The best part about being a writer for “The Daily Vault” is that
\nI get to tout bands that I love that not many people are aware of.
\nI swear that this is the best band in the world that nobody knows
\nabout (or at least they used to be), worthy of being placed next to
\nthe mighty likes of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden as the best
\nmetal bands this decade has produced. Of course, like the above
\nmentioned bands, Kyuss can’t be easily pigeonholed with a label
\nsuch as “heavy metal,” since they are also true originals with
\ntheir own unique sound. In a fair world this band would’ve been
\nhuge while the craven likes of Michael Bolton and Celine Dion
\ntoiled in obscurity instead of receiving Grammy Awards and making
\nmillions of dollars. Unfortunately, as we all know, the world is
\nfar from fair, and Kyuss broke up quietly in 1996 with little
\nfanfare, as their muscular music was far too extreme and insular
\nfor the masses to comprehend.<\/p>\n
I first noticed the band when I purchased the band’s second
\nalbum Blues For The Red Sun (I’m not familiar with their first;
\nBlues is the album that started getting the band some attention, at
\nleast from some critics and a small underground following). This
\nincredible album was aptly titled, its music conjuring visions of
\nthe scorched Arizona desert amidst speaker blowing chaos. The
\nfollow up, officially titled
\nKyuss<\/i> but better known and more easily identifiable as
\nSky Valley<\/i> (because of the sign on the album’s cover bearing
\nthat inscription), was an even stronger outing. The album was
\ndelayed for almost a year due to record company complications, but
\nSky Valley<\/i> proved to be well worth the wait.<\/p>\n
Repeat after me: Kyuss kick ass. Worshiping at the alter of
\nBlack Sabbath, this band has an explosively raw sound built around
\nmountainous, fuzzed out riffs, huge thudding bass lines, and
\ncolossal drums. This is no compromises, Sabbath inspired
\nprogressive metal by a tremendously talented band.
\nSky Valley<\/i> is composed of three different parts, each of
\nwhich are divided into several songs segueing into one another.
\nIt’s not as snobbish as it sounds; the band simply wanted to
\ndissuade listeners from skipping tracks, a good strategy since the
\nalbum works best when taken as a whole.<\/p>\n
The band blends an incredibly big sludgesound around mellower
\ninstrumental bridges that seem psychedelic in tone, and even throws
\nin a catchy pop metal song with multi-tracked, echoey vocals. Kyuss
\nalso adds some melodic guitar passages and experimental dabbling;
\nthese are mere interludes from the bands bludgeoning metal assault.
\nJust let the band carry you away in their awesome surge, their
\nfuzzy, sludgehammer instrumentals giving way to John Garcia’s
\nbluesy bellow for earth rattling demonstrations of pure power.
\nClearly this is a band that has reached a symbiotic togetherness
\nbrought about through hours of endless playing, and producer Chris
\nGoss (of Masters Of Reality semi-fame) captures the band’s
\ncavernous sound with a dirty yet spacious mix that is spot-on. The
\nend result is a juggernaut capable of blinding fury and delicately
\nintricate interplay, whose occasional songwriting lulls are part of
\nthe process of building an unstoppable overall groove.<\/p>\n
This is a unit that can do it all, but thankfully sticks to pure
\npower the majority of the time, since precious few bands around
\ntoday can match the fierce force of this virtuostic ensemble. More
\nexpansive and progressive (and less song oriented) than its
\npredecessor, Josh Homme still concocts the coolest fuzzed out
\nguitar tone around, while Josh Reeder supplies deliciously deep
\nbass cranked up to 11, and drummer Brant Bjork adds some terrific
\ntribal stick work. The only proper response to being caught in the
\nmidst of an awesome Kyuss surge is headshaking (and headbanging)
\nawe.<\/p>\n
On the downside, though this is highly powerful stuff, it
\nsometimes leans a bit too heavily on the instrumental noodling side
\nfor my liking, and the Spinal Tap-ish ending to part one is a bit
\nembarrassing. Still, the bands pretentious tendencies are easily
\nindulged, since when these guys get it going full throttle (which
\nis more often than not), they make exhilarating and compelling
\nheavy metal music that non-metalheads can also appreciate.<\/p>\n