Rated R Review

Released: Jun 6, 2000
Genre: Rock
Styles: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Alternative Metal, Stoner Metal
Number Of Tracks: 11

Sound:	9.8
Lyrics:	9.8
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.9
Users rating:	9.2
Comments:	9

overall: 9.3

Featured review by: drevil814, on june 15, 2004

Sound: The sound on this album is varied throughout the whole album, ramging from the trippy "Monster In The Parasol" to the tribal sounding "Lightning Song". If you like a varied style of music this is a good CD to find it, but then again so is Franz Ferdinad. Either one is great! // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are good, but could have been better. Although the lyrics in songs like "Monster In The Parasol" fit the song well, songs like "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" are repitive and the "Lightning Song" has no lyrics at all, but thats what makes it different, and difference is good in this case. // 8

Impression: Although not as good as Songs for the Deaf, it is still one of my favorites in my collection. I personally enjoy the songs "Monster In The Parasol" and "In The Fade". I love the overall variety of the songs. If it was stolen I would have to buy another if I had the money, seeing as how I'm usually broke. If you get this you shouldn't disappointed. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: frusciante_50, on may 13, 2008

Sound: This is the second LP from Josh Homme's Desert Troopers, and it does not dissapoint. I personally feel that this is the most varied and unique output by Homme and co, as it captures the Queens sound that I hold so dear. It has the unique, heavy bassy Queens guitar sound, and is significant, as it is the debut of Mark Lanegan, and is the first time that Nick Oliveri plays bass on a Queens record. The cover of the album varies from version to version, and the vinyl was actually titled "Rated X". // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Homme is one of my favourite lyricists, and this is him at the top of his lyrical game. The lyrics to "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" are often criticised, but this only means that they are being looked at from the wrong perspective. Sure, they are repetitive, but that's the point. That song is a pounding jam, and what better way is there to drill something into someone, than saying it 25 times the brilliance continues, and the lyrics to "Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret" are surely the best written about sex to date. "In The Fade" is another highlight, and the lyrics are delivered with the trademark Mark Lanegan style, complete with eerie guitar, and a fade out into the reprise of "Feel Good Hit." Pure musical gold. // 10

Impression: This is my favourite Queens album, and really steps the game up for Desert Rockers everywhere. The album is strong from beginning to end, and the placement of the tranquil "Lightning Song" after the heaviest track on the album ("Tension Head") is a slice of genious. It is an album like no other, and Josh and his various musical guests (he seems to have an open door policy, working with countless musicians under the name Queens Of The Stone Age) will have a hard time matching it. It fulfills Josh's dream of letting sex bleed into the music, and will continue to get people jumping and dancing for years to come. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Cobalt Blue, on august 17, 2007

Sound: Like most QOTSA album's Rated R has many different sounds and styles. From hard rocking songs like (with guest backing vocals from Rob Halford) "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" to soft mellow songs like "Lightning Song" or "Auto Pilot" all the way to the screamy "Quick and to the Pointless" or even the metal sounds of "Tension Head" which happens to have my favorite guitar riff on the album. Metal, Stoner-Metal, Robot-Rock, how ever you want to describe the music on Rated R, all I know is I love it. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Josh Homme's Vocal's and lyrics never cease to amaze me. He'll write cleaver lyrics on subjects from genitals, to drugs, to women, to even suicide. Even though the lyrics to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" were probably written in about 2 minutes, it's just a fun song. But let's not forget about Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan's vocals on the album. these two always sound great and were definitely missed on 2004's "Lullabies to Paralyze." // 10

Impression: Rated R is definitely one of my most loved albums, and a close 2nd to my favorite QOTSA album after Songs For The Deaf. To name favorite tracks on this album is very hard because they are all so good. If I had to pick I'd say "The Lost Art Of Keeping a Secret" & "Tension head" stand out. But that's just me. The track sequencing is also very well the album has a nice flow. If this album was lost or stolen, I would definitely buy it again. and if I went back in time and was unable to return, I would be the first person waiting for this albums release. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 30, 2007

Sound: Well I bought this CD two weeks ago and I have listened to it none stop. It's one those cds where it sounds amazing crusing down the highway blasting it. Well the Queens are labeled as stoner metal and I never heard any other stoner metal bands so I can't really tell you how they stack up against the other members of thier class but from all the bands that are out there today they are pretty good. The guitar is nice and low but not in your face like heavy metal, kinda laid back and smooth like the guitar is auctually stoned. The bass is nice and strays from the play along with the guitar that so many bands do. The drums are average most of the time but in some songs (In the Fade) they are flat out amazing. You would not notice it at first listen but if you listen a couple times you hear some wierd instruments. I don't know what they. But all in all the sound was pretty impressive. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are very fitting to the music. The writer or writers have a style that you'll either love or hate. I loved it. I love how the lyrics fit with the music so well. I would tell you what I think some of the songs mean but they are just my opinions and the lyrics are so out their people will probably find thier own meanings to the songs. // 10

Impression: I think the Queens of The Stone Age are a shining hope that rock is not dead as so many claim it to be. This band is basically fueled by three things, drugs, sex, drugs. I personally think their better than any of those bands you see on tv or hear on the radio. The most impressive songs on the album to me were In the Fade, Auto Pilot, Monsters in the Parasol, lightning song. I love how laid back the singers are and to be honest don't really hate anything about it. If it were stolen I would buy it back. But be sure to pick this one up, you wont be disapointed. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: waffler, on november 07, 2005

Sound: The sound of this album is, in my oppinion, the best of all the QOTSA CD's. It goes from loud, obnoxious metal to their regular desert rock sound. Josh Homme is a genius on the guitar, and Nick Oliveri is a good bassist. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are pure brilliance. Some sing about sex. Most sing about drugs, but listening to these songs is like going on an adventure. The lyrics flow perfectly with the music. Josh Homme is an awesome singer, and Nick Oliveri knows how to be angry. It flows very well. // 10

