Kyuss

Let's be realistic here this is not a 5, 4, or 3 star album. The music is awesome and then the dude starts singing and you're like ahhh man, bummer. No doubt Josh Homme is an excellent and creative guitar player and the rest of the music is sweet but the singing can only be described as 80's butt rock style as well as the lyrics, sorry man. QOTSA fans this is not for you.

This is "it" in my opinion for stoner rock albums. Most fans will say Blues for the Red Sun is the best Kyuss cd. I believe Sky Valley is without a doubt the best cd. This album sums up the whole "Stoner rock" genre. All of the Kyuss cds are great[ maybe except for Wretch], but this is by far the best in my opinion. John Garcia has one of the most underrated voices in the music business and Homme is a pure genius with the guitar.

The album is an absolute classic. If you enjoy good music, you NEED this album. For people who are new to the band, this is the album to start out with. One of those rare albums that you can throw in and listen all the way through, EVERY time. I'm not kidding, I feel like I'm cheating myself if I don't listen to it all the way through. The album is broken into three parts, each feeding off the other.

The album starts out with "Gardenia", a hard rocking tune that breaks into a funky jam halfway through before returning to the original pavement crunching riff that starts the song. An epic beginning followed by the spacey instrumental jam "Asteroid" that gets furiously heavy in the end. "Supa Scoop" is another that starts heavy, then gets drops out, and into a rich, funky groove that will make your head bounce and your hands grab for your air guitar. End Part 1

"100 Degrees" rocks hard all the way through. Enter "Space Cadet", a trippy acoustic jam unlike any other Kyuss song, and completely wicked. Then comes the epic "Demon Cleaner", possibly their most recgnized song due to a Tool cover of it floating around on the internet. Another track a groove that will get you going, the drums here are sweet. End Part 2

"Odyssey" follows a familiar formula, start heavy, get the funk out, end even heavier. Segue into "Conan Troutman" which is the shortest, and probably fastest paced song on the album. "N.O." has a different groove entirely, feeling more bluesy than the rest of the album. Then onto the epic closer, "Whitewater". A slow build up to an unforgetable riff, a jam out similar to "Gardenia", but way different, which drops to a slow and sweet ending.

Overall, a masterpiece. As a matter of fact, writing this has made me want to listen to it right now. I'm gonna grab some beers, a couple smokes, closes my eyes, crank up the stereo and fade away into sonic euphoria. Adios.

OK, just so you know where i'm coming from, i'm a huge be-bop jazz and classical music fan and i think Zeppelin, Kiss and Queen just plain SUCK (yeah yeah, write me nasty email, see if i care)

I *DO* like Motorhead and the Ramones a lot though

and i LOVE Kyuss. of their three CDs (Blues for the Red Sun, this one and ...and the circus leaves town) this is probably my favorite because it's a bit more daring

THese guys were just wonderful, loud as hell, grungy thrashing pounding slamming over the top but with some with and cleverness and NONE OF THE POMPOUS B.S. you find with most metal/loud bands: no big hair, no makeup, no skin tight clown outfits, no lame overtly sexual lyrics, no fire eating or hanging from wires when they played, etc. Just guys doing it really well

Sonically i think my aforementioned faves Motorhead and the Ramones are probably the best reference points here. Kyuss was simple, stripped down, bass heavy.

This album basically has 3 songs - they are 'suites' made up of several songs that run into each other. while they grind out some hot effin' riffs and can run full tilt at fast tempos, they also catch you off guard now and then by slowing it down or setting the song up with a quiet-ish, slow-ish intro that suddenly explodes into high volume

very good buy. if you just got into kyuss, this is a must have, definetly a jam

Being a qotsa fan I was very eager to here one of kyuss's finest albums if not my favorite next Welcome to Sky Valley. The riffage is sick. I don't think people understand that Homme is really a prodigy-this album came out when he was just 18 or 19 years old and to be playing at this level at such a young age -even for the best guitarist-is just boggling. Buy it; love it and enjoy the exceptional and irreplaceble talent that was Kyuss.

Musically, not as good as Welcome to Sky Valley, but without the annoying three-song tracks.

I love all of Kyuss's works, as well as Queens of the Stone Age and the Eagles of Death Metal (all projects of Josh Homme) and this album is where you can really see an evolution of their stoner-rock style. It's a great album for background music while you're hanging out with friends.

Before finding worldwide success with Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme was the monstrous lead guitarist of legendary 90's desert rock act Kyuss. Along with "Welcome To Sky Valley" and "...And The Circus Leaves Town", this album created an enthralling and influential trilogy. All three albums fused retro bluesy grooves with thundering riffs, trippy sonic jams and the booming rasp of vocalist John Garcia, creating an utterly unique and bold sound. Today many bands imitate this breed of stoner rock, but none can reach the absolute supremacy of Kyuss.

