The 1998 eponymous debut from Queens Of The Stone Age was an engaging introductory LP; yet, it retained too much desert rock weirdness, aggression, and grime from founder Josh Homme’s previous project, Kyuss, to make the group a household name. With Rated R, however, all of that changed. Simply put, its expanded arsenal of stylistic shifts and carefree hooks – all housed within cleaner and more refined production – led to QOTSA’s creative and commercial breakthrough. Beyond that, it infused the relatively innocuous and generic landscape of conventional rock music with some much-needed adventure, edge, and cool. Subsequent albums may have perfected their recipe, but Rated R laid the groundwork, still remaining a crucial and celebrated compromise between mainstream accessibility and subversi...
