. In my opinion this album solidifies that Queens of the Stone Age are sitting way up on the rock pedestal along with Floyd, Zep, and the Doors.

Stoner rock is typically heavy, sludgy and appeals to, well, those who indulge in mind altering activities. The Queens are the poster children of this volcanic miasma, but they, or more specifically, Josh Homme, reach more than just stoners. This tea totaller (for the last couple of decades anyway) digs the Queens as much as anybody.

Thick syrupy guitars and the delicate touch of a wrecking ball slamming into a warehouse full of blasting caps define all the Stone Ager's music, and "Era Vulgaris" is no exception.

That there isn't a whole lot of new territory musically here is a good thing because frankly, Homme's clever lyrics and help from his usual sidekicks like Mark Langevin or Chris Goss don't really need improved upon.

"I'm Designer", "Sick Sick Sick" and "The River In The Road" won't disappoint fans of "R", and the closer, "Run, Pig, Run" sounds like the munchkins on mescaline. "Era Vulgaris" is a solid effort that doesn't exactly blow their other work out of the water, but rather fits in quite nicely into an already impressive musical wardrobe.