SilentScream213 Time for a hot take, given how beloved this album is…

Kyuss has never done much for me, and while this is my favorite of their material I’ve heard so far, it’s still stuck in “decent” territory. I actually liked this album more the first time I heard it; the riff of the first track was pretty catchy, and the way Asteroid jams is quite entertaining indeed. I was prepared to like this album a lot.

However, the more I listened to it, the more it grew off me. The riffs, for the most part, are quite repetitive, sometimes becoming dull, and after multiple listens the magic they had has gone stale. A fair amount of the tracks have jam sections in them, and the band doesn’t go anywhere most of the time. The solos sound like they’re trying to be psychedelic, and don’t create much in terms of melody or technique. People praise the vocals, but they’re just very generic Stoner Rock/Grunge vocals, and on top of that the lyrics are quite poor.

The album is not without strengths, and I will recognize them. Asteroid is a very good song, for one. The riffs are quite monolithic, there’s a good amount of energy and variation to it. The album is overall very consistent, and easy to listen to front to back. Another thing people say is that the album does a good job of actually taking you to Sky Valley, and I totally agree. This album just oozes desert heat, dehydrated mirages and psychedelic pink skies. I did also have the pleasure of listening to this on a hot sunny day in the car with the windows down. That’s how it’s meant to be, I think.

My own biases aside, the album is a good ride start to finish, but does little to stand out amongst its genre. Lick Doo is particularly embarrassing and just a final slap in the face as the album closes. While this album has a time and a place, it’s not strong enough that I’d want to spin it again anytime soon.

SilentScream213 It grooves, it jams, and it sounds like the dudes are having a lot of fun. Tracks bounce back and forth between halfway energetic rockers to total lethargic chill tunes, probably dependent on whether the band members were drunk or high at the time. The songs kinda do their thing for anywhere between 1 and 7 minutes, and eventually the whole thing is over.

For me, quite boring. Riffs and vocals are generic, and rhythm section may as well not be there, just doing the basic minimum to back the tracks most of the time. There’s no mood or passion to it, they just jam in a rather repetitive way until they get bored and start a new track. The more conventional songs are just a step away from Grunge, which isn’t a good thing to my ears.

I can see people enjoying this the same way one would rock out to some butt rock, but unfortunately I’m not one of those people.

SilentScream213 Kyuss’ debut album is an incredibly generic affair even though it helps set the stage for a new genre of metal. They aren’t really doing anything super unique though, just making the already existent Stoner Rock a bit heavier. Some of the songs have some really fun, groovy riffs and rhythms, namely the first two tracks and the beginning of “The Law.” Unfortunately, “the Law” is a nearly 8-minute track that cannot hold that momentum for even a fraction of it’s runtime.

Therein lies a huge problem here; though it has its moments, every song is overlong and repetitive, and for some reason, usually repeating boring chords as opposed to the riffs that are actually good. The songwriting is very standard, the lyrics suck, and the vocals are annoying. Even if you like “fun” metal, I don’t see this doing too much. Not bad by any means, but not to my taste.

siLLy puPPy After only one EP (as Sons Of Kyuss) and three full albums KYUSS was running out of steam when they released their fifth and final offering ...AND THE CIRCUS LEAVES TOWN, which sounds like a perfect title for an ending of the great ride. Another lineup change would be the only album with Alfredo Hernandez on drums but he would go on to join Queens Of The Stone Age, the next step for Josh Homme and indeed this album sounds a lot like a transition between KYUSS and QofSA. The doomy fuzzed out riffs are a full stoner metal assault with a nonchalant laid back feel with lots of heavy riffing, tasty licks and bass, bass and more bass.

This album gets a bad rep for being inferior to the previous ones and granted it is not as perfect as “Welcome To Sky Valley” but it is a fun listen in its own right. It has one good track after another offers a few surprises along the way. The only thing I find irritating is the last track “Spaceship Landing” ends and then has several minutes of silence and then a tiny bit more then several more minutes of silence and then finally after 32 minutes an ending of depressive musical poetry lamenting about how time has come and gone. I guess a eulogy for the death of a great band.

Yes you can skip it but if you wanna hear the whole thing for the first time you have to sit through a bunch of silence and hear your own stupid thoughts and if you are as stoned as this music hopes you are then that could result in some totally messed up scene! Just for the record, no drugs were consumed in the writing of this review and you certainly don't need to go there to enjoy this music.

siLLy puPPy WELCOME TO SKY VALLEY is the classic alternative doom metal album by frontman Josh Homme and crew where doomy stoner rock has never been so convincing that it's not Sabbath! Just when you think they might be straying too close they do something unexpected keeping this album fresh and free-flowing throughout its entire run. As with Josh's successor Queens Of The Stone Age, the subject matter often depicts the inland desert lifestyles of Palm Desert and vicinity and the road trips that occur when navigating throughout its vastness.

Traces of funk, Hendrix inspired psychedelic riffs and Iommi influenced lead guitars drenched in feedback and fuzz, swingin bass, hippie inspired drumming and even some excellent acoustic guitar work all tuned way down make this stoner metal more addictive than the drugs that may or may not have been used for its creation! The beauty of this album is it takes you where the grunge acts of the day would only hint at. It's no wonder this album is so revered. It's just that freakin' good!