Queens of the Stone Age to release album and film Alive in the Catacombs
Queens of the Stone Age were granted permission to film a set at the famous Catacombs of Paris.
Queens of the Stone Age are set to release the album and movie 'Alive in the Catacombs'.
Set to premiere on June 5, it sees Josh Homme and co document their long-rumored performance in the tunnels of the famed Catacombs of Paris.
The unique performance was filmed in July 2024, and "captures QOTSA as you’ve never seen or heard them before."
Each song chosen was reimagined especailly for the Catacombs; the late-18th century underground tunnels that hold the remains of around six million people in the French capital.
Homme had wanted to play the Catacombs from when he first visited two decades ago, however, they were not legally granted permission until last summer.
Hélène Furminieux (Les Catacombes de Paris) said: "The Catacombs of Paris are a fertile ground for the imagination. It is important to us that artists take hold of this universe and offer a sensitive interpretation of it. Going underground and confronting reflections on death can be a deeply intense experience. Josh seems to have felt in his body and soul the full potential of this place. The recordings resonate perfectly with the mystery, history, and a certain introspection, notably perceptible in the subtle use of the silence within the Catacombs.”
A press release notes: "Every aesthetic decision, every choice of song, every configuration of instruments… absolutely everything was planned and played with deference to the Catacombs—from the acoustics and ambient sounds — dripping water, echoes and natural resonance — to the darkly atmospheric lighting tones that enhance the music. Far from the sound-insulated confines of the studio or the comfort of onstage monitors, Alive in the Catacombs sees the band not only rise to this challenge, but embrace it."
Homme added: “We’re so stripped down because that place is so stripped down, which makes the music so stripped down, which makes the words so stripped down… It would be ridiculous to try to rock there. All those decisions were made by that space. That space dictates everything, it’s in charge. You do what you’re told when you're in there.”
