Josh Homme has always been a center of attention, and not always for the best reasons either. Homme has been in the limelight for a long time, and even longer, he’s been at the heart of a lot of issues. In a recent exclusive interview with Revolver, the enigmatic frontman of Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme, opened up about the tumultuous personal struggles he faced during the creation of the band’s highly anticipated upcoming album, “In Times New Roman…”.
As reported by BlabberMouth, In the interview, Homme candidly discussed his challenging divorce from Brody Dalle in 2019, as well as his battle with cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2022. Although he chose not to delve into the specifics of his cancer journey, Homme revealed that he underwent a successful surgery to remove it, and while still in the healing process, he remains optimistic.
He confessed: “I never say it can’t get any worse. I never say that, and I wouldn’t advise it. But I do say it can get better. Cancer is just the cherry on top of an interesting time period, you know? I’m extremely thankful that I’ll get through this, and I’ll look back at this as something that’s fucked up — but will have made me better. I’m cool with that. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do. And there’s a lot of people I want to do that with.”
Homme acknowledged that these recent personal trials have profoundly shaped him and contributed to his inner strength.
Referencing one of the song titles on “In Times New Roman…,” he admitted, “I definitely had a serious case of ’emotion sickness’.”
Homme shared the vulnerability of almost succumbing to the weight of his struggles, but emphasized the importance of not wallowing in self-pity.
He said: “It’s okay for me to ruminate on that. It’s not okay to stay there, feel too sorry for myself. This has been the darkest four years of my life. But that’s okay, too. In the heartaches, my mistakes, these deaths, and my own physical things I’m dealing with — even though all that has occurred and smashed my old life to pieces, those pieces I’ve been able to build into a ship that’s about to launch. I will float into my new life from all those pieces.”
“In Times New Roman…” is set to be released digitally and physically on June 16th via Matador Records. The album was meticulously recorded and mixed at Homme’s own Pink Duck Studios, with additional recording taking place at Shangri-La.
