After a few formative (now out-of-print) EPs, the desert storm Queens of the Stone Age appeared in 1998. Guitars and bass churn in near loops, like a tank engine turning over. Vocals are kept to a minimum, embracing traditional metal sentiments such as “I wish we’d get away/Drink wine and scr... 

 Rated R is slicker and more diverse. Arrangements are more precise, vocals are more prominent, and on “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” Judas Priest’s Rob Halford helps sing: “Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol/C-c-c-c-c-cocaine!!!” “In the Fade” is a ballad, and... 

 They’ve had fine drummers in the past, but Queens can’t help but benefit from Dave Grohl’s guest pounding on Songs for the Deaf. “Millionaire,” “Song for the Dead,” and the seasick title track are tough, high-desert scorchers, while “Mosquito Song” is an acoustic-horns-strings o... 

 Lullabies to Paralyze suffers as a result of the line-up changes: New drummer Joey Castillo can’t match Grohl’s tight, arena-ready wallop and most of the tracks lack QOTSA’s talent for mixing crunchy stoner-metal riffs with pop-savvy melodies, although “Little Sister” comes close to mat... 

 (Pick up the live CD Over The Years…, recorded during two U.K. shows in 2005, to hear an early version of “Make It.”) Homme’s lyrics have also improved a notch.  

 Perhaps inspired by his joke-y side-project Eagles of Death Metal, Homme sounds revitalized on Era Vulgaris. He and his crew kick out their best and most diverse collection of tunes yet: swampy industrial noise (“Turnin on the Screw”), vertiginous uptempo rockers (“Sick, Sick, Sick”), sle...