Josh Homme has given fans of two very different bands something to argue about. The Queens of the Stone Age frontman says he would happily play with Them Crooked Vultures again, but his thoughts on reviving Kyuss are far more complicated.
Speaking to Heavy Consequence, Homme made little attempt to hide his enthusiasm for getting back in a room with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. He said he believes both musicians would be interested too, before joking that assembling the trio should be Grohl’s responsibility.
Them Crooked Vultures formed around the unlikely but remarkably coherent combination of Homme on guitar and vocals, Grohl on drums and Jones on bass and keyboards. Their self-titled album arrived in 2009, followed by live shows in 2009 and 2010. Apart from brief appearances at Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in 2022, the project has remained dormant.
That history explains why a reunion carries such a particular kind of anticipation. The band never made a second record, and its small catalogue has been left relatively untouched by the cycles of farewell tours, anniversary packages and reissues that can define older rock acts. There is no new album announcement or tour confirmation here, though. Homme has expressed a desire, not outlined a plan.
Kyuss is a different proposition. The desert-rock band ended in 1995, and its music has acquired a life of its own since. The history between former members has also included a legal dispute over use of the band name, making the idea of a reunion more fraught than a straightforward diary exercise.
Homme told Consequence that he still thinks about the possibility. He recalled forming the group when he was a teenager and spoke of wanting to protect what the band means to the people who carried its records forward after the breakup. His concern is captured in one short line: ‘I just don’t wanna mess it up.’
For Homme, Them Crooked Vultures seems to represent unfinished collaboration, something its members might enjoy resuming. Kyuss carries a more delicate question: whether a return could live up to a body of work its fans have spent three decades keeping alive.
For now, Homme has enough activity in his principal band. Queens of the Stone Age are due to release Perfecth on 30 October, adding another major chapter to a career that has spent decades moving forward rather than returning to earlier line-ups.
Fans can reasonably take encouragement from his openness. They cannot yet book a ticket to either reunion.
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