Kyuss – Blues For Red Sun (1992)

1. Thumb 
2. Green Machine 
3. Molten Universe 
4. 50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up) 
5. Thong Song 
6. Apothcaries Weight 
7. Caterpillar March 
8. Freedom Run 
9. 800 
10. Writhe 
11. Capsized 
12. Allen's Wrench 
13. Mondo Generator 
14. Yeah

Bass, Vocals – Nick Oliveri
Drums – Brant Bjork
Guitar – Josh Homme
Vocals – John Garcia

A Kyuss masterpiece is really all you need to say about this album. This album and Sky Valley are commonly associated with being the pinnacle of desert or stoner metal. While I slightly prefer BFTRS over SV, you can’t go wrong with either one. Now that Wretch was in the past, Kyuss would expand their sound and their legacy. They captured lightning in a bottle with this release with each musician being at the top of their game.

The musicians, the production and the overall music is improved so much from Wretch and that is saying quite a bit. Josh Homme plays the role of guitar virtuoso. He plays with soul and he plays with an intense fire. Every guitar lead is melt your face off heavy. The album has different vibes that take the listener to different places and a lot of that has to do with what Homme did for BFTRS. Just looking at one example the song Writhe has that heaviness then all of a sudden Capsized kicks in and cools things off with a slick acoustic interlude. Freedom Run’s intro is this ridiculous guitar feedback reminds one of Jimi Hendrix and all of his glory. There is so much to offer on the album as a whole and Josh Homme proves that he has figured out how to create art at a higher level.

While Josh Homme definitely turns things up to 11, the other musicians may be somewhat overshadowed. The bass is fine and the drums are fine. It may be the fact that Homme is just on absolute fire that he dilutes the other band members on most of the songs. Molten Universe is a definite exception to that rule. It’s an ultra-heavy instrumental that pummels the listener like a volcano. The drums and the bass just ooze with power. Garcia is a great singer with an instantly recognizable voice. There is really not much criticism or praise that I can give beyond that, he is always doing his thing and doing it well. I wonder how he would sound on the song Mondo Generator if he had that voice distortion going on like Nick Oliveri did.

Onto the lyrics, they are somewhat of a mixed bag. I personally enjoy the tongue in cheek stuff that Josh homme writes for the album. Thong Song is a bit silly especially in contrast with the serious heaviness that the album punches. Sometimes, the lyrics are just a simple “Yeah” from Mr. Garcia. I think if there was a weak spot on this album it would have to be the lyric department. Luckily enough, the music provides much of the talking. Brant Bjork the drummer made a lot of contributions to this album in the lyrics department along with Homme. It is interesting that Garcia did not write too much when he is the one singing and all he does is sing.

That signature desert feel is found for the first time in the career of Kyuss. Songs like Freedom Run are perfect for driving along a desert highway. It’s not something I have ever been able to do, but if I ever cruised down a desert highway, I would have Kyuss playing no matter what. Blues for the Red Sun is the closest thing I can get to experiencing that desert feeling. This element of Kyuss is what makes them so special. Being able to transform someone to another place with their music makes this album special. The true diversity of Kyuss is also found for the first time. Each track is a piece of the puzzle because they all have a purpose or something to add to the mood of the song. When I listen to Blues for the Red Sun, I understand why the band wanted to consider it their first real project. It is a much more polished and mature record overall even with some of the quirky humorous moments. It will forever stand the test of time as one of the quintessential desert stoner metal albums. ---enshrinedtemple, metal-archives.com

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