"Into the Hollow" had been performed by Homme and Chris Goss as The Fififf Teeners (with the two also producing Era Vulgaris),[5] and "Make It wit Chu" had been recorded as a Desert Sessions track,[13] as well as appearing on the live album Over the Years and Through the Woods.

In June 2006, in an interview on the Australian radio station Triple J, bassist Jesse F. Keeler from Death from Above 1979 revealed that he would be playing bass on an upcoming Queens of the Stone Age album, but that he would more than likely not be touring with the band due to his desire to spend more time with his girlfriend.

[14] Eventually, on his band's internet forum, Keeler revealed that he would not be appearing on the album due to conflicting schedules.

"[15] The album was expected to include guest performances by Trent Reznor, Julian Casablancas,[16] Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons,[17] and (jokingly) deceased humorist Erma Bombeck.

The album was recorded and mixed by Alain Johannes,[21] and produced by Josh Homme and Chris Goss under the name The Fififf Teeners.

The primary contributors to the recording were Homme, Troy van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo, Johannes, and Goss.

"[22] Goss and Johannes were replaced by Dean Fertita (keyboard) and Michael Shuman (bass) for later bonus track recordings and the subsequent supporting tour.

Regarding the band's line-up changes for Era Vulgaris, Homme commented, "I like combinations that no one would expect... it's the cool part of any surprise party.

[25] Musically, the album has been described as "brand new retro",[26] a fusion of "punk, rock, blues, and southern grit" (in an FHM review),[23] and slower, moodier, and groggier than the band's previous efforts.

[20] Shortly after the album's announcement in February 2007, a video was posted on the band's official website showing Homme, Castillo, and Van Leeuwen jamming.

The CD was accompanied by a handwritten letter asking fans to share the song in any way possible:[30][31] Hello friend - Thank you for accepting this gift.

Josh was talking about this kind of naïve point in time when TV and commercials kicked in with cartoon characters selling cigarettes and stuff like that.

[34] On May 2, 2007, Homme, Van Leeuwen, and new band member Dean Fertita appeared on London radio station Xfm, performing an acoustic set that included the tracks "3's & 7's", "Into the Hollow", and "Suture Up Your Future".

[40] The cover was a slip of paper, with a simplified credits page on the back side, marked with the outline of the record.

Coincidentally, it was the first Queens of the Stone Age album since Rated R to not bear a genuine Parental Advisory seal.

[53] Uncut and Allmusic's reviews were particularly glowing, with the latter noting how Era Vulgaris is "as different from Lullabies as that was to their dramatic widescreen breakthrough, Songs for the Deaf".

[56] Rolling Stone gave the album four stars for the first time since the band's self titled debut,[25] commenting that "Era Vulgaris is Homme's fifth Queens album, and like the others, it's intricately crafted, meticulously polished and ruthlessly efficient in its pursuit of depraved rock thrills.

A number of reviews were negative, however; Q magazine gave the album two stars out of five, while The Village Voice criticized Homme for lack of originality, describing the record's sound as "listless and drained of ideas".

[58] The Guardian slated the record as lyrically clichéd and lacking the input of former bassist Nick Oliveri,[59] and Entertainment Weekly delivered the closing indictment that "there isn't a single song here that you'll remember, or want to return to, two summers hence.

[13] Neither album achieved the commercial success of the band's 2002 release, Songs for the Deaf, which had sold 986,000 copies in the US alone as of June 2007.