There are only so many times you can break the status quo before becoming the new normal. Queens of the Stone Age tries to maintain its defiance as anti-heroes on their seventh studio album, “Villians.” It’s debatable if their sound changed anything but for the band, the direction did open up new electronic and funk elements to create a uniquely disco-tinged hard rock record.
Out of the ashes of desert stoner band Kyuss, Josh Homme created Queens of the Stone Ages. Despite being an insufferable scumbag, Hommes was able to carve a niche into the hard rock world of the time dominated by nu-metal and Nickelback clones. The band then would make a uniquely experimental discography that never broke convection but consistently snarkily defied it. They balanced the sexy and accessible sides of rock with the weird and wild, making them one of the biggest rock bands of the 21st century.