This record is so dense that it's the aural equivalent of swimming in quicksand. You'll be only too happy to wallow in it.

It may be called "Songs for the Deaf" and it may start quietly, but don't be fooled. The Queens of the Stone Age have made it something of a hobby to mess with peoples' minds. They just want to lull you into a false sense of security so they can make pulverising you into a quivering heap all the more enjoyable. This album isn't necessarily loud in the conventional sense, but there are so many layers to the sound that the bass alone makes the walls vibrate. And you'll still want to crank it up a bit more.

Interspersed with snippets of talk and static to create the illusion of flicking through the radio stations, these songs are the kind of elusive gems you hope for when you tune in but hardly ever hear. It's almost too intense for radio. Even the more dare-I-say poppy tracks like 'Another Love Song' and the single 'No One Knows' are backed by thick layers of bass and drums like war. It's no secret that Foo Fighter frontman and erstwhile Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl was called up for drumming duty on the album, and he proves himself to still be more than proficient with the sticks. Of course, if "Songs for the Deaf" was half as much fun to make as it is to listen to then it must have been quite a summer, and it's not surprising that it later inspired Grohl to make the best Foo's album yet with "One by One".

The whole album is a musical master class. For those of you who question Grohl's drumming abilities, or merely wish to emulate the man's genius, just listen to the last minute of "A Song for the Dead". The guitar in "No One Knows" is simple but devastatingly effective, and the bass in "The Sky is Fallin'" is impenetrable. The vocals throughout are superb, with the contrast between Nick Oliveri's shriek and Josh Homme's laid-back drawl used to startling advantage. Homme proves he can do falsetto and there's even harmonising, yet it still manages to rock like a well-endowed donkey.

"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" was one of the best tunes of last year, and could almost have come from this album. Inherently dark but with a trace of humour running through it, this is an album you can and will want to get lost in. Not for those of a weak disposition.