Era Vulgaris is the fifth studio album by the rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Recorded from July 2006 to April 2007, it was released on July 20, 2007 in the United Kingdom and July 21 in the United States, being released on July 29 in other countries. The single “Sick, Sick, Sick” was released in May, followed by second single “3’s & 7’s” in early June, and third single “Make It wit Chu” in October. The album debuted at No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts, selling 52,000 copies in its first week. It reached top ten positions in other countries, such as No. 7 in the UK, No. 5 in Canada, and No. 4 in Australia. It was the band’s last album on Interscope Records.
Era Vulgaris displays influences from many different genres. The album departs from the softer, hollow-body guitar sound of their previous album Lullabies to Paralyze with heavy, crunchy guitars and some electronic influences.
Reviews for the album were generally positive with a rating of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, a decline from their previous two studio albums. Uncut and Allmusic‘s reviews were particularly glowing, with the latter noting how Era Vulgaris is “as different from Lullabies as that was to their dramatic widescreen breakthrough, Songs for the Deaf“. Originally awarding the album with a four-and-a-half star rating, Allmusic changed this to a four-star rating in 2013 upon the release of the band’s follow-up …Like Clockwork.
Tracklist:
- Turnin’ on the Screw
- Sick, Sick, Sick
- I’m Designer
- Into the Hollow
- Misfit Love
- Battery Acid
- Make It wit Chu
- 3’s & 7’s
- Suture Up Your Future
- River in the Road
- Run, Pig, Run
- Running Joke (Vinyl & iTunes bonus track)
Credits
Queens of the Stone Age
Josh Homme: lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1, 3, 7, and 8), acoustic guitar (“Battery Acid”), percussion (“Turnin’ on the Screw”), bass guitar (tracks 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11), lap steel guitar (“Into the Hollow”), keyboard (“Into the Hollow”), electric piano (tracks 8 and 9), Rhodes piano (“Make It wit Chu”), “badly tuned” piano (“Run, Pig, Run”), organ (“River in the Road”), “percussion ball” (“Run, Pig, Run”)
Troy Van Leeuwen: keyboard (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 6), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 11), lead guitar (tracks 5, 6, and 9), “crazy delay” guitar (“River in the Road”), lap steel guitar (“3’s & 7’s”), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 6, and 7), bass (tracks 2 and 7), “the percussion part that’s a bitch” (“Turnin’ on the Screw”), Moog (“I’m Designer”), Rhodes piano (“Into the Hollow”)
Joey Castillo: drums, percussion (tracks 1 and 7), “percussion ball” (“Run, Pig, Run”)
Alain Johannes: bass guitar (tracks 1 and 3), acoustic guitar (“Run, Pig, Run”), counterpoint guitar (“Misfit Love”), harmonic guitar (“Make It wit Chu”), counterpoint fiddle (“Misfit Love”), “cig” fiddle (“Run, Pig, Run”), marxophone (“Run, Pig, Run”), backing vocals (“Run, Pig, Run”)
Guest appearances
Chris Goss: keyboard (“Into the Hollow”), “the chicken pluckin’ guitar” (“Turnin’ on the Screw”), “twinkley bits” (“Sick, Sick, Sick”), organ (“Misfit Love”), electric piano (“Suture Up Your Future”), “eclectic piano” (“Battery Acid”), bass (“River in the Road”), backing vocals (tracks 7 and 11)
Julian Casablancas: synth guitar and vocals (“Sick, Sick, Sick”)
Serrina Sims: backing vocals (“Make It wit Chu”)
Brody Dalle-Homme: backing vocals (“Make It wit Chu”)
Liam Lynch: backing vocals (“Make It wit Chu”)
Mark Lanegan: harmony vocals (“River in the Road”)
Trent Reznor: backing vocals (“Era Vulgaris”)
Technical
Chris Goss & Josh Homme (as The Fififf Teeners): producers
Alain Johannes: engineering and mixing
Joe Barresi: mixing
Justin Smith: mixing assistant
Stephen Marcussen: mastering
Jason Noto: design, illustrations
Dr. Mark A. Williams: A&R
Assistant Engineers: Cherokee studios (Ian Page, Todd Brohdy).
Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022)
