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Era Vulgaris (album) |
| Era Vulgaris | |||||
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| Studio album by Queens of the Stone Age | |||||
| Released | June 12, 2007 | ||||
| Recorded | July 2006 – April 2007 (see below) |
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| Genre | Hard rock1 Alternative rock |
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| Length | 47:53 54:42 (UK version) |
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| Label | Interscope, Rekords Rekords | ||||
| Producer | Josh Homme, Chris Goss, (The Fififf Teeners) | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Queens of the Stone Age chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Era Vulgaris | |||||
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Era Vulgaris is the fifth full length studio album by American hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. The album was completed in early April 20072 and released on June 8, 2007 in some countries, June 11, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 12, 2007 in the United States.3 The tracks "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "3's & 7's" were released as singles in early June,4 with a third single "Make It wit Chu" released around Halloween of 2007.
The album debuted at number fourteen on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts selling 52,000 copies in its first week,5 which was a decline in comparison to the previous album, which opened at number 5 with 91,000 copies sold in its debut week.6 In other countries it has reached much loftier debut positions, mostly in the top ten, such as number five in Canada where it sold approximately 10,000 copies in its opening week.7
Contents |
While 2002's Songs for the Deaf was said to be inspired by Josh Homme's tedious drive through the Southern Californian desert, the inspiration for Era Vulgaris came from Homme's daily drive through Hollywood.8 He described the record as "dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker,"9…it's like dirt, clearly seen."10 The album's title Era Vulgaris refers to the Latin term for Common Era. The title was chosen by Homme because he thought "it sounds like 'the Vulgar Era', which I like, because that sounds like something that I would like to be part of… I mean I think we're in it, and I'm stoked".10
Two tracks from the album had previously been released or performed elsewhere. "Into the Hollow" was previously performed by producers Josh Homme and Chris Goss as The 5:15ers,3 and "Make It Wit Chu" was previously recorded as a Desert Sessions track,11 as well as appearing on their live album Over the Years and Through the Woods.
In June 2006, in an interview on the Australian radio station Triple J, Jesse F. Keeler, the former bassist from Death from Above 1979, revealed that he would be playing bass on an upcoming Queens of the Stone Age album, but said that he would more than likely not be touring with the band due to his desire to spend more time with his girlfriend.12 Eventually on the DFA internet forum, Keeler revealed that due to conflicting schedules, he would not be appearing on the album. In a July interview with NME, Homme confirmed that the band was back in the studio, writing, but he remained unwilling to reveal who would appear in the band on the new record:
That's not a healthy question. You'll ruin the surprise. We've gotta keep our cool.
The album was expected to include guest performances from Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes,14 former band member Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top,15 and (jokingly) deceased humourist Erma Bombeck.16 However, of these only Casablancas' and Lanegan's tracks appear on the U.S. release. Casablancas performed synth guitar and backing vocals on "Sick, Sick, Sick",2 and Lanegan sang backing vocals on "River in the Road". Ultimately, scheduling conflicts prevented Gibbons from appearing,17 while Reznor's track "Era Vulgaris" was released separately on the You Know What You Did promotional CD,10 as well as on the UK release of the album.
The album was recorded "with exactly zero input from [record label] Interscope Records"18 between July 2006 and April 2007 at Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, Steakhouse Studios, Los Angeles and Studio City Sound, Van Nuys and mixed at Bay 7 Studios, North Hollywood, California. Recording and mixing were by Alain Johannes,19 while the album was produced by Josh Homme together with Chris Goss as the Fififf Teeners. The primary contributors to the recording were Homme, Troy van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo, Johannes and Goss.19
We basically started a year ago. And like I said, we didn’t really have anything written. So it was a long process. It was the longest I've ever taken to make a record, frankly. I've made records over the process of a year but this was the first time it's ever been my total focus for that long. This was the first time I've ever done that...total focus for 10 months.
—Troy Van Leeuwen in interview with SuicideGirls, June 16, 200720
Goss and Johannes were replaced by Dean Fertita (keyboard) and Michael Shuman (bass) for later bonus track recordings and the subsequent supporting tour. Regarding the bands line-up changes for Era Vulgaris, Homme commented "I like combinations that no one would expect…It's the cool part of any surprise party."14
| "3's & 7's" | |
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| The opening of the album's lead single for most of the world. | |
Era Vulgaris displays influences from many different genres.21 The album departs from the softer, hollowbody guitar sound of their previous album Lullabies to Paralyze with heavy, crunchy guitars and adding in some industrial influences.22 Rolling Stone noted the influence of "New Wave synth geek Gary Numan…all over this record."23 Musically, the album has been described as "brand new retro",24 a fusion of "punk, rock, blues and southern grit" (FHM),21 and slower, moodier, and groggier than the bands previous efforts.18
Shortly after the album's announcement in February 2007, a video was posted on the band's official website showing Homme, Castillo and Van Leeuwen jamming.25 Along with brief footage of the recording session for "Misfit Love", the last 6-7 seconds of the video contained footage of the recording of "3's & 7's" accompanied by studio-mastered audio.11 A second video of the recording of the album surfaced subsequently on YouTube, depicting the band (this time including Alain Johannes) recording a new track, "Turning on the Screw" in studio.26
In early April, the official band website was updated with a 37 second excerpt from "Sick, Sick, Sick".3 This was replaced, however, by the complete song, "3's and 7's", which was later removed.3 QOTSA fansite thefade.net announced a promotional contest for fans to win "a special package" from the band,27 confirmed as legitimate by the band's webmaster. On April 13, packages were sent to selected winners containing a CD entitled You Know What You Did with the sole track "Era Vulgaris",28 which Homme separately confirmed would not be appearing on the record,10 although it was included as a bonus track on the UK edition. The CD was accompanied by a handwritten letter asking fans to share the song in any way possible:28
Hello friend -
Thank you for accepting this gift. Included you will find the will to dance & the song ERA VULGARIS. It was pulled from the new album (of the same name) so that it could be to you and become an example of how we think "from now on" should be. As in - We do for you, you do for us.
