Kyuss Lives, and so does stoner-rock legacy

Kyuss deserves its own chapter in the hard-rock and metal history books, but the quartet was swallowed up by the Southern California desert from which it came after a handful of early-‘90s albums. The band was a cult favorite at best, but kindled a scene alongside a handful of likeminded bands that fused rumbling heaviness and melody: Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu, Sleep. The tag applied to the sound was “stoner rock,” and it finally found a commercial niche in the last decade, thanks in large measure to Queens of the Stone Age, led by Kyuss cofounder Josh Homme.

Greg Kot

November 30, 2011