Kyuss

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    The Stoner Metal band.

    What, you want more than that? OK. Kyuss were a highly influential American stoner rock[1] band from Palm Desert, California. They were the pioneers of their genre (stoner metal/rock), which is vaguely a subgenre of Doom Metal but often has very little to do with doom. Its characteristics include heavily detuned guitars, low-end-heavy sound (Josh Homme would plug his guitar into a bass amp for this very reason), massive Black Sabbath influence, hallucinogenic themes and an overall insanely deep and heavy sound.

    However, they didn't have nearly as much commercial success or recognition as Queens of the Stone Age, a band you've probably heard of that is fronted by Josh Homme, former guitarist for Kyuss.

    They formed in 1989 as Sons of Kyuss, and released an EP under that name in 1990 before shortening their name to "Kyuss". Over the next few years, the band released four full-length albums before splitting up in 1995. Their only constant members were vocalist John Garcia (known for his very recognisable voice, which is often said to be synonymous with the genre) and guitarist Josh Homme, who you already know of.

    Former members:

    • John Garcia, vocals
    • Josh Homme, guitar
    • Nick Oliveri, bass, guitar (he has also been in Queens of the Stone Age; he's the shirtless bald guy in QOTSA's video for "No One Knows" (and the shirtless long-haired dude in the video for Kyuss' "Thong Song"))
    • Chris Cockrell, bass
    • Brant Bjork, drums
    • Scott Reeder, bass
    • Alfredo Hernandez, drums
    Discography:
    • Wretch, 1991
    • Blues for the Red Sun, 1992
    • Welcome to Sky Valley, 1994
    • ...And the Circus Leaves Town, 1995
    Kyuss provides examples of the following tropes:

    Josh, asked why the CDs combine the tracks: I just wanted it to be like hell to play on a CD player.

    • Heavy Mithril: They're named after a Dungeons & Dragons demigod.
    • Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness - On the border between 6 and 7. Some of their gentler songs go as low as 3 (the acoustic blues-rock tune "Space Cadet").
    • Name's the Same - What does Brant's family name remind you of?...
      • "Thong Song" isn't about ladies' undergarments. It's about a type of sandals popular in the Palm Desert.
    • Non-Appearing Title - Several examples, including "Gardenia", "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop" and "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)".
    • One of Us - See A Good Name for a Rock Band above.
    • Shout-Out - The main "Freedom Run" riff has a slight similarity to Sabbath's "War Pigs". Both are completely awesome.
      • Blues for the Red Sun takes its name from the Cosmos episode "Blues for a Red Planet".
    • Stoner Metal
    • The Red Stapler - Josh's Ovation GP guitar.
      • Basically, some fans instantly went to eBay when they discovered what he was playing and managed to hike the prices of a guitar that was fairly unpopular up to insane heights. Now you're lucky if GP aficionados don't tear you apart for wanting "Josh Homme's guitar."
    • Title-Only Chorus: FREEDOM RUN! FREEDOM RUN!
    • Word Salad Title - "(Beginning of What's About to Happen) Hwy 74", "Apothecaries' Weight", "Molten Universe", "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)", "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop", "Demon Cleaner", "Thee Ol' Boozeroony", "Tangy Sizzle", "Phototropic". Their other songs tend to be less out there as far as titles go.
    1. ↑ (Kyuss qualified as both stoner rock and stoner metal; the two terms are not totally interchangeable, but have a very large amount of overlap)
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