So to start this relationship off, we have done for you. Now we ask this in return. Share this with friends you think we (you & us) would enjoy. Upload it and spray it like time released graffitti (sic) on the websites of places it does not belong.
Is it a new recipie on Rachel Ray's site? Is it a new Nickleback song on their board? A secret Gov't document? Video game cheats? Sex site password? Fuckin' whatever? You decide. Then tell us how you shoved this song into the guts of the internet & we (both) can smile wide with pride at our new relationship.
OH, but not till after midnight tonight... from now till then, is just for us. Can we trust you to wait? Relationships are built on trust. Enjoy! 29– 'Dr Insider & QOTSA'
| We’re making these mock commercials for the new record. Josh was talking about this kind of naïve point in time when TV and commercials kicked in with cartoon characters selling cigarettes and stuff like that. Like Fred Flintstone buying Camels. So we decided to invent a character called Bulby to sell our new record. —Troy Van Leeuwen in interview with SuicideGirls20 |
The full track "Sick, Sick, Sick" was leaked onto the Internet, countered by the posting of a promotional video to the official site featuring a "sales pitch" for Era Vulgaris by two talking lightbulbs , followed by streaming of "Sick, Sick, Sick" with official lyrics displayed in the background.30
On May 2, 2007, Homme, Van Leeuwen and new band member Dean Fertita appeared on London radio station Xfm, performing an acoustic set that included the tracks "3's & 7's", "Into the Hollow" and "Suture Up Your Future".31
It was announced that tracks from the band will appear in video games Madden NFL 08, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band,32 specifically that the track "3's & 7's" would be featured in Madden NFL 08 33 and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.34 Both "3's & 7's" and "Sick, Sick, Sick" are available as downloadable content on Rock Band and Rock Band 2, as they share the same Music Store. 35
The album's cover features the two lightbulbs from the promotional video, Bulby and his pirate accomplice (pictured right), marking a change from the plainer designs of the bands' previous albums.4 According to Homme, the light bulb represented "…what you perceive to be a great idea that really is not that great of an idea".36 The cover was a slip of paper, with a simplified credits page on the back side, marked with the outline of the record. The typography follows an Old English style font; Blackmoor, with the 'Spermy Q' seen on their album Songs for the Deaf.
An art booklet was also included, featuring "Bulby" and several other characters which unfolded to display a pin-up advertisement for the album, following the 50's advertising satire as the rest of the album art followed. The lack of liner notes for the album was remedied when the official website allowed users to view an e-booklet, containing more detailed liner notes, lyrics, and previously unseen artwork.19 The green light bulb with the pirate hat and peg leg is known as "Patchy".
The lightbulb characters were created by Liam Lynch37 with overall art direction from Jason Noto of Morning Breath Inc.
Reviews for the album were generally positive, earning a rating of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, a decline from their previous two studio albums.38 Uncut and Allmusic's reviews were particularly glowing, with the latter noting how Era Vulgaris is "as different from Lullabies as that was to their dramatic widescreen breakthrough, Songs for the Deaf".39 The Observer also commented on the albums change in direction, commenting that the band had "turned its back on the mainstream" and that the album was "uneasy and brooding" and "Gripping stuff".40 Rolling Stone gave the album four stars for the first time since the band's self titled debut,23 commenting that "Era Vulgaris is Homme's fifth Queens album, and like the others, it's intricately crafted, meticulously polished and ruthlessly efficient in its pursuit of depraved rock thrills."41 New York Times critic Jon Pareles selected the album as the 10th best release of 2007.
A number of reviews were negative, however; Q magazine gave the album two stars out of five, while The Village Voice criticized Homme for lack of originality, describing the record's sound as "listless and drained of ideas".42 The Guardian slated the record as lyrically clichéd and lacking the input of former bassist Nick Oliveri43 and Entertainment Weekly delivered the closing indictment that "there isn't a single song here that you'll remember, or want to return to, two summers hence."44
Era Vulgaris had sold 198,000 copies in the US, and 521,000 copies worldwide before falling off the charts. Since it fell off the chart, it has sold 223,000 copies in the US, and 600,000 copies worldwide.citation needed The US sales are a drop off from their previous album, as Lullabies to Paralyze, had sold 342,000 copies in the US by March 2007.11 - though Lullabies to Paralyze had been selling for two years whereas Era Vulgaris had only been selling for several months. Neither album achieved the commercial success of the band's 2002 release, Songs for the Deaf, which had sold 986,000 copies in the US alone as of June 2007.45
All tracks were written by Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo, except where noted.46
On December 4th, Interscope Records released the album on triple 10" vinyl records pressed in Nashville's historic United Record Pressing. The LP version has been expected since the CD version's release which has art that features ring marks commonly associated with vinyl records. The LP includes the bonus track "Running Joke."
According to the album liner notes,19 the contributors were as follows:
This list is exhaustive of the core eleven tracks (see above), but does not take into account contributions to bonus tracks.
Technical credits for the album are as follows:48
Album chart positions
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Singles chart positions
Album release history
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