Album: Queens of the Stone Age, Like Clockwork (Matador)

Few people do "underlying menace" as effectively as Josh Homme, and the 10 songs here all carry the sinister edge of QoTSA's previous five albums.

After a six-year hiatus, the band return to the slow-and-low, sinister alt-boogie that made their name, with Homme's satisfying dirty badass guitar sound in full effect. Highlights are the demonic intent of "If I Had a Tail" and the heavy-metal, double-soloing "My God is the Sun".