"Blues For The Red Sun" was the first realisation of the band's potential, as their debut "Wretch" left much to be desired. The song writing was vastly improved, being more ambitious and importantly executed with greater precision and style. Examples of this include the intense "Freedom Run", a vast slow-burner that envelopes trippy brooding passages, a swaggering lead riff, sublime jamming and Garcia's glorious gritty voice. The two-part piece of "Molten Universe/50 Million Year Trip" is my favourite moment on the album, and really showcases everything great about the band. The piece is a journey, starting with Homme laying down some monumental riffs, backed up perfectly by Brant Bjork's powerful drumming. Things take a swift and energetic tempo shift and Garcia's vocals come swiping through. The song closes on a wonderfully laid-back groove, with Homme creating some trippy sounds over the top of Garcia's echoing ethereal vocals. This song alone is proof that Kyuss kick some major ass.

The album also shows Kyuss' ability to create concise and infectious songs. Opener "Thumb" kicks things off in sweet and simple style, evolving around a booming main chorus and lead riff. Similarly "Green Machine" is mostly centred around a simple and addictive chorus theme - hence why it was one of the rare Kyuss songs to obtain some form of commercial success. "Thong Song" is a tongue-in-cheek comical affair, with unapologetic lyrics concerning long hair, brawn and thongs...it is a simple and fun rocker. These songs act as great contrasts to the extended pieces, giving variation and needed balance to the album.

For fans of the desert rock/stoner rock scene, this album and all other Kyuss releases is necessary. It should also very much appeal to fans of 70s rock - Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind etc as the band lends heavily from these influences, but gives the styling a fresh outfit. For those interested in getting into Kyuss I would suggest this album or "Welcome To Sky Valley" as the best starting points. Happy rocking.

Kyuss creates music that no one else can duplicate. It's perfect for those long hot summer days and even better for the humid nights that follow. Listening to this album makes you want to hop in a convertible and drive through the desert "Fear and Loathing Style".

Kyus has a groove like none other, and here they begin to perfect it. The openers "Thumb" and "Green Machine" rock you hard. With his tuned down guitar, Josh Homme creates riffs that resemble an egg frying on a driveway. Songs like "50 Million Year Trip" and "Allen's Wrench" rock the same.

However, the best song on this album without a doubt is "Freedom Run" which starts out slow and builds into a smooth riff and jams you into an euphoric oblivion. The instrumental jams here stand out as well, "Caterpillar March" has a flow that will have you rocking.

Kyuss prefects their sound on their next album, "Welcome to Sky Valley", but this is album is right on that threshold.

Many people will tell you that this album does not stand up next to "Blues For the Red Sun" or "Welcome to Sky Valley". I strongly disagree. The groove on this album is easily as good as "Sky Valley", but I think the best thing that sets this album apart if the different directions this album takes.

Example 1: "Catamaran". Easily my favorite song on the album, precisely because of how different it is. The bass riff has an islandy/calypso feel to it. First time I heard this song, I listened to it at least 10 times in a row. I couldn't get enough. Even when I listen to the album now, I still have to listen to this one three or four times.

Example 2: "Phototropic". The intro is really smooth. Has a really relaxed intro, before jamming full on. The whole song is fantastic, but the intro is what really makes this song stand out.

With the exception of "Space Cadet", "Sky Valley" pretty much rocks you straight through. This album has many more twists and turns. It still has it's straight forward rockers like "One Inch Man". Like all Kyuss albums, it has its share of instrumentals. But there is a vibe here that isn't present on other albums. "El Rodeo" is another really different song that stands out.

It's a shame that they broke up after this one because it would have been really interesting to see where they would have good from here.

For people new to the band, I would recommed starting with "Sky Valley", then going here.

This CD was the best album I bought in a long time and I am so glad I did. Every song on this is great and in my book is a work of art! I am actually listening to Phototropic from this very CD and will have it stuck in my head the rest of the day. If you like guitar riffs and melodies that will be stuck in your very soul for days on end, this is the CD for you!

This is a must have. Anyone who enjoys rock is going to love this album. Here is the first album that encompasses it all - awesome jamsongs, heavy rockers, mellodic tunes, songs that bounce & bop, EVERYTHING rock. Did I mention that there's a ton of profanity?

Kyuss was completely unique. There was never and will never be another Kyuss. Queens of the Stone Age are good, but Kyuss was great. Fu Manchu is probably the closest band to Kyuss that I can think of; they still have there own thing, though.(They've had some of Kyuss' ex-members, too)

So, about the album.

