Queens of the Stone Age Announce ‘Alive in the Catacombs’ Live Album
What’s more metal than playing in a dark, dank catacomb literally lined with the skeletal remains of millions people? Not a whole lot, I’d surmise. But here we are — it’s 2025 and a band played an intimate, special set in the depths of the Paris catacombs. Surely some black metal band did that, right?
Wrong.
This morning, Queens of the Stone Age announced that their July 2024 performance in the aforementioned catacombs will be released as a unique live album and movie titled Alive in the Catacombs. This sort of thing has apparently been years in the making, with Homme saying he wanted to perform in the uniquely macabre locale since he first visited the landmark nearly 20 years ago.
Unfortunately for him, the Parisian government is incredibly protective of the Catacombs of Paris, which is a sprawling 200 mile ossuary buried under the city that serves as the final resting point for approximately six to seven million people from the 1700s. The catacombs of Paris are particularly noteworthy because most, if not all, of the walls are actually built with the skulls and bones of the dead.
Up until last year, the government never allowed a band to play in the catacombs. That all changed with QOTSA’s request once they learned of the scope and care the band was willing to take to get such a unique project done.
Les Catacombes de Paris’ Public Communications Officer Hélène Furminieux said it was understandable that an artist like QOTSD’s frontman would want to film such a unique experience.
“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.”
QOTSA frontman Josh Homme said they chose each song and rearranged them specifically to fit the location’s vibe.
“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.”
The film version of Alive in the Catacombs will be available on June 7, with an audio only version coming out in the following weeks.
