Review by Chris Van Etten for Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley (1994)

Okay, I want to contest the description of  “non-metal” for this album. I guess I can see how someone might consider this Alternative or Grunge, but I think “Welcome to Sky Valley” qualifies as metal for the same reason W.A.S.P. and Accept would but Motley Crue and AC/DC wouldn’t (going by the criteria of the Metal Academy podcast, at least), in that it’s just TOUGHER than stylistically similar bands. Vocalist John Garcia may be a bit more on the hard rock side of things, and it took a few listens for his voice to sink in, but now I really dig it. His style isn’t that far off from Danzig, except higher pitched and from the desert instead of Jersey. Like I said, the guitar tones are grungier than your typical metal fare, but the overall effect is like a torrential mud storm. The dull, almost grey tones create an coarse foundation  for the vocals and bass. A lot of the parts are nice and simple, especially “Odyssey” which has an awesomely heavy three chord main riff. The instrumentation of “Asteroid” and “Whitewater” are more subtle and nuanced, the latter reminding me of the Wipers. Again, not exactly a metal reference, but that just adds to the dynamics. Same with the jammier  moments: they are totally fair game in Stoner Metal. And how could you call “Conan Troutman” anything but Metal? I could do without the back and forth vox on “Demon Cleaner,” the stupid extra “joke” track, and a few extra smears, but I definitely regret not getting into this sooner.