'Hurricane' starts the album off with a punch, sockin' it to ya. I could just imagine the crowd going wild. Opening with a cymbal crash into a drumstart, the pace quickens, guitars sweep you away into a sea of distortion, you're hooked.

'One Inch Man' has this trippy/hypnotic start that then builds into a grungy, heavy chorus, once again featuring the overblown guitar sound. For some reason it seems like the song's speeding up as it goes along. Aural illusion, I guess.

'The Ol Boozeroony' takes you on a sonic adventure that only Kyuss could have planned. There's an almost middle eastern guitar sound, which is once again hypnotic.

'Gloria Lewis' starts like an 'Imperial March'. Just turn your speakers up and let them knock stuff over. There's a slow fade at the end.

'Phototropic' - almost an instrumental, my favorite track by Kyuss, not just my favorite on the album. Starting slowly with guitar only, the drums and bass come in and bam, you're moving. Turn off the lights and crank this one way up. You WILL actually start feeling euphoric while listening to 'Phototropic'. This is probably THE reason you need to buy this album.

'El Rodeo' - Here's what I meant about the bounce. There's a resemblance to 'Money' by Pink Floyd for the first two minutes. Picture the opening bassline, but with a mid-eastern inspired guitar phrase. When the lyrics hit the similarities to 'Money' are gone, but they're not trying to be Floyd, it's just my comparison to give you an idea of the sound.

'Jumbo Blimp Jumbo' seems to have this Hendrix inspired guitar lick to it. Almost 'Voodoo Chile'-esque. This one picks up some speed about halfway through. Maybe another sonic illusion.

'Tangy Zizzle' - I just love the name of this song. I don't know why. Great song, sound, etc. Anti-establishment, anti-conformity, rocker.

'Size Queen' - Sonically amazing, this song has swagger to it. No shenanigans here.

'Catamaran' - My other Kyuss favorite. Catamarans are double-hulled boats. You get the feeling of drifting along a lake. This song by itself is a good enough reason to buy the album.

'Spaceship Landing' is not the last song on the album, but let's talk about it. At eleven minutes, it's an epic. You'll never even notice the time, either. 'Spaceship Landing' goes through a few changes of pace and you'll be there for all of them.

You might wonder what I mean about it not being the last song, but 'Spaceship Landing' is on the eleventh and final track. At 11:15 the song ends, but the track keeps going. So, at about 14:48 there's a thirty second thing that I don't even know what to call. (It's not a song, but just someone messing around with vocals.) However at 32:14 into the track you get a "hidden song", 'Day One'.

"...And the Circus Leaves Town" is the best Kyuss album. Songwise, "Wretch" is the next best. Wretch offers you some great tracks like 'Son of a Bitch' and 'Big Bikes'. Sonically it does suffer from the early-album syndrome, but honestly it just has a more raw feel. With such a short catalog I'd say just get all four studio albums from Kyuss.

Enjoy.

I loved "Blues for the Red Sun" and "Welcome to Sky Valley." While "...And the Circus Leaves Town" did not immediately strike me as a great album, it slowly grew on me through repeated listens and, over time, it has racked up more plays on my i-pod than either of those albums. Over two years later, I still find myself appreciating it in new ways.

It is initially difficult to appreciate Circus because it doesn't really sound like a Kyuss album in several respects. In place of sprawling, "Freedom Run" style epics, Circus is basically a collection of medium length grooves. Even the 11 minute album closer plays more like a medley of short riff jams than a through composed epic. Meanwhile, the band's trademark organic guitar voices are replaced with a thick, beefy growl that foreshadows the early QOTSA "robot rock" sound. On the vocals, John Garcia sings as much as he snarls. And his lyrics eschew the awesome ego tripping bombast of Gardenia and Green Machine for something a lot moodier and more complex. Taken together, these changes create an overall feel that is very different from both earlier Kyuss albums and the early QOTSA output that followed.

The basic idea of "Circus," as I interpret it, is that Kyuss puts away the bag of tricks they could have easily used over and over again (I think that is what is meant by "the Circus") and engages the listener on a much humbler level. There is still considerable grandeur in this album, but it is not a grandeur that says "I am great." It is the grandeur of being small and human, doubting oneself and marveling at the greatness around oneself. In the Yawning Man cover Catamaran, John Garcia sings "smooth stones behind me / cold air surrounds / soft and savory / it can take you to God." I think that about sums it up.

This album completes the legendary trilogy alongside the other classics 'Welcome to Sky Valley' and 'Blues For the Red Sun'. With this album, their last full length, Kyuss alter their sound and style slightly, creating a deeper and lower guitar tone and generally slower tempos. The result is a huge moody monolith of an album that sweeps aside thousands of other 'stoner' bands. '...And The Circus Leaves Town' is a fine way for Kyuss to wave goodbye after a truly legendary and tragically short-lived career.

