After creating a classic with their second album, Blues for the Red Sun, desert metal gods Kyuss faced the unenviable task of delivering the goods once again for a new label, Elektra Records. And they almost pulled it off with 1994's stellar Welcome to Sky Valley. The album's 13 songs are divided into three "suites" which fully display the band's impressive creative range, from furious metal to psychedelic grooves, and anything in between. The first and most consistent of these suites starts with the huge guitar riff of "Gardenia" (which resembles molten lava flowing down the side of a volcano), continues into the moody space jam instrumental "Asteroid," and culminates in the strangely titled yet superbly diverse "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop." Other highlights include the solid thrashing of "100 Degrees," the prog rock instrumental "Whitewater," and the rather mellow (by Kyuss standards) "Demon Cleaner." But no song exemplifies the Kyuss sound as well as the aptly titled "Odyssey," which opens suite number three and provides a veritable blueprint of the band's unique combination of ingredients. The track begins with a cryptic melody, explodes into a ferocious riff, glides into a psychedelic bridge, then returns to full-throttle for its conclusion. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
Kyuss (Producer), Kyuss (Main Performer), Joe Barresi (Engineer), Joe Barresi (Mixing), Brant Bjork (Drums), John Garcia (Vocals), Chris Goss (Producer), Josh Homme (Guitar), Josh Homme (Vocals (Background)), Brian Jenkins (Engineer), Peter Moffett (Percussion), Wade Norton (Assistant Engineer), Eddy Schreyer (Mastering), Jeff Sheehan (Assistant Engineer), John ? (Vocals), Alex Solca (Photography), Mario Lalli (Guitar), Scott Reeder (Bass), Scott Reeder (Vocals (Background)), Madman of Encino (Vocals (Background)), Madman (Vocals (Background)), Josh (Guitar)
Welcome to Sky Valley is the third album by the stoner rock/metal band Kyuss, originally released on 28 June 1994. The album is also known as Sky Valley or simply Kyuss.
Welcome to Sky Valley was actually recorded in early 1993, but due to the decline of the band's record label (Dali) it was released an entire year later. This was the first album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who took the place of Nick Oliveri in 1992 at the record release show for their second album. This is the final album with drummer Brant Bjork, who left to join Fu Manchu.
The song "N.O." is actually an Across The River cover song, a band fronted by Mario Lalli and featuring Scott Reeder. After leaving The Obsessed and joining up with Kyuss, Brant Bjork suggested they do a tribute.
In concert, the band Tool has covered "Demon Cleaner" a number of times, occasionally getting Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder to play it with them live. [2]
The album was released as a 4 track album with 10 songs mashed together. It was soon re-released split into the 10 tracks. Most of the commercially-sold versions of the CD contain the four tracks, which is meant to encourage listeners to experience it as a full album instead of as a collection of separate songs. Although, in an interview with Josh Homme, he claimed that the band "just wanted it to be like hell to play on a CD player."
