Queens Of The Stone Age have introduced the discharge of their efficiency on the Paris Catacombs, titled ‘Alive In The Catacombs’.
The set marked the first-ever live performance to be performed on the historic website and noticed Josh Homme and co. carry out a novel, unplugged set with out an viewers final June. It was closely rumoured final yr and teased to have been recorded for future broadcast.
Now, the band have confirmed that the milestone efficiency shall be getting a premiere on June 5. It’s stated to seize the band in a manner like they’ve by no means seen earlier than, and encompasses a setlist that spans their catalogue and sees every music imagined for the unconventional venue.
The Catacombs in Paris sprawls 320km (200 miles) beneath the floor of town and, with a basis of a number of million our bodies buried within the 18th century, the skeletal stays are largely uncovered.
The thought to carry out there was first envisioned by Homme twenty years in the past, though permission to carry out inside the sacred tunnels had by no means been granted to any artist. It was solely in a position to come collectively final yr, as a one-off exception for Queens Of The Stone Age.
The efficiency sees members Josh Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore, augmented by a three-piece string part and using chains and chopsticks as makeshift percussion devices. There isn’t a crowd in attendance, though it does see them surrounded by hundreds of thousands of human stays – one thing the frontman says makes it “the most important viewers we’ve ever performed for”.
Teasers for the long-awaited efficiency footage have been shared final week and a clip noticed water dripping within the dimly lit tunnels, adopted by a close-up shot of a human cranium. Later, the silhouette of Homme emerges out of the darkness as he walks down the corridor. Watch the brand new trailer above.
“In the event you’re ever going to be haunted, surrounded by a number of million lifeless individuals is the place,” stated Homme in a brand new assertion. “I’ve by no means felt so welcome in my life. We’re so stripped down as a result of that place is so stripped down, which makes the music so stripped down, which makes the phrases so stripped down…
“It will be ridiculous to attempt to rock there. All these choices have been made by that area. That area dictates all the pieces, it’s in cost. You do what you’re advised if you’re in there.”
Hélène Furminieux of Les Catacombes de Paris added: “The Catacombs of Paris are a fertile floor for the creativeness. It is very important us that artists clutch this universe and provide a delicate interpretation of it.
“Going underground and confronting reflections on loss of life is usually a deeply intense expertise. Josh appears to have felt in his physique and soul the total potential of this place. The recordings resonate completely with the thriller, historical past, and a sure introspection, notably perceptible within the delicate use of the silence inside the Catacombs.”
Produced by La Blogothèque and directed by Thomas Rames ‘Queens of the Stone Age: Alive within the Catacombs’ is out there to pre-order now and set for launch on June 5. Those that buy it by June 7 will obtain unique entry to behind-the-scenes footage.
As for upcoming exhibits, Queens Of The Stone Age are set to play two enormous outside headline exhibits at Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus this summer time, shortly after topping the invoice at Victorious Pageant in Portsmouth. The group will then embark on a European tour later this yr, the place they’ll additionally seem at quite a few festivals comparable to Øya, Electrical Fort, Lowlands, Pukkelpop and Rock En Seine. Go to right here for tickets.
Talking to NME as a part of an In Dialog interview in 2023, Homme and Fertita opened up about their private battles and revealed what they’ve within the pipeline.
“I feel we needs to be making one thing,” Homme stated. “The mantra of the final 5 years was, ‘It gained’t be lengthy now!’ That should pertain to creating issues too. I actually assume we must always make extra, faster-er, better-er.”