'Hurricane' boots things off in short and sweet rocking style. It's a fun rocker, but a rather mediocre start to the album when considering the immediately engulfing openers from their past albums. But this I found would be the style of the album, it is a slow burner, gradually progressing and weaving. 'One Inch Man' is another short and sharp track, but this time the band creates a more subtle and sophisticated song. Homme's guitar paying especially shines on this with some very cool and almost psychedelic guitar effects, complemented by the classic John Garcia raspy vocal delivery. Generally John's vocals are less in the mix with this album when compared to previous releases, taking a seat behind Homme's guitar playing, which is at its all time best.

The album really picks up when 'Phototropic' begins. This song shows a new side to Kyuss - a moodier, more melancholic sound with a slow, brooding build up leading to the desperate croons of John singing 'under light I have never seen/reach up to the sun'. 'El Rodeo' continues the moodier, atmospheric style, once again building to huge walls of sound and John's emotionally packed vocals. Often seen as a two-song piece, it remains a highlight of Kyuss' career.

'Tangy Tizzle' starts the closing of the album. It is the best closing in Kyuss' career, and simply one of the best in metal and rock history. Personally I feel the last four tracks on this album create the pinnacle to Kyuss' short-lived career. After the heavy and fun rocker of 'Tangy Tizzle', something more similar to 'Blues For The red Sun' style, 'Size Queen' delivers one of Kyuss' best songs. Striking me as a combination of the 'Sky Valley' structure of verse/chorus (something the band generally get away from on this album, most of the songs just flow into different sections), and the newer moody, brooding guitar tone this album introduces.

Then 'Catamaran' hits the listener with its sheer beauty. Calming yet highly melancholic, it makes for great reflective listening, recalling all sorts of feelings depending on your mood - sometimes it feels very lonely and vast, sometimes it's a cool summers breeze with a refreshing 'cool air'. Whatever it evokes, it is a masterpiece of simplicity. 'Spaceship Landing' comes crashing in with its bellowing drums and dirty sounding guitars. Starting off like a straight-forward heavy rocker with angst-ridden lyrics about insecurity and drunkenness, the band then display their talents and exactly why they are the kings of the genre. A simply gigantic riff comes in, slowing the song down to a menacing, brutal pace. One of Homme's best riffs ever, and he knows it, he carries on. The song weaves in and out of outstanding sections, and needs to be heard by all rock fans. It is such a tribute to the band's talents. Their ability to create flooring riffs and melodies - sharp direction changes - complex structures...all in one epic track. I cannot praise this closer enough.

Quite simply this is one of the best metal albums you will ever hear. I find it amazing some people call this their worst effort, or even a 'boring' album. The quality of musicianship is unbelievable, making other `stoner' rip-offs look like dummies.

how can anyone give this album anything less than a 5? from start to finish it gives the listener a completely unrelentless onslaught of dirty desert rock. The guitar and bass sounds are flawlessly recorded. They fuse together to form a wall of sludgy down tuned mayhem. A must buy for ANY rock and roll fans. To hell with genre classifications. People that feel the need to group everything into a category can suck it. Good music is good music. And Wretch is beyond good.

..okay, maybe not Stoner Rock's roots. However, it is the roots of Southern California stoner rock. This is Kyuss' first album. It's not quite on the same level as Sky Valley or Blues For The Red Sun, but it's a damn good album that rocks start to finish. I must say, the two forementioned albums are the only reason I gave this four stars and not five. Kyuss bloomed right after this album. They were still in the growing process, during this one.

You can hear an odd mixture of Metallica, Megadeth, Sabbath, maybe some Motley Crue in here somewhere. These comparisons are not fair, but if you are familiar with anything else that Kyuss has done, this album is a sore thumb, a peculiar anomaly, a pair of red socks in dress shoes.

Josh Homme has some wailing solos in this one, which seems way out of character. The change in his style between "Welcome to Sky Valley" and "Wretch" is incredible, as drastic as his change between QOTSA's "Lullabies to Paralyze" and Kyuss' "...And the Circus Leaves Town". No one would have ever guessed that he might have tried to solo like Dave Mustaine, but what other influences might he have if he started playing guitar in the late 1980s/early 1990s? "Son of a B*tch" is about as heavy riffing metal as you can get. Heavy and low, but not necessarily fast.

Brant Bjork's drums have an echo to them like so many metal albums of that era, as if the studio was set up in a great hall. Perhaps if the album was mixed differently, recorded in a live studio, it might sound more like the Kyuss with which everyone is familiar. John Garcia has a lot of work to do until he polishes his vocals. And Nick Olivieri is so quiet its like he isn't there... not nearly the crazy and flamboyant person that he is (was) in Queens of the Stoneage.

