Still reeling from the ecstatic reaction to the recently released “Emotion Sickness,” a triumphant return, Queens of the Stone Age now unveil “Carnavoyeur,” the latest offering from their epic eighth album, In Times New Roman… 

In contrast to its predecessor,  “Carnavoyeur” finds QOTSA weaving more subtle shades of sinister: Mesmerizing washes of strings cascade atop the band’s trademark rock-solid foundation, while Joshua Homme’s mellifluent vocals swaddle the listener with their warm and all too familiar tones of acceptance and resignation: “When there’s nothing I can do, I smile…” While the stunning, honeyed melodies of “Carnavoyeur” are undeniably, well, reallypretty, this is still Queens of the Stone Age, and there’s no shortage of viscera-rumbling drums and bass or spine-chilling guitar interplay.