Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated to QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1996. The group was founded by singer and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before his return to Palm Desert, California, his hometown. Homme is the only constant member despite numerous line-up changes; since 2013, the line-up has comprised Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals) and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion).

Formed following the break-up of Kyuss, Homme's previous band, the group emerged from the rise of the Palm Desert music scene. Its self-titled debut album (1998) was recorded with Homme on vocals and all instruments except drums, which were played by former Kyuss member Alfredo Hernández. Bassist Nick Oliveri joined the group for the tour supporting the album and quickly became co-lead vocalist, while Dave Catching played keyboards, guitar and lap steel alongside Homme. The group's second studio album, Rated R (2000), featured Mark Lanegan as guest vocalist; it was the group's first album for the major label Interscope Records. It enjoyed critical and commercial success and included the single "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", which made the group known. The third studio album, Songs for the Deaf (2002), benefited from the drumming of Dave Grohl, as well as contributions from Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider.

Following the respective departures of Oliveri in 2004 and Lanegan in 2005, Homme once again became the group's sole lead vocalist; Van Leeuwen and drummer Joey Castillo collaborated with him on Lullabies to Paralyze (2005) and Era Vulgaris (2007). After several years of inactivity, the group signed with the independent label Matador Records in 2013 and released, over the following decade, an informal trilogy of albums: ...Like Clockwork (2013), Villains (2017) and In Times New Roman... (2023). This trilogy brought greater recognition and more substantial commercial success, ...Like Clockwork becoming the group's first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

The group has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards: four times in the Best Hard Rock Performance category, three times for Best Rock Album, and once each for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. The group also boasts a wide range of contributors and collaborators and is known for incorporating blues, electronica and krautrock elements into its riff-driven, rhythmic hard rock, alongside Homme's distinctive falsetto and unconventional guitar tunings.