10 Greatest Hard Rock Songs Of The 2000s
3. Queens Of The Stone Age - "First It Giveth"
While they’d built up a solid reputation with their previous two albums, Queens Of The Stone Age broke through big time with Songs For The Deaf, and it’s not hard to see why. The tunes on this vaguely conceptual record are driving, heavy, and downright cool.
While “No One Knows” was the inescapable hit, the track that captures everything QOTSA were up to the best is “First It Giveth”. The song starts out creepy and foreboding with shrieks of feedback intercepting the twin guitar and bass work of Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri. Homme comes in with his croon, a surprisingly effective weapon for a man of his build.
As it hits the chorus, though, they drop into their stoner metal roots, with the downtuned chug a heavy backing track for the ghostly harmonised vocals. They’re a band who know exactly when to expand and when to contract, and here a little goes a long way, with a few simple riffs and patterns making up a massive song.
There are louder and faster songs on the record, but none quite so spookily effective as this one.