Them Crooked Vultures‘ self-titled debut offers everything you’d want from a band comprised of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones. It’s heavy, sexy and metallic hard hitting blues rock. But the album’s not perfect when at times the songs feel weighty, and the straightforward rock tracks don’t bring anything new to the table. Still, Them Crooked Vultures do something that’s not done too often in modern supergroups by offering a very organic feel in which the musicians sound like they’re actually having fun.

Honestly, the 2000′s could be the decade of the supergroup. Sure, there have been some pretty great ones from yesteryear such as Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and the Traveling Wilburys. But beginning in 2000 onward, the number of these supergroups, which the great Wikipedia defines as “a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups,” really seemed to take off. The problem with many of the modern supergroups were that they were killed by the hype machine. It was nearly impossible to escape the hollow Audioslave, and the image of Slash and Scott Weiland playing in a cave is still burned in my brain from that damn Velvet Revolver video.

But not all of the latest batch of supergroups have been complete failures. Jack White’s projects including the Raconteurs and Dead Weather are seemingly inspired and the Monsters Of Folk album has been one of the top surprises of 2009. However, when a member of a supergroup happens to be the bassist of a little band known as Led Zeppelin, well, that’s pretty freaking super. Add rock’s own jack of all trades Dave Grohl and Queens Of The Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme to the mix and you’ve got yourself a bona fide powerhouse.

And if you’re like me, you’re still bitter about being shut out of the Them Crooked Vultures post-Lollapalooza live debut this past August at The Metro. But that bitterness was finally put to rest when the album dropped two weeks ago, and it’s pretty much a hard rock fan’s dream. For so long, 2009 was the year of the indie with pop sensibility this and lofi that, so it’s great to hear some good ol’ riff rock accompanied by punch-you-in-the-face drums and thunderous bass.

While upon first listen the comparisons to Queens Of The Stone Age and Homme’s whacky Desert Sessions are obvious as he takes on lead guitar and vocals with his trademark darkly sexy and even satirical lyrics. But the mood is quite different here. While Queens Of The Stone Age usually lurks in the dark recesses of an acid-induced sand dune journey, Them Crooked Vultures offer a more twisted approach on classic rock structures.

John Paul Jones commands the band on bass -- word to the wise: the album begs to be listened to on headphones, and Dave Grohl is back behind the drum kit where he undoubtedly belongs and brings us the tightest snare sound you’ve ever heard. It’s modern day stoner blues rock at it’s finest, and you can practically hear Homme and Grohl grinning through the stereo as they play with one of their biggest idols in Jones.

Opener “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I” creeps in with a sultry up-and-down riff with some clever Dave Grohl-cowbell hits underneath. The track is a very good bridge between the new school an old school frame of mind as it changes mid-song into a stoner metal monster riff that is sure to be a head-banging anthem live. “Dead End Friends” is the one song that sounds like it could have been a Nirvana b-side. It starts with a middle eastern-tinged riff that sits in the air until Grohl’s trademark round-up drum fill brings it back down. Then Jones’ fuzzy bass propels the tune until resolving to a major chord, guitar solo bridge before the song returns to the driving beat.

“Reptiles” is Homme’s homage to Zeppelin with frantic chug-a-chug guitar antics over loose leads. “Scumbag Blues” is a killer take that plays no favorites and offers the listener a twisted take on a classic blues progression. The song features an extended guitar solo over which Jones dusts off the clavinet for some playful funkiness that recalls the Zeppelin tune “Trampled Under Foot,” and eventually reaches a lightening storm harmonized guitar riff chorus.

But as previously stated, the album is not perfect. Some songs suffer from being a bit too straight forward. “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” is easily the weakest of the bunch sounding like a Foo Fighters B-side. That’s not only because Grohl shows up on vocals during the chorus, but the guitar and bass offer no swing and no distinguishable swagger that makes many of the record’s songs so fun. Although “Elephants” has perhaps one of the year’s most kick ass intros, the mid-section’s off kilter slow down causes the song to lose much of its muscular momentum. “Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give” begins with a fuzzed out bass riff but ends up meandering through scratchy solo sections halfway through its seven minute plus run time.

Luckily, it’s the album’s closing number “Spinning In Daffodils” that really brings the point home that Them Crooked Vultures is a force to be reckoned with. Homme’s vocals creep in with a David Bowie meets Roger Waters vibe over a monstrous gypsy-metal riff, and the track closes with the most epic instrumental section on the record leaving a pleasant taste in the listener’s mouth as Jones solos off into the sunset.

Them Crooked Vultures is not the end all for mainstream supergroups, but their debut is definitely one of the most promising to come about in quite a while. Each of the member’s distinctness can be heard over the course of the album, in some songs more than others, but it sounds organic rather than forced. Sure, Them Crooked Vultures might only be a vehicle for Homme and Grohl to brag that they were in a band with John Paul Jones, but it sure sounds like they had a blast.