Matador Schallplatten & CDs

Review: It's been a rough old ride leading up to In Times New Roman for Queens of the Stone Age frontman Joshua Homme. Private life very much splashed across the front pages (of the music press, at least) amid custodial battles with ex-wives, cancer diagnoses and surgery, the loss of several close friends, including former Queens and latterly solo legend Mark Lanegan. As such we can understand why this latest album is an unforgiving and at times surprisingly edgy place to be.
It's been a while since the Seattle, Washington hard rockers allowed themselves to go this hard, and reveal so much about themselves. For the most part, In Times is their heaviest sounding outing in more than 15 years, essentially since Era Vulgaris dropped. Even in the sonically softer moments, for example 'Straight Jacket Fitting', there's a brooding moodiness recalling the heyday of unplugged grunge. Simply put, they clearly had a lot that needed to be let out, and that's exactly what they've done.