Recording a live set in the Catacombs of Paris was an experience that Queens of the Stone Age had been working toward for 20 years. In July 2024, the band reached that goal. They filmed and recorded Alive in the Catacombs, releasing both the film and album in June 2025.
However, while speaking with Consequence recently, frontman Josh Homme revealed that he was seriously ill during recording. Notably, Queens of the Stone Age canceled the remainder of their 2024 European tour that July while Homme underwent emergency surgery. While he hasn’t shared details of that ordeal, he did admit that his pain started around the time of recording in the Catacombs.
Still, even while in intense pain—what he called a “difficult physical spot”—Homme used that to heighten the experience in the Catacombs.
“I was in a very difficult physical spot, and I’m really thankful that I was, actually,” he said. “I couldn’t think about anything else but where we were. It’s better that I was unwell, because I think if I was well, we would’ve maybe been more ‘California’ about it and thought ‘Man, it’s so cool to be here…’ And something about that kind of sucks.”
Josh Homme On Why His Pain Meant Queens of the Stone Age “Earned the Right” to Perform In the Catacombs
During filming and recording in the notoriously claustrophobic Paris Catacombs, Josh Homme was continually in pain. Yet, Queens of the Stone Age carried on, completing the film and album before Homme was surreptitiously whisked off to the hospital.
“Being there was a great difficulty and required overcoming a lot just to walk down the steps. So it felt like we’d earned the right to be there. That felt necessary somehow,” said Homme.
Queens of the Stone Age were in the Catacombs, surrounded by the constant reminder of death, with their frontman sick and in pain. From that perspective, it’s easy to see how the experience took on a monumental intensity.
“That’s why I say that place dominated so hard,” Homme continued. “We’re actually not that important. I know we’re playing it, but this gave us a chance to strip everything down to barebones – to take a cue from the Catacombs – and reveal what these songs are. It was a desperate attempt to play something nice for an audience that’s been stuck in a place for hundreds of years.”
When the production was complete, a new challenge arose for Josh Homme. He returned to the U.S. for emergency surgery. “I performed in the Catacombs, and within about 20 hours I was being sedated and put under,” he said. From there, he spent seven months on bed rest to recover.
“I had a lot of time to think, you know?” he admitted. “I was told I was gonna spend 18 months, two years there, so I was not excited.”
In June, Queens of the Stone Age announced The Catacombs Tour in support of the new album. The tour kicks off in October in Chicago and runs until November, wrapping up in New Orleans.
Photo by Mario Skraban/Redferns
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