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Kyuss

Blues For The Red Sun
Sky Valley
…And The Circus Leaves Town


Blues For The Red Sun (Dali ’92) Rating: A
And thus “stoner rock” was born. Actually, stoner rock is a silly name for music that’s so heavy (my idea of stoner rock is Pink Floyd), but the band did manage to help create an entirely new sub-genre of heavy metal by taking Black Sabbath’s big riffs and adding the grime of grunge along with a trippy, jam-based vibe. The end result is a dirty, raw sound that’s both explosive and laid back. The unique Kyuss sound is built around mountainous fuzzed out sludge riffs (Josh Homme), huge thudding bass licks (Nick Oliveri), colossal yet dexterous drumming (Brant Bjork), and (on 7 of the album’s 12 songs) the bluesy bellow of John Garcia. Kyuss throws in some melodic guitar passages and experimental dabbling, and these improvisational interludes provide welcome breaks in the action. We all know what’s coming next; the bludgeoning rhythm section kicks in, the intensity skyrockets, and the band surges forward with an earth-rattling demonstration of pure power (man, I get pumped up just thinking about it). I’m not familiar with their first album (Wretch), but this second installment is the one that started getting the band noticed, at least by critics and the underground community. Producer Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) brings out the best in the band, who have seemingly reached a symbiotic togetherness brought about by endless hours of playing together. The end result is a massive juggernaut that’s capable of blinding fury and delicately intricate interplay, and despite occasional lulls in the action (and a lack of variety), the album has an unstoppable overall groove. Blues For The Red Sun is aptly titled, its music conjuring visions of the scorched Arizona desert amidst speaker blowing mayhem.

Sky Valley (Elektra ’94) Rating: A
This follow up, officially titled Kyuss but better known and more easily identifiable as Sky Valley due to the sign on the album’s cover bearing that inscription, was arguably an even more impressive outing than the awfully impressive Blues For The Red Sun. Delayed for almost a year due to record company complications, Sky Valley proved to be well worth the wait. This is no compromises, Black Sabbath inspired progressive metal by a tremendously talented band. Sky Valley is composed of three different parts, each of which is divided into several songs that segue into one another. It’s not as snobbish as it sounds; the band simply wanted to dissuade listeners from skipping tracks, a good strategy since the album works best when taken as a whole. The band blends an incredibly big sludgesound around mellower instrumental bridges that are psychedelic in tone, and they even throw in a catchy pop metal song with multi-tracked, echoed vocals (“Demon Cleaner”). More expansive and progressive than its predecessor (and less song oriented), Josh Homme still concocts the coolest fuzzed out guitar tone around, while new bassist Josh Reeder supplies deliciously dirty bass and drummer Brant Bjork adds terrific tribal stick work. They still meander too much for my liking, but when these guys get their monster jams going full throttle they make truly exhilarating and compelling heavy metal music.

…And The Circus Leaves Town (Elektra ’96) Rating: B+
Although this was a step down from its two mind-blowing predecessors, this was still a mighty fine finale, as the band broke up due to a lack of recognition following its release. A criminal condemnation of the consumer market, seeing as how these guys were one of the best band’s out there, an extraordinarily powerful unit that could easily rival the likes of Soundgarden and Nirvana, though they fell short of those band’s in the songwriting department. Then again, Kyuss’ strength was in playing rather than writing, so the band’s focus on more structured songwriting here simply isn’t as interesting as the spacious explorations in sound offered on their previous attempts. It doesn’t help that John Garcia’s vocals are too far back in the mix, or that new drummer Alfredo Hernandez isn’t quite as impressive as Brant Bjork (who was also a key songwriter for the band). These quibbles aside, the band’s unwavering intensity and virtuostic musicianship provides thematic links to previous records, and more than a few songs here surge as only Kyuss can. So even though this enigmatic farewell didn’t quite kick me in the face like the molten meanderings of what came before it, this album should still please the stoner set who like their “far out” music to really rock out just the same. After all, though there’s really nothing here that the band hasn't done better before, the band flexes enough muscle to let listeners know that whatever that special it is that makes groups great, this band had it in spades. Note: Although they were overlooked in their day, Kyuss are now justly revered as highly influential pioneers who paved the way for many a stoner rock band who followed. Note #2: Homme recruited Hernandez (and later, Oliveri) and formed Queens Of The Stone Age in 1998.

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