Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States. The band is frequently labeled stoner rock , although they reject the label. They developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music which the band's founder and mastermind Josh Homme described as " robot rock ", saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, just pound it into your head". Since then, their sound has evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences. While in high school, Homme got together with locals Brant Bjork