A Look at the Queens of the Stone Age Family Tree

Queens of the Stone Age have established themselves as one of the more interesting and creative rock bands making music right now. A big secret to their success has always been the employment of a variety of eccentric musicians from different backgrounds as part of their constantly-changing lineup.

The one constant from the beginning has always been guitarist/vocalist Josh Homme, but over the course of its life the band has also seen contributions from musicians such as Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, Troy Van Leeuwan, Alain Johannes, Dave Grohl, and Chris Goss among others.

With all of these musicians it can be hard to keep track of all their past and present bands and side-projects. In fact, the Queens of the Stone Age family tree is the biggest and most complicated that I've ever seen outside of jazz music, and nearly every band having a part in it has put out quality music.

They all play on each other's projects, forming a big family of musicians that is now exercising its will on the music industry. Here's a guide to the biggest and most important branches of the Queens family tree.

The Roots

The foundation of the tree was built right here, with these two big roots. If there are any bands from this tree that are worthwhile for you to check out it is these two.

Kyuss- Ringleader Josh Homme's first project, a pseudo-metal band that will blow your speakers away. Though Homme doesn't sing in this group it was clear from the beginning (he was in his late teens when they released their first album!) that he was an amazing talent on the guitar.

The band also included one-time Queens members Nick Oliveri and Alfredo Hernandez, solidifying it as the ultimate precursor to Queens of the Stone Age. As it happened, Homme broke up the band just as they were starting to attract some real attention because he felt that they had painted themselves into a corner artistically and couldn't escape. Key release: Welcome to Sky Valley.