Under the lights / They snap a finger / You jump, you answer / Like a hooker with a big, dumb smile - "Reptiles"
Them Crooked Vultures is a modern-day supergroup, formed from none other than Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones. If you're like me and have trouble remembering names, let me take a moment to point out exactly why these three guys constitute a supergroup.
- Josh Homme, the guitarist and vocalist, is most famous for his work as one of the founders for stoner-rock California legends Kyuss and hard-rock badasses the Queens of the Stone Age. He also manages The Desert Sessions, a musical collective that records solely out of Homme's "Rancho De La Luna" studio in Joshua Tree, California. The Desert Sessions have featured artists from bands like Nine Inch Nails, Screaming Trees, Hole, The Dwarves, A Perfect Circle, and Soundgarden.
- Dave Grohl, the drummer, is best known either as the drummer for Nirvana or as the frontman for The Foo Fighters depending on when you were born, but has worked with such varied acts as Tenacious D and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Probot side project was Grohl's invention: it's a metal collection inspired and performed by several luminaries of the metal scene, including Max Calavera of Soulfly and Sepultura and Lemmy of Mötorhead among many others.
- John Paul Jones is arguably the most important name on here: among other things, he was the bassist for a certain English rock band named Led Zeppelin. As an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, he handles bass guitar, piano, and some extra guitar parts for Them Crooked Vultures. There's about a billion bassists who claim JPJ's influence on their work, notably Geddy Lee, Gene Simmons, Flea, Krist Novoselic, and Steve Harris.
Okay, so they're a big deal. You might be wondering what they sound like at this point. The best answer would be to go hit up Youtube for any of their videos - which feature a pretty swank tri-color style - but that's sort of a cop-out. The best way to describe it is that they are almost exactly what it would sound like if Queens Of The Stone Age and Led Zeppelin were, in fact, the same band.
The influences from QotSA are inescapable: Josh Homme and Dave Grohl are still members of that band. If you're one of QotSA's detractors, I couldn't honestly say how much you'll get out of this, except that you might very well enjoy Them Crooked Vultures in spite of it. I'm not sure whether the Led Zeppelin influences are intentional or if it's just how John Paul Jones plays a guitar; either way, it's incredible how well the two sounds match up.
There are some folks out there who think Queens of the Stone Age sucks. There's also people who think Led Zeppelin sucks. If you're one of those who thinks they both suck, well, I guess you're entitled to your opinion (my opinion on your opinion not withstanding), but if you like one or the other, I highly recommend giving them a listen. "New Fang", the first single off of their first album, is really the biggest example of their sound and an excellent place to start. After that, "Caligulove" and "Reptiles" are the next best tracks. If those three don't sell you on this, I suppose you could always go back to your Nickelback and Creed records.
As of this writeup, they have released a single self-titled album under the Sony BMG/DGC Interscope Columbia record label. A second one is confirmed to be in the works with a possible release date by the end of 2010.