By Queens of the Stone Age, 2007

Two CD Tour Edition of the Alternative Rock band's 2007 album includes four bonus tracks on the first disc: 'Fun Machine Took A Shit and Died', 'Make It Wit Chu' (Acoustic), 'Era Vulgaris' (Richard File Remix) and 'I'm Designer' (Unkle Remix) while the bonus disc features eight additional live tracks recorded in Amsterdam in 2007; 'Monsters In The Parasol', 'Misfit Love', 'If Only', 'I Think I Lost My Headache', 'Into The Hollow', 'Go With The Flow', 'Regular John', 'Avon' and 'Song For The Dead'. Universal. 2008.Latin for "common era," Era Vulgaris holds a pair of common threads with the four Queens of the Stone Age records that preceded it.

One, it crosses colossal guitar chords with the most volatile of hard rock melodies. And second, it's as LOUD as loud gets, thanks to Josh Homme, the impatient instigator behind the ever-evolving cast of personalities that make up the band. Detonation comes with track one, as the jagged riffs of "Turning on the Screw" lead the listener into "Sick, Sick, Sick," where Julian Casablancas spews his vocals beneath a wall of multi-guitar catcalls.

Although the head Stroke will likely garner the most attention, perpetual Queener Mark Lanegan's velvety pipes earmark two of Era's most booming selections: the funky "Make It Wit Chu" (complete with Temptations-like backing vocals) and the heart-racing three minutes of "River in the Road." Add the garage rock of Homme's "3's & 7's" and "Suture Up Your Future," easy pickings for most likely crossover hit, and Era Vulgaris-- hypnotically and explosively common--holds its own with any in the QoTSA discography. --Scott Holter

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