Rated R

Rated R

Keeping with the theme of the album’s title, Queens of the Stone Age opened their 2000 studio long-player with the drugged-out “Feelgood Hit of the Summer,” a heavy guitar-driven mantra where lyrics like a laundry list of drugs. It’s as catchy as it is juvenile, though it was nearly pulled from Wal-Mart shelves and it hardly sets the tone for an admirable sophomore album that’s much better crafted than its opener. “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret” dares to infuse vibraphone touches into a genre normally void of such finesse with arrangements more clever than most bands who hardly deviate from the Black Sabbath blueprint. The proggy arrangements in “Better Living Through Chemistry” reveal a band that has little interest in playing within the confining boundaries of such a genre. Mark Lanegan takes the lead vocals on “In the Fade” – he would become a full-time member of the band after releasing his own Field Songs in 2001.

Other Versions

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada