Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures

Artist: Them Crooked Vultures
Album: Them Crooked Vultures
Date Released: November 17, 2009
Genre: rock, hard rock
Rating: 7.7

There's been a lot of hype surrounding the release of Them Crooked Vultures -- and for good reason: the band is a supergroup consisting of John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) [I can't help sing to myself at this point, "These are a few of my favorite things..."].

The band is clearly dominated by its guiding force, that being Homme, who performs all vocal and rhythm/lead guitar duties; the album often feels like it could easily double as a QOTSA effort, but that's not to diminish the contributions of the other two band members. John Paul Jones's rhythmic structures and bass progressions bring late-era Zeppelin to mind, while Grohl continues to show why he's one of the most talented and coveted drummers in the business.

Them Crooked Vultures is raw, nasty and heavy -- exactly what you'd want and expect from these particular guys. Track highlights include "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I", "Elephants", "Scumbag Blues" and "Interlude with Ludes."