Queens of the Stone Age drop the electric guitars and showcase an unappreciated side of their music in a stunningly unique setting with their new concert movie Alive in the Catacombs.
Band leader Josh Homme has fulfilled a long-held wish by becoming the first band allowed to film and record in the Paris Catacombs, where millions of bodies were moved from cemeteries around the city in the late 1700s.
There’s no electricity to be had in the catacombs, so Homme and his bandmates rely on acoustic instruments and a car battery-powered Wurlitzer organ – not the safest choice in the damp subterranean environment.
Drummer Jon Theodore provides percussion with sandpaper-covered blocks and chains at various points, and a three-piece string section joins the group. The set list leaves their most famous songs – “No One Knows, “Little Sister” and the like – behind in favor of deep, setting-appropriate album cuts and a dramatically reworked version of “Paper Machete” from their recent In Times New Roman... album.
Free to roam the hauntingly lit, skull and bone-filled stone hallways, Homme leaves his guitar behind and puts the focus squarely on his vocals, which have evolved quite impressively over the band’s nearly three-decade career.
Read More: Queens of the Stone Age Albums Ranked
As great as Catacombs is, for longtime fans of Queens of the Stone Age, it’s oddly hard to call it a revelation. That’s meant as a compliment: We already knew their music could be this beautiful. It’s just wonderful that they found the perfect time and place to put the spotlight fully on this aspect of their work.
Alive in the Catacombs is available for streaming and download from Queens of the Stone Age’s official website. On June 13, audio will be available on all major streaming services. A limited edition vinyl version of the soundtrack has already sold out.
Queens of the Stone Age, ‘Alive in the Catacombs’ Track Listing
“Running Joke” (From 2007’s Era Vulgaris)*
“Paper Machete” (From 2023’s In Times New Roman…)*
“Kalopsia” (From 2013’s “...Like Clockwork“)
“Villains of Circumstance” (From 2017’s Villains)
“Suture Up Your Future” (From Era Vulgaris)
“I Never Came” (From 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze)
* performed together as a medley