Welcome To Sky Valley - Kyuss

This is the Californian stoner rock legends third album, but their second 'proper' one, and is the pinnacle of their achievements as a band, as well as the main reason for their lasting critical acclaim. Released in 1994, this album sees Kyuss at their most focused and talented, without the bloat of their previous "Blues for the Red Sun", or the inconsistency of their next and last full length release ... "and the Circus Leaves Town". Apparently, the album wasn't supposed to be called "Welcome to Sky Valley", but became known as this, presumably because that is what is written on the front cover. I remember when I first heard ...  Read the complete review

'Welcome to Sky Valley' (or to use its lesser-known correct title, 'Kyuss') is perhaps the finest work the American stoner rock outfit ever produced, and certainly one of the defining works of the genre. A little more energetic than its predecessor, this is still predominantly slow and contented music that never sounds so much lazy as under the influence, the tracklist being helpfully divided into three movements to aid comparison. The first movement (tracks one to three) starts out with the catchy 'Gardenia' before descending into instrumental indulgence with the sometimes blaring, sometimes peaceful and entirely incoherent 'Asteroid,' one of the finest songs ...  Read the complete review