Songs like "Deadly Kiss" show the influence of Sabbath, most definitely. In some ways this song is like some of Nirvana's work on "Bleach", or the hidden track on "Nevermind". I hear some "Negative Creep" in here somewhere. Tuned way low, way way low. You can just tell that Homme had a copy of "Paranoid" sitting somewhere with "And Justice For All" and "Rust in Peace", right next to a new copy of "Bleach" and maybe some Soundgarden? "Loud Love" perhaps?

In the "The Law", Homme has discovered fret tapping, though the songs breaks midway into a low bass grind. A lot like "Creep" from Nirvana's "Bleach".

My comparisons are not justified. It's certainly not fair, because Kyuss grew to become something completely original, something unlike any other band before them. But they had to start somewhere, "Wretch" is a snapshot of their beginnings. In the appropriate context, this album is original and unique. It was a quiet diversion from the typical rock of 1990-1991. As the hot pink and green started to fade away, and it was no longer cool to wear leather a$$-less pants, there was a small subgroup of musicians searching for new meaning in music. Kyuss carried elements of metal with them and turned it into something different, something with substance that wasn't necessarily dark or angry, but definitely meaningful. It didn't fit with anything else, and it would almost seem like Kyuss was either 10 years too early or 10 years too late. Music too good to be wasted on fans of Creed or Duran Duran. I have a copy of "Wretch". I rarely listen to it, but when I do, I like it, because it is a piece of history, a collectors item to add to my collection of Kyuss-QOTSA-Slo Burn-Unida CDs that I rate on par with many timeless classics.

1. This music is not for the soft hearted.
2. The tracks elicit wanton desires.
3. This music is pre-QOTSA and is not trendy.
4. The band line up is no where as important as the music.
5. The band line up is very, very cool indeed.

What's going on here is groove metal at it's finest. This music is stylistic in all it's glory, giving you some solid sounds from the wayward desert side.

The guitar drawls and the rhythym is like a steady rip tide of slash & thrash. Snug angry music, the sort of inspiration a young soul needs to DTB (DTB apply's to both genders). I believe this album is best enjoyed pool side with the carné grilln and the ladies serving up the margaritas.

*Band Line up:
Brant Bjork!! on drums.
Josh Homme!! on guitar.
Nick Oliveri!! on bass.
John Garcia!! on vocals.
Chris Cockrell!! on bass.
Mixed by Kris Fuhrman.
Mixed by Michael Mikulka.
Mastered by Carol Hibbs.
Produced by Catherine Enny, Ron Krown & Kyuss.

Fantastic. This album, in my opinion has the energy that kyuss later left behind (Circus Leaves Town).
Comparible in some ways in production to the MC5 and the Stooges. Passion ahead of musical prowess, truly great.

Think of this compilation more as a point of accessibility into rare Kyuss songs, as this really isn't a collection of Kyuss' most stellar work - despite being labelled the 'best of' the band. However, that is not to say one should overlook this as it contains some previously unreleased songs, including live cuts and some works from the Kyuss/QOTSA split EP that was previously released on the now defunct Man's Ruin label. So really this album is for Kyuss fans, and will not really act as one of those accessible compilations that will spark a new casual fan.

Firstly to look at the positives of this release - the rarities. The opening track "Un Sandpiper" is a typically bluesy Kyuss song, held together with a great swaggering rhythm and some idiosyncratic jamming/noodling, especially by guitarist Josh Homme. The song was an instant hit for me, recalling the unmistakably fuzzy and epic journeys the glory albums "Blues For The Red Sun" and "Welcome To Sky Valley" ensued so effortlessly. The next track, "Shine" was released on a split single but is another rarity. This song is an all-instrumental affair, offering more of the trippy bluesy swagger but this time combined with a rather visceral and aggressively toned `chorus' section. Other standout rarity work includes the two-part "Fatso Forgetso" piece that was initially released on the now out of print Kyuss/QOTSA EP. On this album the shorter track is re-named "Flip The Phase" as opposed to "Phase II" on the original EP. The two tracks are excellent, especially "Phase I" with its slow-burning lead riff and a divine closing encompassing bongos and congas, chilled back vocals and trippy guitar playing. "Mudfly" is really a bit of filler, and seems a rather pointless waste of two minutes on a supposed `best of' album. But then, this really shouldn't be treated as your typical compilation, so I suppose it will have to do.

As for the live cuts, they are decent and enjoyable at first, but plagued by the inevitable poor recording. The mix seems a little too bass heavy, which might have been perfect in person live, but on the cd it creates a lot of unwanted distortion, and also the cymbal hits seem a little overpowering. But hell, Kyuss live cuts are rare, so hardcore fans will savour these.

