10 Legendary Rock Albums That Were Originally Very Different

10. Era Vulgaris - Queens of the Stone Age

Every Queens of the Stone Age record was Joshua Homme inching closer to what he called robot rock. Even though albums like Rated R fit pretty snuggly into the stoner rock category of rock and roll, you can see what he's talking about from the sound of the records, from guitars that were played in lock step with each other to the hurky jerky way that the rhythm pushed and pulled throughout every song. Era Vulgaris was the closest that the band ever got to that sound according to Homme, but robot rock originally may have had a bit of a darker edge to it.

Coming off of one of their more blockbuster albums with Lullabies to Paralyze, Homme was keen to work with a more stable lineup while also having a fair bit of guest stars added to the record. Though Julian Casablancas lent his talents to the song Sick Sick Sick here and there, one important guest was completely MIA during the sessions, with Trent Reznor originally wanting to come on as the producer of the entire project.

Seeing how this was the time when Trent was starting to get back in tune with albums like With Teeth and Year Zero, the partnership had the potential to be something completely different for Queens, going in a borderline metal direction and getting even more grimy, which is hinted at on songs like Turnin on the Screw and Battery Acid. Though the title track is the only piece of the Reznor collab that actually survived as a bonus track, it's still interesting to think what the next evolution of Queens would have sounded like with an industrial makeover.