10. Them
Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
There was
pretty much no way that the debut album by Them Crooked Vultures could possibly
live up to the hype (and expectations) that preceded it. After all, the
principles involved - Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl
(Nirvana, Foo Fighters), John Paul Jones (Led freakin' Zeppelin) - have sold
more than a quarter-billion albums total and played in bands so groundbreaking
that new genres of music - stoner rock, grunge, heavy freakin' metal - were
invented to describe them. So when the end result sounds like nothing more than
a really, really good QOTSA record, it's probably inevitable that some folks
are going to be disappointed. I admit, I was a little disappointed myself. Then
I realized that it's been almost a decade since I heard a really, really good
QOTSA record, and my appreciation for this album began to grow. Them Crooked
Vultures isn't going to make anyone forget about Nirvana or Led Zeppelin, but
it's a far cry better than Lullabies to Paralyze or In Your Honor (or freakin'
Presence, for that matter).