Now for my biggest problem with the album, the choice of their `classic' material. From BFTRS they selected the excellent "50 Million Year Trip" which is a fine piece and encompasses everything one could want from Kyuss and furthermore stoner rock - big riffs, fuzzy tones, raspy vocals and an amazing trippy closing section. "Thumb" and "Freedom Run", the two other tracks I would pick from that album are also included. However they are in live format, which is fine for the Kyuss fan who already has the studio cuts, but really I would have liked to see these classic tunes in studio format to balance out the compilation better, and attract any potential new fans. The biggest disappointment selection wise is the sincere lack of material from "Welcome To Sky Valley", with only "Demon Cleaner" and "Gardenia" (which is live anyway) making the album, overlooking such gems as "Supa Scooper" and "Space Cadet". Their final LP, "And The Circus Leaves Town" is represented reasonably, "El Rodeo", perhaps the highlight of that album, is present here, but the inclusion of "Hurricane" over tracks such as "Phototrophic", "Catameran" and the jaw-dropping jams of "Spaceship Landing" bemuses me a little.

So really this compilation lacks a whole bunch of Kyuss' best works from their classic studio albums, but acts nicely as a means to obtain rare and unreleased gems.

As they ARE the single most unappreciated band ever to walk to earth, it's hard to find neat old recordings of their music, especially B-Sides and live stuff. This CD has both!!! It's a great buy for those who fell in love with Sky Valley, Blues For the Red Sun, and ...And the Circus Leaves Town. GET IT NOW AND BE HAPPY!!!

Pues eso, que KYUSS es impresionante y único.

Really, really, really great with the livetracks!!! It brings me nice memories of a concert I saw with them in Copenhagen back in 1995.
Does anyone by the way know anything new about unida?? Are they still existing?

Kyuss was a band that never got much media attention. They were and still are one the most original bands out there. Tons of talent and originality was all over their songs. More bands today should listen to these guys. None of the bands out today have much talent or thought put into their music, they know a few chords to get by and the editing makes them sound better than they really are. We need Kyuss back!!!!

Being a qotsa fan I was very eager to here one of kyuss's finest albums if not my favorite next Welcome to Sky Valley. The riffage is sick. I don't think people understand that Homme is really a prodigy-this album came out when he was just 18 or 19 years old and to be playing at this level at such a young age -even for the best guitarist-is just boggling. Buy it; love it and enjoy the exceptional and irreplaceble talent that was Kyuss.

Musically, not as good as Welcome to Sky Valley, but without the annoying three-song tracks.

I love all of Kyuss's works, as well as Queens of the Stone Age and the Eagles of Death Metal (all projects of Josh Homme) and this album is where you can really see an evolution of their stoner-rock style. It's a great album for background music while you're hanging out with friends.

Before finding worldwide success with Queens of the Stone Age, Josh Homme was the monstrous lead guitarist of legendary 90's desert rock act Kyuss. Along with "Welcome To Sky Valley" and "...And The Circus Leaves Town", this album created an enthralling and influential trilogy. All three albums fused retro bluesy grooves with thundering riffs, trippy sonic jams and the booming rasp of vocalist John Garcia, creating an utterly unique and bold sound. Today many bands imitate this breed of stoner rock, but none can reach the absolute supremacy of Kyuss.

"Blues For The Red Sun" was the first realisation of the band's potential, as their debut "Wretch" left much to be desired. The song writing was vastly improved, being more ambitious and importantly executed with greater precision and style. Examples of this include the intense "Freedom Run", a vast slow-burner that envelopes trippy brooding passages, a swaggering lead riff, sublime jamming and Garcia's glorious gritty voice. The two-part piece of "Molten Universe/50 Million Year Trip" is my favourite moment on the album, and really showcases everything great about the band. The piece is a journey, starting with Homme laying down some monumental riffs, backed up perfectly by Brant Bjork's powerful drumming. Things take a swift and energetic tempo shift and Garcia's vocals come swiping through. The song closes on a wonderfully laid-back groove, with Homme creating some trippy sounds over the top of Garcia's echoing ethereal vocals. This song alone is proof that Kyuss kick some major ass.

The album also shows Kyuss' ability to create concise and infectious songs. Opener "Thumb" kicks things off in sweet and simple style, evolving around a booming main chorus and lead riff. Similarly "Green Machine" is mostly centred around a simple and addictive chorus theme - hence why it was one of the rare Kyuss songs to obtain some form of commercial success. "Thong Song" is a tongue-in-cheek comical affair, with unapologetic lyrics concerning long hair, brawn and thongs...it is a simple and fun rocker. These songs act as great contrasts to the extended pieces, giving variation and needed balance to the album.

