In the summer of 2024, Queens of the Stone Age played a completely acoustic set in the Catacombs of Paris, among millions of skeletal remains. It was the realization of one of bandleader Josh Homme’s teenage dreams, and the start of what he calls the group’s third act. That experience was a critical influence on Perfecth, QOTSA’s ninth studio album, which finds the (usually) hard rock band turning down the volume and ruminating on all of love’s dimensions. “I’ve aways tried to make good art, but at times it’s been a war,” Homme tells Apple Music. “But it isn’t right now.” Still, categorizing Perfecth as QOTSA’s “mellow album” is misleading. It may not be as heavy as previous records, but it can still be intense. “Mono” is sparse and punch-drunk, swerving in and out of focus as Homme tries to make sense of his haunted feelings, while “Phantom Limb” finds beauty in feeling adrift. QOTSA also unearths multiple new shades on the album: “Sunday” has elements of David Bowie’s space-alien soul phase, and “Easy Street” is deceptively breezy. “In this new record, we’re kind of two bands now,” says Homme. “We’re not going to stop whatever that Catacombs version was, we’re just more now. It makes me feel like we’re even closer to doing whatever we want to do.” Beyond this sonic expansion, there are other personal matters that shaped Perfecth’s tone. Homme was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in 2022 that was thankfully caught early, and he has dealt with other health issues in recent years. His liberated attitude towards mortality seems to be on his mind. As he sings on “Where the Goth Girls At?”: “Never felt so alive as the day I almost died.” “I think that’s why I’ve always liked being knocked down,” he says. “Because I fucking love getting up so much.”