Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has faced many demons since the release of the 2017 album “Villains”: cancer, divorce, rehab and court battles. And the new Queens record, the just-released “In Times New Roman…,” definitely adds weight to the band’s woozy, bluesy rock — a dour energy far removed from the dancier sound conjured by producer Mark Ronson on “Villains.”
“Roman,” self-produced by band founder Homme and one of his strongest QOTSA lineups ever, is one of the rawest and heaviest albums the band has delivered, and during Saturday’s Queens, New York stop of their “The End Is Nero Tour,” they proved that sometimes the new material can be a live standout, even as the band approaches its fourth decade of existence.
Backing Homme on “Roman” and the tour are longtime guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, who has been in the group…
