and Rock & Roll Just Got a Little More Dangerous
There are bands you casually listen to, and then there are bands that permanently alter the chemical composition of your brain. Queens of the Stone Age have spent more than two decades living firmly in the second category.
Now the desert-rock legends are back with a new album, Perfecth, scheduled for release October 30 through Matador Records. The band has also dropped a new track, “Insignificant Other,” giving us another reason to turn the volume up far beyond what our neighbors consider reasonable.
And honestly, the title Perfecth might be the most Queens of the Stone Age thing imaginable.
Frontman Josh Homme came up with the deliberately misspelled version of “perfect” as a way of describing the beautifully flawed world we live in. The idea fits QOTSA pretty well. Their music has never been particularly interested in being polished into submission. It is strange, heavy, seductive, rhythmic and occasionally feels like somebody left a desert highway, a vintage amplifier and a bad decision unattended in the same room.
The new album was recorded between New Orleans and Los Angeles and follows 2023’s In Times New Roman…. The nine-track record includes “Insignificant Other,” “Easy Street,” “Phantom Limb,” “Sunday” and the wonderfully titled “Where The Goth Girls At?” because apparently somebody still understands that album titles should occasionally make you raise an eyebrow.
The band previewed the new era with “Easy Street” last month, marking their first new music since In Times New Roman…. Now “Insignificant Other” gives us another piece of the puzzle, and if these first two tracks are any indication, QOTSA haven’t suddenly decided to become a polite adult-contemporary band.
Thank God.
A Band Built on Collaboration
One of the most fascinating things about Queens of the Stone Age has always been the ridiculous amount of talent that has passed through their orbit.
The band’s history includes contributions from musicians such as Dave Grohl, Elton John, Mark Lanegan and Trent Reznor, among many others. That list alone should be enough to convince anyone who has somehow spent the last 25 years living under a rock that this isn’t just another rock band.
Actually, considering we’re talking about Queens of the Stone Age, living under a rock might be appropriate.
Their sound has always occupied an unusual space between hard rock, alternative, desert rock, psychedelia and something much more rhythmic. The guitars hit hard, but there is a groove underneath everything. That combination is a huge part of what makes songs like “No One Knows,” “Go With the Flow,” “Little Sister,” “3’s & 7’s” and “Make It Wit Chu” so immediately recognizable.
And yes, “No One Knows” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, becoming one of the band’s defining commercial successes. The song also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.
QOTSA have never exactly been short on recognition, either. The band won the Kerrang! Award for Best International Newcomer in 2000, later won an NME Award for Best Live Band, and took home an MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects for “Go With the Flow.”
They have also collected multiple Grammy nominations throughout their career, including recognition for …Like Clockwork, Villains, In Times New Roman… and songs including “No One Knows,” “Go With the Flow,” “Little Sister” and “My God Is the Sun.”
So no, Queens of the Stone Age haven’t needed a trophy cabinet to establish their credibility. But apparently the music industry occasionally likes to acknowledge that some bands are actually really damn good.
And Then There’s Dave Grohl
Here’s where things get particularly fun.
Queens of the Stone Age are currently part of the Foo Fighters’ massive 2026 stadium tour, appearing with Dave Grohl and company across a number of major North American dates. The connection goes considerably deeper than simply sharing a stage, because Grohl famously played drums on Songs for the Deaf, including “No One Knows.”
That makes the current touring relationship feel almost circular.
Dave Grohl helped create one of QOTSA’s most iconic records, and now the two bands are sharing enormous stadium stages more than two decades later.
That’s the kind of rock-and-roll history that makes you want to buy a ticket instead of watching another algorithmically generated celebrity feud on your phone.
The current run includes major stops such as Regina, Edmonton, Vancouver and Las Vegas, with Queens of the Stone Age also scheduled for festivals including Bourbon & Beyond and Aftershock.
After the Foo Fighters dates, the band continues into Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, with shows scheduled in places including Reykjavík, Tokyo, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland.
Perfecth Could Be Exactly What Rock Needs Right Now
There is something refreshing about Queens of the Stone Age continuing to make records that sound unmistakably like Queens of the Stone Age.
They aren’t chasing whatever happens to be dominating streaming playlists this week. They’re not trying to reinvent themselves into something that will make a marketing department happy. They have spent years developing a sound that belongs almost entirely to them, and Perfecth appears to continue that tradition while pushing the band into another chapter.
And that’s probably why QOTSA still matter.
Rock music doesn’t need another band desperately trying to prove that rock music is still alive. It needs bands that simply make great records and let the music do the arguing.
Queens of the Stone Age have been doing that for years.
The new album arrives October 30, and “Insignificant Other” is available now.
As for that last-second Welcome to Rockville invitation I mentioned earlier?
I’m not saying we’re putting it out into the universe.
I’m just saying there’s still time.
Human beings have built entire religions around less plausible miracles.
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