Welcome to Sky Valley

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Welcome to Sky Valley
Studio album by
Kyuss
ReleasedJune 28, 1994 (1994-06-28)
RecordedEarly 1993[1]
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, California)
GenreStoner rock
Length51:55
Label
ProducerChris Goss & Kyuss
Kyuss chronology
Blues for the Red Sun
(1992) 		Welcome to Sky Valley
(1994) 		...And the Circus Leaves Town
(1995)
Singles from Welcome to Sky Valley
  1. "Demon Cleaner"
    Released: September 1994
  2. "Gardenia"
    Released: February 6, 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(dud)[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[4]
Daily RepublicA−[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Welcome to Sky Valley (also known as Sky Valley and Kyuss) is the third studio album by American rock band Kyuss. It was released on June 28, 1994, through Elektra and Chameleon Records.

Background and composition[edit]

Welcome to Sky Valley was recorded in early 1993 and scheduled for release in January 1994.[8] They sneak-previewed the completed album at Foundations Forum 93 and contributed the song "Demon Cleaner" to the sampler disc.[8] 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.[8] 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[9] and stoner metal.[10] This is the first Kyuss album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced Nick Oliveri in 1992. Welcome to Sky Valley was the last to feature founding member Brant Bjork. 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 and joined Kyuss, Bjork suggested they record "N.O." as a tribute to Across the River.

Release[edit]

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 covered "Demon Cleaner" live twice (albeit with slight lyrics changes),[11][12] with bassist Scott Reeder joining them onstage during the performances: March 27, 1998, in Los Angeles, California, at The Hollywood Palladium,[13] March 29, 1998, in San Diego, California, at The Rimac Theatre.[14] The song is also featured in the video games Guitar Hero: Metallica and The Crew.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Josh Homme, except where noted[15]

I
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gardenia"Brant Bjork6:54
2."Asteroid" (instrumental) 4:49
3."Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop" 6:04
II
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."100°" 2:29
5."Space Cadet"Homme, Scott Reeder7:02
6."Demon Cleaner" 5:19
III
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Odyssey" 4:19
8."Conan Troutman" 2:12
9."N.O." (originally performed by Across the River)Reeder, Mario Lalli3:47
10."Whitewater"Bjork8:00
Hidden track
No.TitleLength
11."Lick Doo"0:57
Total length:51:55

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[16]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Welcome to Sky Valley
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 53
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 74

References[edit]

  1. ^ "How Kyuss Began to Fall Apart With 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Ultimate Classic Rock. June 28, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Welcome to Sky Valley – Kyuss". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Kyuss: Kyuss". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  5. ^ DeCicco, Nick (March 25, 2013). "Our Music Year No. 84: Kyuss, 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Daily Republic. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  6. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (July 15, 1994). "Sky Valley". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Randall, Mac (2004). "Kyuss". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 473. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ a b c Morris, Chris (January 15, 1994). "Kyuss Lands on Its Feet and Keeps Climbing". Billboard.
  9. ^ Ritchie, Matthew (August 21, 2017). "An Essential Guide to Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  10. ^ "The 40 Greatest Stoner Albums: Kyuss, 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Rolling Stone.
  11. ^ "Demon Cleaner - Tool". Letras.mus.br. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "Tool - Demon Cleaner Live (Remastered)". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
  13. ^ "CollectiveUnconscious 03/27/1998". Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "CollectiveUnconscious 03/29/1998". Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  15. ^ Welcome to Sky Valley (LP label). Kyuss. Beverly Hills, California: Elektra Records. 1994. 7559-61571-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Welcome to Sky Valley (CD liner ontes). Kyuss. Beverly Hills, California: Elektra Records. 1994. 61571-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 159.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kyuss – Welcome to Sky Valley" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
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