Kyuss, the band
Created | Updated Oct 24, 2005
I was fourteen the first time I heard Kyuss. One warm spring saturday afternoon, I went to a store downtown and bought Welcome to Sky Valley, their third album, then biked to a spot behind my junior high school and got high. I sat there, leaning against the wall, between a stand of trees and a portable classroom, and the massive groove of "Gardenia" hit me. I remember, the guitar was just huge, this enormous mutated psychedelic fuzz. I didn't listen for very long; I had an irrepressible urge to go get a milkshake, which I did.
Kyuss imitated no one. Their sound is like a combination of Black Sabbath, grunge, trippy psychedelic rock, and punk. They churn and burn and rock out with driving downtuned riffs, with John Garcia howling over the top, they space out with atmospheric jams, they groove with tight rhythms.
Josh Homme's guitars are quite versatile, going from psychedelic improvisation to punky, mean riffery, to deep rivers of sludge. Brant Bjork's organic drum sound is also integral to Kyuss's unique voice; the drums are punchy, but don't sound in the least mechanical, with a constant haze of cymbals overlaid. Alfredo Hernandez drummed on the band's last album, and brought a slightly different style to the band's last album. More...robotic, but not in a bad way. John Garcia's vocals are somewhat akin to Glenn Danzig's, wailing and abrasive, but he could also go mellow and soft. For Wretch and Blues for the Red Sun, the band's first two albums, Nick Oliveri played bass. Scott Reeder replaced him for the band's next (and last) two albums, Welcome to Sky Valley and ...And the Circus Leaves Town.
The albums:
Wretch
Their first album, released in 1991 on the indie Dali label. When this album was released, all of the members of the band were about seventeen years old, while a portion of the songs were written while they were even younger. It shows, in their energy, their freshness, and their raw, unsophisticated approach to songwriting. This is where you can hear the band's punk and heavy metal roots, before they found the psychedelic groove that would be their trademark for the rest of their career. The band's sound on this album is relatively paltry and thin (they had not yet hooked up with the bass-crazy Chris Goss), but this couldn't ruin the obviously good material. This album is also fun, for adolescent lyrics like "You have long legs, long hair, big tits, you got a big ass." (from the towering Son of a Bitch) and "I want some pussy, yeah, from a bad bitch, on a big bike," from Big Bikes.
Blues for the Red Sun
For this album, the band collaborated with producer Chris Goss, and the difference is striking between Blues and their debut. Gone is the angular grunge-punk-metal sound: the band really hit onto something good with their major label debut. Chris Goss captured their earth-shaking rumble, and the band really stretched out musically. There are a few mediocre tracks on the album (like the aimless "Mondo Generator"), but even these serve to enhance the mood. There are a few songs that seem out-of-place; the grungy "Writhe", and goofy "Thong Song".
Welcome to Sky Valley
The sound came together more cohesively here. Sky Valley sounds more like one whole piece of work; it sticks together without sounding the same. Working with a limited array of sounds and textures, Kyuss created an album with quite a bit of variety; psychedelic acoustic sounds, thrashing intensity, pummeling drive, some energetic stoner-ized funk (which would re-surface in a mellower form on Brant Bjork's solo albums). Kyuss are from the desert; this album sounds that way. The music seems to convey the majesty and solitude of the desert easily. Kyuss were a band unconcerned with other people's opinions of them; Welcome to Sky Valley is the sound of band insulated from "scenes" and record companies and hype. It's just them; it's pure.
...And the Circues Leaves Town
This album was a grower for me. When I first heard it I didn't really like it at all...it seemed mediocre. Kyuss' sound changed with each album, but this was the most radical. The album opens with a few bars of a deliberate, rolling drum groove, then the guitar kicks in, and it's...different. It's more driving, more mechanical, in a way. That first song, "Hurricane" sets the tone of the album by delivering something way different from anything the band had done before. The rest of the album finds the band stretching out in different directions, using their signature sound, perfected on the previous album, as a base. There are more quirks and surprises, and ultimately, it makes for a better record than if they had simply delivered more of the same.
Where are they now?
After Brant Bjork left Kyuss, he joined Fu Manchu, and appeared on albums like The Action is Go, Eatin' Dust, King of the Road, and California Crossing. He has also released albums on his own, under his own name, as Brant Bjork and the Bro's, and Brant Bjork and the Operators.
Josh Homme founded the Queens of the Stone Age, with drummer Alfredo Hernandez, and bassist Nick Oliveri. That lineup has changed significantly over the years, in fact Josh Homme is the only original member. The Queens' sound really continues the "robotic" style that started to develop on Kyuss's last album; some have even labelled the Queens "robot rock".
John Garcia has appeared in a number of post-Kyuss bands, bringing his distinctive and powerful vocal style to excellent bands like Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano. These bands bear a tangible Kyuss influence, but are a lot more straight-ahead.
Stoner Rock
"Y'know, I'm not really against labels...but stoner rock makes it sound like it's gonna be stupid." -Josh Homme
Stoner Rock is a sound characterised by downtuned, enormous guitar sounds with the bass and distortion cranked, swaggering grooves, fuzzed-out leads, and extended jams. It's heavy metal cut with a fat, psychedelic 70s groove, and laced with a large dose of Kyuss. It's a genre that they single-handedly originated.
There's lots of variation within the form; the psychedelic hippie clean sounds of Colour Haze; the punky, fuzzed out riffs of Fu Manchu; Clutch, who bring funk, eclecticism, and humour to their rock; Sleep, who treaded the line between doom metal and stoner rock with their sometimes glacial tempoes and murky, menacing, ultra-low guitar sound; the indie-spiked washes of noise from Dead Meadow.
