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Welcome to Sky Valley

Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley Audio CD

A fair review of the Kyuss "Welcome to Sky Valley" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Kyuss reviews here, or go back to the Kyuss tabs.

Band: Kyuss
Title: Welcome to Sky Valley
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-06-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Gardenia 2: Asteroid 3: Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop 4: 100 (Degrees) 5: Space Cadet 6: Demon Cleaner 7: Odyssey 8: Conan Troutman 9: No 10: Whitewater

A Desert Rock Gem
The band's confidence in the album and their opposition to mainstream ideas of what an album should be is reflected in how they tracked the disc. The third album from Kyuss -- released in 1994 -- is in many eyes a masterpiece. The album's 11 songs are bunched up on four tracks so that listeners are forced to listen through an entire block of music as opposed to skipping from track to track. Most refer to the album as Welcome to Sky Valley thanks to the cover art's road sign with the aforementioned phrase, but the band has insisted the album was actually self-titled.

Just the same as the album title, what to call the band's genre is in question. To their fans in the early `90s, they were Stoner Rock. To themselves and their peers, they were Desert Rock. A decent explanation of the Kyuss sound might be fuzzed-out psychedelic rock. They have the song exploration tendencies of a band like Pink Floyd, but they also have the bass-heavy riff rock of bands such as Black Sabbath. This description, however, still does not do the band justice. They own a sound that should just be heard instead of talked about.

Kyuss has used Sky Valley to paint aural landscapes that, for me, somehow bring to mind the California desert from whence they came, but don't think the musical ideas they've brought to the table for our ears to feast upon are as barren as the land they call home. Seemingly, their sparse surroundings have allowed their minds to wander into exciting new territory. From the contemplative meanderings of "Space Cadet" to the crushing grooves of "Gardenia," Kyuss reveals all sides of their musical psyche, and just as diverse as the sounds of the songs is the subject matter found within the lyrics. In the tunes I just mentioned, the first is about waiting for psychotropic drugs to kick in, while the other is about the spirit of desert rock and the generator parties Kyuss was known to have had in the middle of the desert. The powerful, pounding percussion in the intro of "Demon Cleaner" gives way to a song about brushing teeth (seriously).

In closing, I have to say this is honestly one of my favorite albums. People new to Kyuss may have a hard time getting acquainted to their unique sound, but if a fan of heavy rock is looking to expand their horizons, this one is definitely worth checking out.

not bad, but not the best either
It sounds like mid-tempo generic hard rock but stretched out into 14 minute "epic jams". What's amazing is that the music on this Welcome to Sky Valley album is supposed to be exceptionally heavy and yet it's actually not.

This is nothing compared to the legendary Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple lineup. Kyuss is barely above average hard rock as far as songwriting, heaviness, and guitar skills are concerned.

The "Odyssey" jam is ripped off from classic Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and specifically Ronnie James Dio. Why listen to this band when you have superior rock bands doing the same thing nearly 30 years before?

I recommend you check out an old album from 1971 called UFO: Flying if you like this album. It represents hard rock in just a few songs stretched out (just like this one) but done a LOT better on the UFO effort because the band members of UFO knew how to write better solos, riffs, and vocal melodies, not to mention had a lead singer who could really move you in an original fashion.

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Kyuss's finest work and probably their most ambitious.
Though they weren't a huge commercial success, their legacy has been sustained well beyond their breakup as one of the best rock bands to have ever come out. Kyuss is probably one of the most fundamental stoner rock groups in existence. While many will point to Blues for the Red Sun as being their breakout album, this one dared to venture further into the territory the group started to explore on that release and provided the listener with an innovative, imaginative way to capture stoner rock with progressive and psychedelic influences.

You don't see too many albums have three tracks (plus a "hidden" one) that spans close to 52 minutes, but that's what's going on here. The first series of tracks focus mostly on driving rock, with "Asteroid" acting as the calm, instrumental piece to mellow the fire of "Gardenia" and "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop". "100 Degrees" continues on with the big rock sound of the first tracks, but then the album goes to the quiet and calm "Space Cadet" before launching upon the brooding "Demon Cleaner" (which is a hit of sorts on this album, being featured on the Guitar Hero Metallica video game in addition to being covered live by Tool. ) The album finally winds down with the last suite of tracks, "Odyssey"/"Conan Troutman"/"N. O. "/"Whitewater", with "Whitewater" being the quintessential closer for the album. A little bit of wackiness comes about with "Lick Doo" but that's kinda normal considering Homme's other works.

Chalk this one up as being one of the most influential albums to stoner rock/metal and consider it an album I've owned enjoyably for 7 or so years and counting (including a CD re-buy until I converted it to digital format. ) I highly recommend it. .

Great music, not so great vocals and lyrics.
The music is awesome and then the dude starts singing and you're like ahhh man, bummer. Let's be realistic here this is not a 5, 4, or 3 star album. 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.

A must for any stoner rock fan
Most fans will say Blues for the Red Sun is the best Kyuss cd. This is "it" in my opinion for stoner rock albums. 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.

You can see a complete list of all Kyuss discography, or go back to the Kyuss tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.