Queens of the Stone Age will release Alive in the Catacombs on June 5th via Matador Records premiere of an audiovisual document of the band’s performance in the tunnels of the famed Catacombs of Paris. Ahead of the release the band is giving fans an early taste with a video from the performance.

Filmed and recorded in July 2024, Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs captures QOTSA as you’ve never seen or heard them before. This once in a lifetime experience features a carefully selected setlist spanning the QOTSA catalog, each song chosen and epically reimagined for the Catacombs. The result is an incarnation of QOTSA at their most intimate, yet surrounded by literally millions of human remains, “the biggest audience we’ve ever played for,” says Joshua Homme.

The Catacombs of Paris is a sprawling 320km (200 miles) ossuary beneath the surface of Paris. With a foundation of several million bodies buried in the 1700s, skeletal remains are largely exposed, with much of the walls built of skulls and bones.

Homme had dreamt of staging a QOTSA performance in the Catacombs since his first visit nearly 20 years ago. The city of Paris, however, had never granted permission to any artist to play within the sacred tunnels. QOTSA, being law-abiding citizens, waited until their vision was sanctioned.

Hélène Furminieux (Les Catacombes de Paris) said:

“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.”

Every aesthetic decision, every choice of song, every configuration of instruments… absolutely everything was planned and played with deference to the Catacombs—from the acoustics and ambient sounds — dripping water, echoes and natural resonance — to the darkly atmospheric lighting tones that enhance the music. Far from the sound-insulated confines of the studio or the comfort of onstage monitors, Alive in the Catacombs sees the band not only rise to this challenge, but embrace it. Homme recalls, “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 result is QOTSA distilled down to their most elemental form—Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore augmented by a three-piece string section, employing chains and chopsticks as makeshift percussion instruments. Alive in the Catacombs is Queens of the Stone Age stripped to their barest essence by necessity (you can’t call it “unplugged” if there are no actual electrical outlets to plug into), every song was recorded live in a complete take with no overdubs or edits.

Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs was produced by La Blogothèque and directed by Thomas Rames, and is being released by Queens of the Stone Age and Matador Records. The film will be available to rent or purchase via qotsa.com where pre-orders are currently available. Fans who purchase Alive In the Catacombs by June 7th will receive exclusive access to behind the scenes footage in addition to full streaming and download access. An audio only version will be announced in the coming weeks.

Queens Of The Stone Age 2025 Tour Dates:

Jun
10
Boston, MA, US
MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Jun
11
Boston, MA, US
MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Jun
12
Manchester, TN, US
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

Jun
13
Atlantic City, NJ, US
Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena

Jun
17
Outdoor
Columbus, OH, US
KEMBA Live! Outdoor

Jun
18
Cincinnati, OH, US
Andrew J. Brady Music Center

Jun
20
Madison, WI, US
Breese Stevens Field

Jun
21
Outdoor
Chicago, IL, US
Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

Jul
10
Outdoor
Trencin, Slovakia
Pohoda Festival

Jul
13
Vienna, Austria
Wiener Stadthalle

Jul
15
Outdoor
Pistoia, Italy
Pistoia Blues

16
Romano D’Ezzelino, Italy
Villa Negri

Jul
16
Romano D’Ezzelino, Italy
AMA Music Festival

Jul
16
Outdoor
Bonțida, Romania
Electric Castle Festival

Jul
19
Outdoor
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest Park

Jul
22
Zagreb, Croatia
SRC Šalata

Jul
22
Nyon, Switzerland
Paléo Festival

Jul
23
Zagreb, Croatia
SRC Šalata

Jul
25
Munich, Germany
Zenith, die Kulturhalle

Jul
27
Stuttgart, Germany
Hmh Schleyerhalle

Jul
30
Warsaw, Poland
COS Torwar

Aug
1
Riga, Latvia
Arēnā Rīga

Aug
2
Tallinn, Estonia
Unibet Arena

Aug
4
Helsinki, Finland
Ice Hall

Aug
6
Oslo, Norway
Øyafestivalen

Aug
7
Outdoor
Gothenburg, Sweden
Way Out West Festival

Aug
7
Copenhagen, Denmark
Syd For Solen

Aug
12
Berlin, Germany
Zitadelle Spandau

Aug
13
Bonn, Germany
Kunst!garten

Aug
14
Hasselt, Belgium
Pukkelpop

Aug
14
Charleville-Mézières, France
Festival Cabaret Vert

Aug
15
Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
Lowlands Festival

Aug
20
Dublin, Ireland
Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)

Aug
20A
Saint Cloud, France
Rock en Seine

Aug
22
Portsmouth, UK
Victorious Festival

Aug
27
Outdoor
Sheffield, UK
Rock ‘n Roll Circus

Order tickets for Queens Of The Stone Age HERE