All of these bands owe a debt a Kyuss. They have inspired hundreds of bands, and have a rabid cult fan-base to this day, ten years after they broke up. It's a sign of their brilliance that their sound, which changed and developed over only four albums, has spawned a style played and enjoyed worldwide.
Kyuss imitated no one. Their sound is like a combination of Black Sabbath, grunge, trippy psychedelic rock, and punk. They churn and burn and rock out with driving downtuned riffs, with John Garcia howling over the top, they space out with atmospheric jams, they groove with tight rhythms.
Josh Homme's guitars are quite versatile, going from psychedelic improvisation to punky, mean riffery, to deep rivers of sludge. Brant Bjork's organic drum sound is also integral to Kyuss's unique voice; the drums are punchy, but don't sound in the least mechanical, with a constant haze of cymbals overlaid. Alfredo Hernandez drummed on the band's last album, and brought a slightly different style to the band's last album. More...robotic, but not in a bad way. John Garcia's vocals are somewhat akin to Glenn Danzig's, wailing and abrasive, but he could also go mellow and soft. For Wretch and Blues for the Red Sun, the band's first two albums, Nick Oliveri played bass. Scott Reeder replaced him for the band's next (and last) two albums, Welcome to Sky Valley and ...And the Circus Leaves Town.
The albums:
Wretch
Their first album, released in 1991 on the indie Dali label. When this album was released, all of the members of the band were about seventeen years old, while a portion of the songs were written while they were even younger. It shows, in their energy, their freshness, and their raw, unsophisticated approach to songwriting. This is where you can hear the band's punk and heavy metal roots, before they found the psychedelic groove that would be their trademark for the rest of their career. The band's sound on this album is relatively paltry and thin (they had not yet hooked up with the bass-crazy Chris Goss), but this couldn't ruin the obviously good material. This album is also fun, for adolescent lyrics like "You have long legs, long hair, big tits, you got a big ass." (from the towering Son of a Bitch) and "I want some pussy, yeah, from a bad bitch, on a big bike," from Big Bikes.
Blues for the Red Sun
For this album, the band collaborated with producer Chris Goss, and the difference is striking between Blues and their debut. Gone is the angular grunge-punk-metal sound: the band really hit onto something good with their major label debut. Chris Goss captured their earth-shaking rumble, and the band really stretched out musically. There are a few mediocre tracks on the album (like the aimless "Mondo Generator"), but even these serve to enhance the mood. There are a few songs that seem out-of-place; the grungy "Writhe", and goofy "Thong Song".
Welcome to Sky Valley
The sound came together more cohesively here. Sky Valley sounds more like one whole piece of work; it sticks together without sounding the same. Working with a limited array of sounds and textures, Kyuss created an album with quite a bit of variety; psychedelic acoustic sounds, thrashing intensity, pummeling drive, some energetic stoner-ized funk (which would re-surface in a mellower form on Brant Bjork's solo albums). Kyuss are from the desert; this album sounds that way. The music seems to convey the majesty and solitude of the desert easily. Kyuss were a band unconcerned with other people's opinions of them; Welcome to Sky Valley is the sound of band insulated from "scenes" and record companies and hype. It's just them; it's pure.
...And the Circues Leaves Town
This album was a grower for me. When I first heard it I didn't really like it at all...it seemed mediocre. Kyuss' sound changed with each album, but this was the most radical. The album opens with a few bars of a deliberate, rolling drum groove, then the guitar kicks in, and it's...different. It's more driving, more mechanical, in a way. That first song, "Hurricane" sets the tone of the album by delivering something way different from anything the band had done before. The rest of the album finds the band stretching out in different directions, using their signature sound, perfected on the previous album, as a base. There are more quirks and surprises, and ultimately, it makes for a better record than if they had simply delivered more of the same.
Where are they now?
After Brant Bjork left Kyuss, he joined Fu Manchu, and appeared on albums like The Action is Go, Eatin' Dust, King of the Road, and California Crossing. He has also released albums on his own, under his own name, as Brant Bjork and the Bro's, and Brant Bjork and the Operators.
Josh Homme founded the Queens of the Stone Age, with drummer Alfredo Hernandez, and bassist Nick Oliveri. That lineup has changed significantly over the years, in fact Josh Homme is the only original member. The Queens' sound really continues the "robotic" style that started to develop on Kyuss's last album; some have even labelled the Queens "robot rock".
John Garcia has appeared in a number of post-Kyuss bands, bringing his distinctive and powerful vocal style to excellent bands like Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano. These bands bear a tangible Kyuss influence, but are a lot more straight-ahead.
Stoner Rock
"Y'know, I'm not really against labels...but stoner rock makes it sound like it's gonna be stupid." -Josh Homme
Stoner Rock is a sound characterised by downtuned, enormous guitar sounds with the bass and distortion cranked, swaggering grooves, fuzzed-out leads, and extended jams. It's heavy metal cut with a fat, psychedelic 70s groove, and laced with a large dose of Kyuss. It's a genre that they single-handedly originated.
There's lots of variation within the form; the psychedelic hippie clean sounds of Colour Haze; the punky, fuzzed out riffs of Fu Manchu; Clutch, who bring funk, eclecticism, and humour to their rock; Sleep, who treaded the line between doom metal and stoner rock with their sometimes glacial tempoes and murky, menacing, ultra-low guitar sound; the indie-spiked washes of noise from Dead Meadow.
All of these bands owe a debt a Kyuss. They have inspired hundreds of bands, and have a rabid cult fan-base to this day, ten years after they broke up. It's a sign of their brilliance that their sound, which changed and developed over only four albums, has spawned a style played and enjoyed worldwide.