For fans of the desert rock/stoner rock scene, this album and all other Kyuss releases is necessary. It should also very much appeal to fans of 70s rock - Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind etc as the band lends heavily from these influences, but gives the styling a fresh outfit. For those interested in getting into Kyuss I would suggest this album or "Welcome To Sky Valley" as the best starting points. Happy rocking.

Kyuss creates music that no one else can duplicate. It's perfect for those long hot summer days and even better for the humid nights that follow. Listening to this album makes you want to hop in a convertible and drive through the desert "Fear and Loathing Style".

Kyus has a groove like none other, and here they begin to perfect it. The openers "Thumb" and "Green Machine" rock you hard. With his tuned down guitar, Josh Homme creates riffs that resemble an egg frying on a driveway. Songs like "50 Million Year Trip" and "Allen's Wrench" rock the same.

However, the best song on this album without a doubt is "Freedom Run" which starts out slow and builds into a smooth riff and jams you into an euphoric oblivion. The instrumental jams here stand out as well, "Caterpillar March" has a flow that will have you rocking.

Kyuss prefects their sound on their next album, "Welcome to Sky Valley", but this is album is right on that threshold.

This is a little gem of an "album". As stated it's a split kyuss and qotsa ( and early form of the band). The opening track is a great cover of black sabbath's Into the void. it just covers you in an umbrella of sound, not just a downpour of distortion per se, but a meticulously crafted rainstorm of groove. Also the one reason this stays in my c.d. player is the track "if Only" It's featured on the qotsa debut, but on here the sound is different and in my opinion much better. It's almost as if nirvana were palying the song with J. Homme still at vocals. Just friggin great. Another standout track is "Spiders and Vinegroons". It's almost there. It's an awesome rock-stomp, that could'vre been crafted into an amazing song, but falls a little short at the end. all in all for the kyuss & qotsa fans alike, it is a must have. Could've been an A+ album if only...

Being an o.g. kyuss fan i have to say im disappointed with the lack of good taste out there. Kyuss unknowingly started this stupid label "stoner rock", and to this day no one has come close to there originality in songwriting or vocals or presence.....Its a damn shame people end up liking the expected heavy rotation of monotony thats shoveled down our throats. To sum up, this album rips a must have for any true kyuss/Queens/josh fan.......

I love this album and I am very sad that I cannot find it anywhere to buy. I have of course gotten a burned copy from a friend. Spiders And Vinegaroons is worth the buy alone I would say. The rest of the songs are very good but Spiders And Vinegaroons just rocks my socks for some reason I love it.

I bet the only people that wrote a review here are the one's that own this fine piece of EP. First off, I agree with a fellow reviewer, that if you are of the Dazed and Confused generation, you must get this album/EP. You must be high as a kite too. For your world will change and you will be lifted above yourself and taken to supernovaaaaaaaa!!!

As a Kyuss devotee, it's hard to find fault with this album beyond its being too short.

You're [drawn] in early by a fine representation of Black Sabbath's "Into the Void", which is half a joke for any Kyuss follower from the band itself. Their sound is compared to the metal forerunners frequently enough that Kyuss members would chafe at the thought. Follow that with a long, meticulous, guitar-rich and heavy groove called Fatso Forgetso (you will find your CD deck locked on Repeat for hours). You'll then be carried through with little hesitation, in the best deep desert metal megagrooved rock fashion, to a wicked, unerthly, waiting for my spaceship-psychotic "Spiders and Vinegaroons," which is a perfect close to any long night of staring at the universe from a back road in Baja or Bakersfield. Press Repeat again and faze into the Milky Way for three hours. More treats on this album? The charming radio failure "If Only Everything," which proved a song can be too good for the bulk of its listenership to grasp, the frenetic and energetic traditional metal-distorted "Born to Hula," a song looking for a rugby keg party.

And for more of the CA high desert vibe that permeates this supreme piece of musicianship, type vinegaroon into a search engine. [...]. This is a sensational piece of sound, Kyuss' penultimate moment. Zen on.

jf

I don't have much to say except that if you like music and think you might be into Kyuss, then you can't go wrong here.

If you've listened to Queens of the Stone Age, then realize that they are a watered down, sterilized, mass produced version of the real thing. Imagine being lost in the desert for weeks, wandering in the darkness of night, randomly following the stars or nothing at all. You are dehydrated and on the brink of starvation when you hear a strange sound coming over the dunes. You see lights and amplifiers. Howling distortion makes the hairs on your neck stand up. A cool breeze, and you have found it. The Holy Grail of stoner rock. The kernal of the bud. You take a drink, have a smoke, and your mind catapults through the sky. All the secrets of the universe have been revealed, and your spirit is totally free. The world is yours.

Buy this album, listen to it every day, and you will never want or need anything else. Your journey is complete.

