Kyuss, along with Monster Magnet and a handful of other doom bands brought to light a form of music which was never meant to see the light of day. Hailing from the Whitewater/Palm Springs Desert, where lesser creatures are known to crumble, Kyuss reign supreme as the gods of sludge. A brief viewing of what's to come, Wretch is more garage punk than anything else, guitars are tuned semi-normally, and John Garcia's howls are more earthly. This is tight stuff, but nothing close to what these monsters would become. Of interest to hear where it all started, but a severe disappointment to those who expect something along the lines of Sky Valley.

The thickest bowl of sludge to come from California, Kyuss here unleash the slobbering behemoth of fury which must just fucking rage in the desert. Opening track Thumb just throbs, building until the genius which is Green Machine kicks in. The beauty of Kyuss is that they are indescribable. Part doom, part metal, all fuzz, Josh Homme lets his strings melt down to C and just pounds out some of the heaviest riffs ever. I read somwhere that he really hadn't listened to Sabbath all that much, but he musta between Wretch and this, for I hear a lot of Iommi in this guy. Also intersting that ex-Masters of Reality guitarist Chris Goss (messenger from hell?) took over production reigns on this and made them monsters. More scattered than the forthcoming Sky Valley, Blues for the Red Sun is just a total bake-fest of true grunge, unrelenting, and never meant for sunlight. There is no hope here.

This, is a pivotal album. Brilliant from start to finish, Kyuss here are perfect, creating an album which has continued to be one of my favorite records since it's release. Thick and oppressive yet with enough space to be absorbed, Sky Valley is more of a spiritual experience than a mere "record". John Garcia has never sounded better, and Josh Homme (who claims to have never really been a Black Sabbath fan) forms the perfect underlying soundtrack for the amazing vocals. I have a lot of trouble describing this album, really only three songs split into separate parts by idea. Really, this is just the pinnacle of the band's existence, and if you have any inkling towards "stoner" rock, this is a must have for your collection.

Kyuss's swan song is also one of the most depressing albums I've heard in quite a while. Not so much on the surface, but it's there, this overall feeling of impending doom. Forsaking the concept album of Sky Valley, ...and the Circus returns to a structure of songs here, opening with blaster Hurricane, and just moseying along towards the oblivion that is Spaceship Landing. Not quite as brilliant as it's predecessor, AtCLT nonetheless holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. They may have gone on to form several not as great projects, but there was and will only be one Kyuss, a band who created some of the best music available.