10 Most Underrated Rock Albums Of All Time
6. Era Vulgaris - Queens of the Stone Age
As rock reached the end of the '00s, Queens of the Stone Age had become seasoned pros of the genre. After dominating the music landscape with Songs for the Deaf, Josh Homme's first outing without his band on Lullabies to Paralyze made for some of the most infectious hits of their career. It seemed like they could only go up from there, but Era Vulgaris ended up living in musical limbo.
With a more mechanical sound and off-kilter riffs, this album certainly has a different feel going for it. When talking about the making of the album, Homme said it was the closest thing to capturing the "robot rock" sound he heard in his head, as tracks feel like they are almost intentionally misconstrued. However, in QOTSA's case, that's not a bad thing at all, with songs like "Turnin on the Screw" and "3's and 7's" being some of the best riffs of the band's later period.
This album also doesn't skimp out on guests, with everyone from Julian Casablancas to Trent Reznor ducking in to assist Homme in his musical pursuits. The QOTSA sound isn't completely missing though, with Homme showing off his sultry pipes on "Make it Wit Chu."
Most rock fans tend to just gravitate towards the singles on this album, but when taken as a whole, Era Vulgaris is one of the most off-the-wall releases the band has ever laid to tape.