Eagles Of Death Metal: Peace Love Death Metal

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * *)



As that name hints, it could be a joke band, almost. But as a side project of Josh Homme - the enigmatic redhead frontman-guitarist, who now basically is acclaimed American outfit Queens of the Stone Age - there is always the possibility for A-grade weirdness.

And so it is on Peace Love ... a goofy, grimy garage, blues and rockabilly affair. So no, fortunately it doesn't live up to its name suggesting the blokes behind Hotel California duking it out with metal's graveyard squad.

Homme (here credited as "Carlos Von Sexon" and "Baby Duck") is on meat-and-potato drums and production duties. He has taken a back seat to the songs, guitar and voice of one J. Everett Hughes - "J Devil Huge" to his friends. Oh, and there's a cover of Stuck in the Middle, earlier revived for the infamous torture scene in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.

The rest of the album offers a pretty good ear-slicing itself, care of Hughes' ferociously fuzzed-up guitars and falsetto warble. There's a big burst of energy up front on I Only Want You and Speaking In Tongues - a song explaining the Cramps tribute in the liner notes - that the album never really recovers from. Still, the dirty demented blues of Flames Go Higher and Midnight Creeper help to keep the album's enjoyably cartoonish evil streak, even if Kiss The Devil makes all go a bit Tenacious D comedy-rock.

It's more fun than Homme's last extra-mural excursion, The Desert Sessions albums, and fills an amusing gap between the White Stripes and the Black Keys.

Label: Shock