It’s quite remarkable to see themusicwe know and love get rearranged and reimagined. The creative process of shaping melody and sonic verses of sound and words into a viable song is already an otherworldly display of gifted humanity in the first place; only a select few have the privilegeof doing this art well, not just doing it. But to then take that prewritten outline of success, boil it down into another perspective of thought, and still find something newly original from the starting pieces is fascinating.Look atMTV Unplugged’sformatfor proof of this idea’s success.
But while that classic, bygone show and ongoing segments like NPR’s online-onlyTiny Desk Concerthave discovered plenty of gold within the hills of stripped-down, acoustic reinventions, after a while it becomes less common that truly new methods of approach/presentation are found in this format. Fortunately, rock bandQueens of the Stone Agerecently released a new live project film/EP calledAlive in the Catacombsthat finds an intriguing wayto throw the unplugged into the unprecedented.
Filmed and recorded in July 2024, the band was able to play a lo-fi set of five (technically six) songs spanning their lengthy catalogunderground in the famed Catacombs of Paris. Home to millions of human remains buried there in the 17th century, many of the walls themselves are built from bones and skulls. Lead singer Josh Homme initially had an idea to stage a performance there twenty years ago after his first visit, and at long last had Queens of the Stone Age become the first group sanctioned to play the Catacombs by the city of Paris.
The resultis completely live with no overdubs or edits. Every drip of water and natural sound is heard, with chains and chopsticks for improvised percussion, a car-battery-powered electric piano, acoustic guitars, unmodified vocals, and a three-piece string section. While the Catacombs of Paris isn’t likelyto become a historically significant concert venueanytime soon, the executed concept ofAlive in the Catacombsis nothing short of quiet, understated mastery.
5Kalopsia (…Like Clockwork, 2013)
A New Approach To Uplifting
Written in 2013 on the…Like Clockworkalbum by Hommefor his daughter about getting out and escaping from dark days, “Kalopsia” originally takes on a floating psych-rock feeling before multiple hammering heavy rock-riff choruses disrupt the tempo. The version created forAlive in the Catacombsis a whole other animal, however, with fleeting bell sounds accentuated by equal eloquence from both Homme’s rich vocals and violins that feel full to bursting with tone.
Joined by the rasp of acoustic guitar, chain percussion, and strung-out strings on the chaotic choruses, this live approach of “Kalopsia” still has the same energetic tempo of ideas, but shows its hand of cards in a much more delicate (if still bruising) method of approach. The sentimentality in Homme’s lyrics feels like it hits home even harder and heavier than the acid-rock edition presented on…Like Clockwork, with maturity thathas aged with even more grace and satisfaction in over a decade since the release of “Kalopsia”.
4Suture Up Your Future (Era Vulgaris, 2007)
“Suture Up Your Future” already had plenty of dark, simmering rock energy with its original incarnation on 2007’sEra Vulgaris, but this songthat’s all about leaving the past behind and the losses incurred in favor of a better futuretakes on an even more stark view of clarity years later onAlive in the Catacombs. Knowing the serious health issues Homme has dealt with in recent years, hearing him give the spoken invocation of “when you’re going through hell, keep going,” before the track kicks in gives the whole mood a greater weight.
Buoyed by slapping, bass-y notes and synth-leaning piano lines, “Suture Up Your Future” feels even more introspective yet far-reaching, with Homme’s halting breaths toward the end giving “Suture Up Your Future” even more added mortality. This song feels like the vocalist reminding himself as much as his audience to keep going,to keep looking ahead with the time that you’ve got, because nothing is ever guaranteed.
3I Never Came (Lullabies To Paralyze, 2005)
A Melancholic Relationship End
One of the many thingsAlive in the Catacombsdoes so well is getting right down to the roots and basics of a selection of extremely well-written Homme tracks. Some listeners might look at Queens of the Stone Age as just another winking, half-cocked, smart-aleck-style rock band, but beneath the loud exterior and the big riffs are strong tracks like “I Never Came.” TheLullabies To Paralyzesong about relationship dysfunction lets the mask come down even further on this EP, andslip right into the ragged and raw, jagged emotion of humanity.
Once again, Homme’s vocals in this setting are sparkling and powerful, backed by the rising tumult of guitar and superb strings, with the Catacombs of Paris proving to be a natural setting for these tracks to shine. Not only are the dead and gone able to rest in these walls, but Homme and the bandare allowed to put a number of haunting emotional spirits like “I Never Came” to restas well. As the finale song ofAlive in the Catacombs, this was a perfect choice to keep ringing out long after the music had stopped.
2Villains Of Circumstance, (Villains, 2017)
A Love Song Of Parting
Led into the track by the dripping catacombs, the grit of dirt underfoot, and the soft blues of electric piano notes, “Villains of Circumstance” goes from an uplifting rocker on the 2017 albumVillainsto an almost bombastic chamber-pop tearjerker onAlive in the Catacombs. Written by Hommein tribute to his children and his love for them, the swell of violins instead of guitars creates an even stronger emotion when it all comes out in the wash.
Homme has spoken frankly about “Villains of Circumstance” being something to leave behind for his children after he’s gone, and that sense of rubbed-raw mortality feels even stronger here. The singer had almost died years ago on an operating table during routine knee surgery, had privately battled cancer, and had another major health scare ongoing during this recording. With those events being known and accounted for in these proceedings, “Villains of Circumstance” has even more urgency to it. More desire to get what needs to be said out and on the tablebefore the chances to do so are gone.
1Running Joke/Paper Machete (Era Vulgaris/In Times New Roman…2007/2023)
A Brutal Hybrid-Song Takedown
The opening track ofAlive in the Catacombsbegins simply with Homme’s a cappella vocals before seguing into the light tones of electric piano, the gentle patter of percussion, the methodical pace of acoustic guitars, and the ghostly, plucking dance of strings. That’s where everything light and gentle ends, though, as “Running Joke” and “Paper Machete"are quite possibly equally sinister songs(the first from 2007’sEra Vulgaris, the second from theQueens of the Stone Age’slast 2023 studio release,In Times New Roman…)
With “Paper Machete” being, quite notably,about Homme’s bitterly venomous divorce from ex-wife Brody Dalle, forming it seamlessly into “Running Joke” feels like it only piles on the heavy-leveraged weight of acrimony in the subject matter. Adding in the deathly venue of the Catacombs and the sound it provides makes this track feel confessionally open yet emotionless, bloody but without a single care for the stains on its metaphorical clothes. This type of vulnerability is so bare bones that it almost feels painful in full scope.
