Queens Of The Stone Age Release Concert Film Alive In The Catacombs

Queens Of The Stone Age came back in fine fighting form on 2023’s In Times New Roman…, but last year they had to cut their tour plans short so Josh Homme could have emergency surgery. Just before pulling the plug last July, they filmed a fascinating and unique new concert movie that’s out today.

Queens Of The Stone Age: Alive In The Catacombs finds Homme and friends rocking in the catacombs beneath the streets of Paris in July of last year, performing in seclusion amongst millions of human remains: “the biggest audience we’ve ever played for,” as Homme quips. He adds, “If you’re ever going to be haunted, surrounded by several million dead people is the place. I’ve never felt so welcome in my life.” QOTSA say every aesthetic and substantial choice for this underground rock show was “planned and played with deference to the Catacombs.” That includes lighting, natural and ambient sounds, and the use of some unusual-for-these-guys instrumentation including the string quartet seen buoying a bouncing Homme in the trailer. As a fan of the band, I’m excited to see what they have in store for us.

Alive In The Catacombs is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes mini-doc called Alive In Paris And Before. The documentary touches on the band’s deliberations over canceling their tour to deal with Homme’s health. For the first 48 hours, those who purchase the catacombs concert film to download or stream will also get the mini-doc. You can do that at QOTSA’s website; in the meantime, check out the trailer below.

If you’re interested in seeing a more conventional QOTSA performance, they have a bunch of tour dates coming up in North America and Europe.