Them Crooked Vultures is not roadkill

Them Crooked Vultures, a rock supergroup that consists of Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, dropped its first studio album Tuesday after spending the summer playing a number of shows in Europe.

A refreshing synthesis of each artist’s individual style, the self-titled release amounts to more than the sum of the group’s parts. Though it’s easy to recognize the precise drumming that made Dave Grohl a star or the thundering bass work that powered the Zeppelin machine, the synergy among the group drives the album into exciting, uncharted territory. Jones’s bass play brings out the inner Jimmy Page in Homme, sparking the guitarist’s evolution toward a more complete sound while Grohl’s punctual rhythms and explosive chops push the other members, challenging the two to validate the reputations that precede them. What follows is a polished album that establishes Them Crooked Vultures as one of the best supergroups since Audioslave formed in 2001.

Most of the album features heavy riffs that throw around plenty of weight. On tracks like “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and “New Fang,” the sounds seem to rush downhill, barreling through lively guitar breaks and drum fills. Others like “Caligulove” draw out bold bass lines and deep vocals with a soulful effect. Still, on tracks like “Elephant” and “Warsaw or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up,” the songs cycle momentum from muddy to quick cadences, achieving a common ground between the two extremes of the remaining songs.

Them Crooked Vultures is the product of an incredibly talented group of musicians who work together surprisingly well given their individual accomplishments. Grohl, Jones and Homme find a novel balance between their respective styles, managing only to add to the group’s sound and never taking away from it. The album strays from anything overambitious, and the result is a solid foundation for a band that has the potential to make great music for years to come.