For the longest I wondered, “What does ‘tension head’ mean?” The phrase is the title of the ninth song on Queens of the Stone Age’s 2000 album, Rated R, and the third and final one where former bass guitarist Nick Oliveri takes the role of lead vocalist. ‘Tension Head’, the words by themselves, just sounded cool. One of those occasions where the song title doesn’t appear in the lyrics and appears to have no association to them, but somehow suits the music like a glove. But I listened to it one day, years after getting to know it initially, and had that “Ohhh” realization feeling when considering the lyric, “I strike a match”. That’s what the title refers to, the part at the end of a match that’s used to make the flame. Apparently, that’s simply called the ‘head’ of the match. It should probably be called ‘tension head’, though. That would stick with the kids for as long as they live.

I guess you get the three sides of Nick Oliveri on Rated R. First up he delivers the melodic, alt-rock, double entendre of ‘Auto Pilot’, another favourite of mine from the record. The second arrives on the sub-two minute, hit-and-quit ‘Quick and to the Pointless’ where you can tell Oliveri may be a little crazy through his vocal delivery and the subject matter. But ‘Tension Head’ is the one that showcases the full-blown maniac in full force. He kind of “sings” the very first lines of the two verses, otherwise he’s about to burst a blood vessel or two due to how powerfully he screams almost every other line. I guess, the ‘tension head’ of the title mainly refers to the match lyric, but the whole track feels very tense itself. The track does have an undeniable groove going on in the verses, which is then swiftly discarded for the pummeling rhythm for the choruses with that quirky guitar line in the right channel. The only moment I can think of where you’re able to breathe a little while is when the guitars ring out at the end of the breakdown two minutes in, before falling right into the hectic ending. Song’s borderline frightening, it’s awesome. Like it a lot.

I think the song is about a character who knows they are currently situated within the pits of their own existence, on a downward spiral of some kind, but insists on trying to maintain that high by going out in the town to ‘get right’ by ‘hustling little girls’ and ‘cheating little boys’. Not the first time Oliveri mentions ‘little girls’ on this album either, must have been something going on in his life he needed to sort out. What the cause is for the narrator ‘feeling so fucking sick on the bathroom floor’ is never stated outright, but with the mentions of ‘cooking it up’ and ‘feeling so sick on the bathroom floor’, I would say, heavily implies the intake of a drug or two. The contradictory nature of the narrator’s behaviour is summed up in the “highlife, lowlife” lyric that’s whispered underneath all the choruses. The last note in the guitar solo is left ringing out on its own, only alleviated by the beginning of the following instrumental song. What happens to the narrator of ‘Tension Head’? We don’t know. It doesn’t look good. But what a way for Oliveri to peace out from the album with only two songs left to go. Also, the song is just a re-recording of a tune Oliveri did with his own band a few years earlier. I feel like I knew this already, but I must have forgotten. So it’s nice to find out again. ‘Tension Head’ owns it.