If someone came up and made the argument that Queens of the Stone Age is one of the best and biggest rock bands of the 21st century, it’d be a challenge to refute it. The band has been a heavyweight since their inception in the late 90’s (R.I.P. Kyuss), and has been up for several Grammy nominations for nearly a decade.
Now, the band is gearing up for the release of their seventh album, Villains, which is being helmed by Mark Ronson, who helped Josh Homme work on Lady Gaga’s 2016 album, Joanne. Ahead of the album release, the band dropped off their first single “The Way You Used to Do,” which doesn’t hold back when it comes to hearing Ronson’s influence. The new track is definitely the most pop-friendly out of the band’s catalogue, featuring swinging riffs from some heavily distorted guitars with a crooning Homme.
When talking about the creation of the new LP, Homme had this to say: “The most important aspect of making this record was redefining our sound, asking and answering the question ‘what do we sound like now?’ If you can’t make a great first record, you should just stop – but if you can make a great record but you keep making records and your sound doesn’t evolve, you become a parody of that original sound.”
In addition to the new single, the band also announced a international tour to support the new record. After appearing at Quebec’s Amensia Rockfest and San Francisco’s Outside Land, the group will kick off their tour in late June at Nigra Falls. After a brief international stint, hitting festivals in Japan and shows in Australia, the band will return in North America and hit several stops including San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival, shows in PHililadelphia, Toronto, Chicago (Riot Fest), New York, Boston, and several others along the way. English rockers Royal Blood will be the support for the North American stint of their tour.
Villiains is out August 25 and is available for pre-order. Check out the new track and dates below.
UPDATE (7/17): Queens of the Stone Age have announced more dates on their fall 2017 Villains tour. Additionally, they have shared the news that rock group Broncho as the supporting act on the European leg of their tour.
Queens of the Stone Age 2017 Tour Dates:
06/22 – Niagara Falls, NY @ Rapids Theater
06/24 – Montebello, QC @ Amnesia Rockfest
07/13 – Auckland, NZ @ Logan Campbell
07/16 – Darwin, AU @ Convention Center
07/19 – Sydney, AU @ Horden Pavilion
07/20 – Melbourne, AU @ Festival Hall
07/22 – Byron Bay, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
07/28-30 – Naeba, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival
09/06 – Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre *
09/07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier *
09/09 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage *
09/10 – Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live *
09/12 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live! Outdoor Pavilion *
09/15 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater *
09/16 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
10/09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
10/10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
10/12 – St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House *
10/13 – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads KC *
10/14 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium *
10/15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom *
10/17 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre *
10/18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Old National Centre *
10/20 – Washington, DC @ TBA *
10/21 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena *
10/22 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
10/24 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *
11/04 – Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena #
11/05 – Vienna, AT @ Stadthalle #
11/06 – Zurich, CH @ Samsung Hall #
11/07 – Paris, FR @ Accorhotels Arena #
11/09 – Oberhausen, DE @ Konig-Pilsener-Arena #
11/10 – Munich, DE @ Zenith #
11/11 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom #
11/12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome #
11/14 – Copenhagen, DK @ Tap1 #
11/15 – Hamburg, DE @ Sporthalle #
11/16 – Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis #
11/18 – London, UK @ The SSE Arena Wembley #
11/19 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Arena #
11/21 – London, UK @ The O2 #
11/23 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall #
11/24 – Dublin, IE @ 3 Arena #
* = w/ Royal Blood
Leave a Comment