Queens of the Stone Age&s new release, &Lullabies to Paralyze,& defends grunge rock as it capitalizes on singer and lead guitarist Josh Homme&s colorful and calculated lyrical style. Most of the albums lyrics were a product of Homme&s collaborative effort with guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and drummer Joey Castillo who both joined Queens on tour after previous band splits (A Perfect Circle and Danzig, respectively).The Queen&s previous album, &Songs for the Deaf,& released in 2002, brought ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl back to the stool and helped put Queens on platinum mainstream billboard charts nationwide with hits &No One Knows& and &Go With the Flow.& Grohl&s contribution to the album was nothing more than just that, a contribution, or a friend doing a favor. However, few could have predicted Homme&s firing of the founding bassist Nick Oliveri, whose maniacal talent was furious and who had the know-how to, not only to keep up with Homme&s feverish guitar riffs, but also help define the Queens& signature sound. Finding replacements for the ex-members wasn&t all Homme had to do to hold on to audiences, he would also have to make it worth their while. As it turns out, it wasn&t difficult at all. By now most have heard &Little Sister,& one of the best made-for-radio rock singles to have come out thus far in 2005. A ready-to-eat ration of busy guitar lines and an addictive chorus signified the Queens& departure from its traditional hard rock and its move toward an more artistic version of modern pop-rock. All the things that Queens&s fans have grown to love are still ever-present and as good as ever. &Everybody Knows That You&re Insane& will likely be considered the farewell tribute song for Oliveri, with good reason. The song starts off with a slow melodic guitar that slides right into a soaring ballad of intense ruckus all centered on the estranged bassist&s lack of professionalism and dedication. In true Queens& fashion, Homme yearns for his extended guitar jams a-la the first self-titled Queen&s album with the track &Someone&s In The Wolf,& which has that familiar melodious start and then switches gears in the chorus with high-pressure explosions that last for more than nine minutes.The extended &riffage& would also leads to the album&s biggest faltering point. Homme&s return to the protracted guitar solos is great, but when done in back-to-back jams that drone on for more than fourteen minutes and break from the explosiveness of eight previous tracks, listeners are lead into an induced trance-like state. Subsequent tracks like &Broken Box& and &&You Got a Killer Scene There, Man&&& offer some of that much needed rage but, in the end, can&t do the previous tracks the justice they deserve. Former keystone guitarist Mark Lanegan, cameos on the album as a backup vocalist on &Burn the Witch& and does a solo with Homme on guitar in the introductory track &This Lullaby.& Other guest stars include Garbage&s lead vocalist Shirley Manson and The Distillers& vocal thrashings of Brody Dalle on &&You Got a Killer Scene There, Man&,&& but are barely audible over Homme&s guitar licks. In the end, Homme successfully revives the old-fashioned Seattle rock chops that fans loved, circa &92, aptly conjuring up an album to lure audiences into believing the terror is still alive in modern rock and then ravaging them with the edge of his weapon of choice: a finely tuned guitar. &Little pig, little pig, let me in.&

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