| Wretch | 1991 |
| Blues For The Red Sun | 1992 |
| Welcome To Sky Valley | 1994 |
| ....And The Circus Leaves Town | 1995 |
| Muchas Gracias: The Best Of Kyuss (compilation) | 2000 |
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COMMENTS
you cannot rate kyuss, kyuss is what started queens, and started us red sky valley
(reviewed by Alex Wilson)
Desert-rockers Kyuss were probably the most important band in the whole Stoner Metal movement. With the largely ignored Wretch behind them and Stoner rock luminary Chris Goss producing, it was with this album that they defined the sound and attitude of the genre. The odd thing is, despite the importance of this album, there is really nothing revolutionary about it. Distill it to it's essence and it's just a 70s rock album played faster and heavier. What put the boys from Kyuss on top of the Stoner pile was the raw power and skilled songwriting they displayed on this record. This is a top-notch rock record that wholly deserves its cult status.
Opening with the raw "Thumb" and the punkish "Green Machine," this album pummels you from the start. It's packed full of the fuzziest, heaviest riffs this side of Black Sabbath and Josh Homme's downtuned guitar stylings give the songs a distinctive Kyuss edge. He is ably assisted by the awesome drumming of Brant Bjork, whose powerful yet organic sound is the engine of the music. Just listen to some of those awesome rolls on "Apocetharies' Weight." Bassist Nick Olivieri also turns in a good performance, doing great Sabbath-esque lines all over the place. Floating on top of all this is are the gravel-throated vocals of John Garcia, whose stoned lyrics and energetic delivery complement the music perfectly.
Kyuss' songwriting is also of a high standard throughout the album. They give each song its own distinctive trademark, whether it's the psuedo-blues of "Thong Song" or the distorted-as-hell vocals of "Mondo Generator." The album's flow is also totally seamless, as it is peppered with short instrumental tracks ("Caterpillar March," "Capsized") that provide respite from the longer cuts and are also great songs in their own right. But the real highlights are probably the two stoner epics "50 Million Year Trip" and "Freedom" run.
The former really lives up to its name, encompassing a huge variety of sounds in just under six minutes. Opening with fast guitar and drum lines, it gives way to some really ominous riffage before gliding into a clean psychedelic jam at the end, punctuated by some fluid guitar work from Homme. "Freedom Run" is probably the single best song on the album, with an extended, trippy introduction and a main riff to die for. It also contains one of Josh Homme's finest solos and it's just great to hear John scream "Freedom run!" at the top of his voice as the band rocks out behind him. This song also shows where the real strength of Kyuss lies: they are relentless. They have that kind of 70s rock spirit, where crashing drums and furious fuzzy guitars pummel the listener into blissful submission. I've made comparisons to Black Sabbath earlier in this review, but it's probably the most appropriate to do so here, because the conviction and utter power of early Sabbath clearly influenced the Kyuss sound to a huge extent.
Blues For The Red Sun is great, powerful stuff, and it's a shame that a lack of commercial success and personal conflicts would send Kyuss into a creative spiral and a premature breakup. As it stands, this is probably one of the best 'unknown' rock records of the 90s, and the best buy for the Kyuss newbie.
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(reviewed by Alex Wilson)
Kyuss, what an awesome band. Two years after the critically acclaimed (and totally rocking) Blues For The Red Sun, the band released Welcome To Sky Valley, which saw them become more adventurous with their sound and solidified their status as the gurus of the Stoner scene. As before, Chris Goss lends his considerable skills in production. They did lose bassist Nick Olivieri after Blues, but quickly replaced him with Scott Reeder, who sounds exactly the same. I mean, these guys are probably the bastard twins of Terry 'Geezer' Butler from Sabbath! But I digress…
As far as the album goes, it continues to explore the powerful fuzz-rock established on Blues For The Red Sun, but the band incorporated a more psychedelic edge to their sound, which made it more intriguing yet did nothing to lessen their raw power. Kyuss songwriting skills were also at their strongest at this point and there is also a more apparent sense of craft to this record. It comprises ten songs, but only three tracks on the CD player. Each 'chapter' also seems to represent a particular facet of the band. Clearly this is music that must be appreciated in a thoughtful manner, evidenced by the instruction in the liner notes: 'Listen without distraction.' You owe it to yourself to do so, because Kyuss achieved near-perfection on this record.
Chapter I opens with the anthemic "Gardenia," one of Kyuss' single finest moments that embodies the sound and spirit of the band. As Josh Homme presents one of his most killer riffs, drummer Brant Bjork pounds a furious roll and the whole band springs to life, creating an enveloping and infectious fuzzy groove. It's tremendously powerful stuff. Whenever I hear it, it makes me wanna go buy a Monaro (preferably with a big stripe down the middle) and cruise along a desert road with the wind in my face and this song blaring on the stereo. Great lyrics, too, which cheekily use the time-honored "car-as-a-metaphor-for-sex" formula. It even has a long, stoned jam in the middle. Brilliant. Next up is the great space-rocker "Asteroid" where singular, slightly psychedelic guitar licks give way to fuzzy mayhem and flurries of stoned, echoey feedback.
