A Walk With a Ghost - Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs

Hide away. Reach inside yourself to the deepest regions of your soul and pull together the remaining courage you have left. Rather than the traditional shock value horror more commonly associated, this will be different.

Queens of the Stone Age, my favorite band, released a re-recording of some great tunes of theirs. The kick is, they recorded everything inside of the Paris Catacombs.

You can find the trailer for the project on their website, link below!

Speaking strictly to the audio (I have yet to order a film), the song selection alone speaks volumes to the tone of the EP. At first I wondered if it was just hand picked favorites from the band, songs that easily translated into the acoustic ambiance of their recording rooms, or if there was more to it. I should have known better than to assume so little. Of course it was all planned.

From the bio on the band’s official website, everything down to the placement of the low lights was thought out. Excruciating detail to bring us the most eerie yet peaceful recording session yet. Josh Homme continues to be one of my favorite artists for this very reason. There is something about his art that is so unique. The unbridled emotion that comes out of every melody and word.

Let’s take a look at the tracks.

To start us out, easily my favorite rendition of Running Joke/Paper Machete. Running Joke, originally off of the album Era Vulgaris, is a tune that does a wonderful job setting the scene for us. I like to imagine the stark silence beginning this recording, followed by Josh Homme’s congested sniveling and lamenting is a real life sound track as we begin to enter the tomb ourselves. It seems like the end, a reflection on all our failures and what could have been. The combination of adding Paper Machete, off of In Times New Roman…, was flawlessly executed. It brings out a little more finger pointing by the end of the first track. Running Joke does a great job at forcing self reflection, since it feels like the artist is doing the same. But once the switch to paper machete comes around, we feel persecuted. Fingers pointing at us, and the hands are all bone. This piece did wonders as an opener, and really excited me for what was to come.

One of the longer songs on the EP is up next. I love the creativity with this recording. Once again it shifts the original tone of this track to match our trek into the darkness. Kalopsia is of …Like Clockwork, an incredible telling of trust and love. Who am I, who are you, what are we? Kalopsia’s role in the EP starts off welcoming. The subtle chimes in the background, you feel like you’re floating along as you listen. At this point, we’ve fully entered the catacombs. Regardless of hesitation, your interest has piqued and you can’t help but explore. The verses of Kalopsia pull you even further until you feel your feet trail behind you. The choruses begin to take a little more aggression, almost from something old and lurking. By the time we can catch a breath, we’re in too deep.

Villains of Circumstance is next. A top lamentation of the ways that forces outside of our control can take hold of our destiny without warning. This had me feeling as if I was listening to lost souls through the halls of damp stone and skulls. Someone, or thing, was angry and sad. Weeping into the night, unaware that anyone can hear. This disembodied voice sings of love yet lost. Regardless of where, when, or how, I will love you. It’s almost beautiful. It makes you wonder if ghosts cry. Forgotten by time, but they are doomed to remember.

Suddenly, a voice speaks. Close, on our shoulder. Whispering into our ear, “When you’re going through hell, keep going”. The opening line of the recording for the next track sends chills down my spine.

Suture up your future, another track from Era Vulgaris, marks a new point in or descent. It gives an opportunity to look back at what we’ve been told already. As we pass through these halls of human history, what of our own? Everything that we’ve been reminded of by the past three songs, where is it going? Much like these halls, there is no for sure way to tell where you’ll end up. The unsettling nature of the catacombs, and the music, keep us on our ties as we feel the weight of our decisions. Almost like an entire city rests on top of us.

I Never Came closes us off. From Lullabies to Paralyze, and it truly is. When you feel at your lowest, this song hits hard. Positioned at the end of our journey intentionally to feel this exact sensation. Lines like “it won’t die” repeated through the entire song give us a gentle reminder. Through the harshness of our situation, the blades cutting at our heart, the blunt force to our soul, the screaming of our senses either from derangement or over-stimulation. It won’t die, and neither will we. We push through, and we find the end. Whatever the resolution may be, it must end but it won’t die.

Thank you for walking with me through the catacombs. Check out the album and more from Queens of the Stone Age anywhere you can stream, but don’t forget to check the trailer for this experience at their website.

qotsa.com