''Welcome to Sky Valley'' (also known as ''Sky Valley'' and ''Kyuss'') is the third studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, ...

. It was released on June 28, 1994, through Elektra and Chameleon Records.

Background and composition

''Welcome to Sky Valley'' was recorded in early 1993 and scheduled for release in January 1994. They sneak-previewed the completed album at Foundations Forum 93 and contributed the song " Demon Cleaner" to the sampler disc. Due to mild success from their previous album, Kyuss had been promoted from their subsidiary record label "Dali" to the main label "Chameleon". On November 11, 1993 Chameleon Records abruptly shut down. Their joint-venture partner Elektra quickly picked up the band and scheduled the album for release in March 1994. The album was then delayed for another three months after that, eventually being released almost a year after being initially recorded. ''Welcome to Sky Valley'' has been described as

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

and

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Slee ...

. This is the first Kyuss album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced

Nick Oliveri Nick Steven Oliveri (born October 21, 1971) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known as a former bassist of Kyuss and later Queens of the Stone Age from 1998 to 2004. Oliveri is also a solo artist a ...

in 1992. ''Welcome to Sky Valley'' was the last to feature founding member

Brant Bjork Brant Bjork (born March 19, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the drummer and founder of the influential Californian stoner rock band Kyuss. Bjork played in Vista Chino, along wit ...

. The song "N.O." was originally recorded by Across the River, a band fronted by Mario Lalli and featuring bassist Reeder. After Reeder left

the Obsessed The Obsessed is an American heavy metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. The band combines elements of doom metal, stoner rock, and punk rock. Formed in 1980, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of live ...

and joined Kyuss, Bjork suggested they record "N.O." as a tribute to Across the River.

Release

On CD, ''Welcome to Sky Valley'' was originally released with its ten total songs contained in three tracks, with an additional, fourth hidden track. It was later re-released with all ten tracks separated individually. However, most commercially sold versions of the compact disc contain the three tracks, a setup which is meant to encourage listeners to experience it as a full album instead of as a collection of separate songs. Guitarist Josh Homme claimed in an interview that the band "just wanted it to be like hell to play on a CD player". The album's liner notes instruct the listener to "Listen without distraction". The band

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

covered " Demon Cleaner" live twice (albeit with slight lyrics changes), with bassist Scott Reeder joining them onstage during the performances: March 27, 1998 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California, at

The Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 p ...

, March 29, 1998 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, California, at The Rimac Theatre. The song is also featured in the video games '' Guitar Hero: Metallica'' and '' The Crew''.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Kyuss * John Garcia – lead vocals, producer * Josh Homme – guitar, backing vocals, producer * Scott Reeder – bass,

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

in "Space Cadet", backing vocals, producer *

– drums, producer Additional performers * Peter Moffett – additional

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

on "Asteroid" *"Madman of Encino" – backing vocals *Mario Lalli – lead guitar on "N.O." Production *

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and deser ...

– producer *

Joe Barresi Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, ...

– recording engineer,

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

*Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer *Wade Norton – assistant engineer *Alexe Campbell – assistant engineer *Brian Jenkins – additional engineering *Eddy Schreyer – mastering engineer Artwork *Alex Solca – photography *Skiles – art director

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Albums produced by Chris Goss Albums recorded at Sound City Studios Elektra Records albums Kyuss albums