Impression: Queens of the Stone Age are a hard band to compare to others. They have their very own distinct sound. The best songs on the album would have to be "In The Fade" and "I Think I Lost My Headache." This CD is just a great CD. I never skip any songs while listening to it. If this CD was stolen, I wouldn't buy it again. I would find out who took it and I would take it back, maybe leaving him dead behind, just because this CD is so great. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 15, 2004

Sound: Their second album, noticably fueled by sex, drugs, etc., finds them going to unexpected and undefineable places. Is it metal, rock, some kind of wierd pop? Who knows. But anybody who listens to this will agree that this is one of the best and most creative cd's to come out of the 90's. The vocals, musicianship, songwriting, and sounds on the album are superb. Josh Homme is some kind of genius, to go from brilliant songs like "In the Fade" to the heaviest screamer "Tension Head" to the zeppelinesqe acoustic/bongo/piano instrumental "Lightning Song" and make it all flow and make perfect musical sense is an accomplishment. On this excellent sophomore effort from an excellent unclassifiable band, there is a song for everyone. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics kick ass, except maybe the lyrics on "Monsters in the Parasol" are a little strange, probably because I think it's about trippin'. // 10

Impression: This Cd is Killer. You can see how they are making their own musical progression album by album. This one is a little softer than the others. But it still rocks hard. The most impressive songs are "Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", "Autopilot", "Better Living Through Chemistry", "In the Fade", and "Lightning Song", which is one of the best chill-out songs I've ever heard, it's just a shame it isn't longer. I'd cry if it was stolen. If you like rock and roll and your sick of numetal or unoriginal B.S. then BUY THIS CD!!! // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: unregistered, on march 11, 2004

Sound: This album has an almost perfect sound. Sure, it is produced very well, however, the range between clean and distorted sounds are a bit off putting, which is a real shame because it is just about the only let donw on the entire album. However, when it's heavy it can be REALLY heavy. Take the opening track, "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" for example. Down-tuned guitars playing non-stop. Fairly brutal. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Josh Homme is a genius when it comes to lyric writing. Most of the lyrics are either drug or sex orientated, but they can be unbelievably witty and funny. "Nicotine valium vicodin marijuana ecstasy alcohol....c-c-c-c-c-cocaine" on "feel...summer" is genius. His voice is really melodic too and proves this on the falsetto tinged "Lost ARt Of Keeping A Secret." "Auto-Pilot" shows of the softer edge of his vocals. // 10

Impression: This album is really good...awesome in fact, especially considering they were probably wasted out of their heads when they wrote most of it. The best songs are "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer" and "Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret" However, my faves are Auto-Pilot and "Monster In Your Parasol." If the album was stolen, I would buy it, but I aint stupid enough to have it nicked. Please buy the album because QOTSA are an amazing band. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: registered_user, on june 06, 2007

Sound: I was introduced to Queens of the Stone Age through a friend who was and still is a big fan of theirs. He first suggested to listen to Songs for the Deaf and with good reason as anybody who hasn't heard them can get into the songs on that album. I was actually hesitant to like them at first but I have since gotten over that and am now a big fan. Rated R is the third disc I've listened to by them (Lullabies to Paralyze being the second) and I am quite happy with it. Some might complain about the simplicity and repetetiveness of some of the riffs on the album but I think that that's what hooks the listener into such tracks as "feel good hit of the summer" and "monsters in the parasol". The album goes into a wide range of sounds with the heavier songs like "Tension Head" and "Quick and to the Poinless" and the trippier, more psychedelic songs like "Auto Pilot" and "Leg of Lamb" which help to define the band's genre as part "stoner rock". Overall, the bands sound on this CD is awesome and I wouldn't change a thing. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: There are two seperate singers on this album, the main frontman Josh Homme who does the bulk of the vocals and Nick Oliveri who contributes his own singing style of screaming. Both of these guys are awesome and I enjoy both of their songs immensely. Their singing styles are very unique and you can tell who is going to sing on a song before the vocals even come in. the lyrics in the songs range from very obvious drug references to girls and relationship references. Josh Homme is an excellent lyricist and writer. // 10

Impression: I couldnt tell you which Queens album is their best because they are all so good. The songs that really stand out for me on this CD would be "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", "Better Living Through Chemisty", "Monsters In the Parasol", "Quick and to the Pointless", and "Tension Head". The range in both music and vocal styles on this album is wide and enjoyable to listen to every time. I would definitely buy this album if I ever lost it because it is one of my favorites that I have discovered in recent years. // 10

Comments

[jjh5]

Does anyone else think the song Auto Pilot is amazing? The lead guitar fills go perfectly with the song and the vocals are perfect for song about getting stoned.

[con job]

this album is sooooo weird these guys are masters at wat they do one of the greatest rock bands of all time

[w00tang]

Auto pilot > all man, freakin rocks, the beat just vibes its way into your head, its perfect

[Warsaw1]

Does anyone else think the song Auto Pilot is amazing? The lead guitar fills go perfectly with the song and the vocals are perfect for song about getting stoned.

Auto Pilot is one of my favorites (along with In The Fade).

Mark Lenagan's voice is amazing!

[King Baby Duck]

Auto Pilot is sung by nick.

[tsunami bomb]

is it?

which copy have you got?

where can i get it?

they both do vox on the track, along with josh.

[red157]

tsunami bomb wrote:

is it?

which copy have you got?

where can i get it?

they both do vox on the track, along with josh.

But Nick is the lead.

[frusciante_50]

Its clearly Nick singing lead. He even used the track for a later solo album.

[frusciante_50]

^or Mondo Generator, I forget which