In the past six years Queen of the Stone Age’s front man Josh Homme has recorded an album with legends John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl.

He has produced several different bands’ records on his new label and he has also died for a few minutes. After all this the last thing we would expect was another Queen’s album, but that is exactly what we got.

….Like Clockwork, is the band’s sixth studio album and first to be released under Homme’s private label Matador. Given the fact that this is on Homme’s own label, I expected this album to be rougher and a little more in your face than their past works. Instead, the band created one of the most polished albums that has a Songs for the Deaf-era sound to it.

You can tell that the experiences of the past six years have influenced the lyrics of this album. “The Vampyre of Time and Memory” was the first song Josh wrote after his near-death surgery.

This song is set over a soft piano,” “I want God to come/ And take me home/ Coz I’m all alone in this crowd,” Homme sings in a whisper tone.

The album is not all slow and somber though. The very next song, “If I Had a Tail,” brings the album up to speed again with a guitar rift that most likely was inspired by the Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter.”

“Kalopsia” starts out slowly and almost feels like an interlude as it bridges the album’s single “My God is the Sun” and “Fairweather Friends.”

It begins with vocals off in the distance and soft guitar noodling. Then about a minute in, the song bears its teeth with heavily distorted guitars and Josh singing, “Oh why you so sad/ What have they done/ Forget those mindless baboons/ They’re off playing God.”

Listening to this album made me fall back in love with this band. This is by far one of the best hard rock albums to come out this year.

With its set of near flawless songs and the emotion behind each one, there is no doubt this album will please old fans and new listeners too.