With Nick Olivieri and Dave Grohl gonzo, and Mark Lanegan's contributions limited to 90 seconds, the heart of Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme, is all alone in the super-unknown, left to pursue both his grunge-pop monomania and his heretofore disguised love of two-headed-dog-eared horror tropes ("Someone's in the Wolf," "Burn the Witch") and Mario Bava backdrops ("You've Got a Killer Scene, Man"). Not that big names and bigger egos streaking across the studio ever kept Homme from taking care of business—it's to his credit that the drummer on their new Lullabies to Paralyze sounds no different from Grohl on the last record (aside from the fact that the new drummer is the new drummer, and Dave Grohl is famous). It's also to Homme's credit that guest appearances by Billy Gibbons, Brody Dalle, and Shirley Manson amount to drive-by Hitchcock cameos. The "Little Sister" woodblock and that Stooges piano (speaking of dog-eared) get more of the spotlight, as... More >>>