This album is the essence of simple hard, riff-heavy rock, call it `stoner rock' if you will - whatever genre - this will raise the hairs on the back of your neck in a style only the rock gods in the olden days could. This was my first Kyuss album and remains my favourite after going through their discography (which, isn't really much of a feat, it is tragically small). The album's structure is of three pieces, each containing at least three songs, almost creating a medley. At first this structure frustrated me, it wasn't that accessible if I wanted to listen to a part of each long piece, but overall it creates a flow to the album, almost giving it three `movements' each representing different ideas and musically diverse.

The first piece kicks of with `Gardenia' through a powerful muddy, down-tuned riff which progresses through different variations until Garcia's vocals kick in. His voice is brutally raw yet melodic at the same time. I've read some reviewers complaining about his lack of variation, but to me his voice is just perfect, complementing the heavy old-school guitars. `Gardenia' is a mighty opening blow, full of crunching riffs that engulf the listener in a thick haze of distortion. `Asteroid' is a superb instrumental, something Kyuss like to throw into thei albums. It's somewhat progressive in style, built around a simple theme with some mighty crescendos thanks to Homme's advanced song structuring.

`Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoopa' and `100 degrees' are typical Kyuss rockers, great riffs and melodies. `Space Cadet' then follows halfway through piece two, and what a tremendous surprise it is, an utterly beautiful moving ballad. The guitar playing is amongst the finest on the album and Garcia's vocals are, I would argue, diverse to the usual delivery - soft and tender. The piece washes over in its seven-minute entirety almost too quickly, fortunately though it leads into my other favourite of the album, the driving `Demon Cleaner'. On this one Garcia's vocals have a dreamy aspect to them, recalling the tripped out desert feel. Along with Homme's relentless riffing, this song is simply stunning.

Piece three is probably my least favourite out of the three, but is still a thundering tour-de-force of riffs and melodies. `Odyssey' is one of the most aggressive, confrontational pieces on the album, highlighted by Garcia's overwhelming delivery, launching himself into the lines `once you return from the belly of the beast/ you're never quite the same'. `Whitewater' is a fine way to close the album, a personal highlight for me. It slowly builds to a monumental riff.

This album is quite simply powerful, `listen without distraction' it says in the liner notes, I wouldn't worry about that, this is truly engulfing stuff. For fans of old school rock and metal, and fans of metal in general, try this band immediately.

The originators of modern stoner rock are still the best. With some other forms of music, the originators have been topped by their predecessors, but not Kyuss.
The first "suite" of three songs Gardenia/Asteroid/Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop, is viewed as the most coherent of the three. Gardenia I believe is a song that sums of what stoner rock should be. Heavy, but has a great groove and an awesome breakdown in the middle of the song. Asteroid makes use of feedback and mellow to heavy explosions and Supa Scoop is just a classic Kyuss jam, switching tempo in midsong and back again. The second "suite" consisting of 100 degrees/Space Cadet/Demon Cleaner is awesome,mellow, yet inconsistent. 100 degrees is just a short punk feeling hard stoner song. Space Cadet and Demon Cleaner are two of Kyuss' most mellow tracks ever and are a good low point in the album. They are very intense however and are the best ganja jams on the cd.
The third and final "suite" of Oddyssey/Conan Troutman/NO/Whitewater is the best suite on the album. All hard, heavy songs, this features guitar solos, psychadelic breakdowns and mellow jams all in one. Whitewater is my favorite song on the album as well.
Anyone looking to get into stoner rock should start here or with Blues for the Red Sun, then the less accessible "And the Circus Leaves Town", then the first album "wretch." I recommend that anyone who likes hard groovy music buy this album.

All Kyuss albums are amazing. This album is increadible. Every part, the vocals, the bass, the drums, and the guitar are the work of musical genius. I've heard they're music called a few completely different things, but I'd say they're heavy rock tuned down a bunch of steps. That's about it. This is one of those albums that is worth buying just for the first song alone. Buy a bunch of Kyuss stuff starting with this one.

While most fans may tell you Kyuss' best of does not boast some of their 'best songs', ie.(Beginning Of Whats About To Happen) Hwy 74, I would say this is definately where to start off your Kyuss buzz. The riffs are unbelievable, the tempo is stop start all the way(as all good stoner rock is!) and the songs are better than 90% of everything being released right NOW.(Freedom Run, El Rodeo, Hurricane, Un Sandpiper) Turn on your radio, what do you hear!? Now turn it off, stick Muchas Gracias on and try wipe that smile off your face or stop tapping/stomping your feet! Muchas Gracias is the beginners access to Stoner Rock, ie. its accessible! Check it out and get into the back catalougue, Karma To Burn and a bit of Monster Magnet, probably in that order:)