However, the first real creative curve ball of the album comes halfway through Chapter II in the form of "Space Cadet." Not a single distorted guitar in this song. Instead, it's a piece of beautiful and spacious soft rock where ringing, slightly bluesy guitars collide with primal bass and percussion. Josh Homme delivers some of his best and most memorable guitar lines, but it's singer John Garcia that really takes the song to another level. His surprisingly clean vocals are evocative and sincere, and the lyrics evoke this powerful sense of contented loneliness. The quality songwriting continues with the albums 'popular' single, "Demon Cleaner." This hypnotic rocker has a jammy feel to it, but it's also bursting at the seams with hooks and boasts a truly cathartic outro. Nearly all the other songs on this album are fantastic, too. Just check out the psychedelic bridge and solo to "Odyssey," the transcendent choruses of "Whitewater" or Kyuss' own take on the blues, "N.O." There are also more great, straight-ahead riff-rockers like "100°" and the hilariously titled "Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop."
In many ways, Welcome To Sky Valley is a better album then Blues For The Red Sun. It has an extra level of creativity and ambition that Blues lacks and it's best moments are generally better than those on their previous album. What holds it back from a higher score is its occasionally inconsistent songwriting. "Conan Troutman" is pretty inessential and despite "Whitewater's" truly awesome chorus, at least half of it is a pointless guitar jam, which really kills the album's ending, considering it's the closing track. If not for these slipups, this album would be so close to perfect. Instead, it equals its predecessor with a 9. In stark contrast to their disappointing third effort …And The Circus Leaves Town, (which sucks harder than a thousand bald Billy Corgans), Welcome To Sky Valley is a highly recommended purchase for anyone even remotely interested in intelligent 90s rock. Get in your Monaro and rock…
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(reviewed by Alex Wilson)
As music listeners, there is probably little that would disappoint us more than a substandard release from one of our favorite bands. This case is no exception. I guess the album isn't really that bad, it's not as horrible as Symphony X or any of that crap. Maybe the boys just smoked a little too much weed and ended up on the boring side of Hawkwind. Or maybe it's the absence of producer-extraordinaire Chris Goss that robbed the album of power and focus. In any case, Kyuss fail to write any really convincing or memorable tunes and their ferocious power has simply evaporated. All that is left is a record of boring and forgettable sludge. To take my crappy 'Kyuss-and-cars' analogy a little further, the first two albums were like badass 70s cruisers, whereas …And The Circus Leaves Town is that crappy Kombi that has trouble pushing 90 kmh.
A lot of this can probably be attributed to the crippling loss of powerhouse drummer and major songwriter Brant Bjork during the Sky Valley tour. Replacement Alfredo Hernandez is competent enough, but lacks the spark and panache of Bjork. Josh Homme also turns in a surprisingly limp performance. Instead of delivering his trademark rocktastic riffage, his guitars just fuzz away harmlessly. The tangible chemistry that fueled previous is noticeably absent.
Take the single, "One Inch Man." Although it contains the album's strongest hook, its groove is flaccid and pales in comparison to earlier songs like "Freedom Run" or "Whitewater." Also, like many songs on this album, it is remarkably short. Kyuss needs time to build their riffs and gain momentum, to jam and stretch out. The mainly four-minute songs on this album just don't do the band's sound and style justice. In fact, the majority of the album is littered with crappy songs that never really go anywhere, such as "Gloria Lewis," "El Rodeo" and "Size Queen."
The only real glimpse of Kyuss' greatness comes with the two closing tracks, "Catamaran" and "Spaceship Landing." The former has cool jangly guitar chords, a strong bassline and a nicely freaked-out chorus. "Spaceship Landing" offers the album's best look at what Kyuss is all about. It's extended jamming, powerful riffs and tasty Josh Homme solos make it a worthy addition to the Kyuss catalogue. Even so, these two songs are not enough to lift the album above mediocrity. The fact that I've written such a short review of the songs is indicative of the lack of substance.
There are some interesting aspects to this album though. The quirkier riffs and shorter songs marked the beginning of Josh Homme's forays into the 'cocaine-pop' sound he would later perfect with Queens Of The Stone Age. But then again, this only highlights the fragmentation the band was experiencing at the time. The songs didn't gel together and personnel problems would lead to the band's demise. Really, for a band that released two of the best rock records of the 90s, this is a very substandard record and can only be recommended to the hardcore Kyuss fan.
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