Wikipedia

Welcome to Sky Valley

Welcome to Sky Valley
Studio album by
Kyuss
ReleasedJune 28, 1994 (1994-06-28)[1]
RecordedEarly 1993[2]
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, California)
Genre
Length51:55
LabelElektra
Producer
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[3]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(dud)[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[5]
Daily RepublicA−[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

Welcome to Sky Valley[9] (also known as Sky Valley and Kyuss) is the third studio album by American stoner rock band Kyuss, released on June 28, 1994, through Elektra Records.

Welcome to Sky Valley was the band's first album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced Nick Oliveri in 1992. The album was also the last to feature founding member Brant Bjork, who left the band shortly after recording concluded. 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.

Background and recording

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Welcome to Sky Valley was recorded in early 1993 and scheduled for release in January 1994.[10] They sneak-previewed the completed album at Foundations Forum 93 and contributed the song "Demon Cleaner" to the sampler disc.[10] 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 Records quickly picked up the band and scheduled the album for release in March 1994.[10] The album was released three months after that,[1] a year after being recorded.[2]

Release history

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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.

Musical style

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Musically, Welcome to Sky Valley has been described as stoner rock[11] and stoner metal.[12] According to Eduardo Rivadavia of Loudwire, the album's tracks "spun waves of feedback like expanding nebulae."[13] Writing for AllMusic, Rivadavia also stated that the album's songs display "the band's impressive creative range, from furious metal to psychedelic grooves, and anything in between."[3]

Legacy

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The band Tool covered "Demon Cleaner" live twice (albeit with slight lyrics changes),[14] with bassist Scott Reeder joining them onstage during the performances: March 27, 1998, in Los Angeles, California, at The Hollywood Palladium,[15] March 29, 1998, in San Diego, California, at The Rimac Theatre.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Josh Homme, except where noted[17]

I
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gardenia"Brant Bjork6:54
2."Asteroid" 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." (Across the River cover)Reeder, Mario Lalli3:47
10."Whitewater"Bjork8:00
Hidden track
No.TitleLength
11."Lick Doo"0:57
Total length:51:55

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Charts

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Chart performance for Welcome to Sky Valley
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 53
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 74

References

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  1. ^ a b "Upcoming Releases". CMJ New Music Report. June 27, 1994. p. 66.
  2. ^ a b "How Kyuss Began to Fall Apart With 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Ultimate Classic Rock. June 28, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Welcome to Sky Valley – Kyuss". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ DeCicco, Nick (March 25, 2013). "Our Music Year No. 84: Kyuss, 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Daily Republic. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  7. ^ Ehrlich, Dimitri (July 15, 1994). "Sky Valley". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Welcome to Sky Valley / Kyuss". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Morris, Chris (January 15, 1994). "Kyuss Lands on Its Feet and Keeps Climbing". Billboard.
  11. ^ Ritchie, Matthew (August 21, 2017). "An Essential Guide to Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "The 40 Greatest Stoner Albums: Kyuss, 'Welcome to Sky Valley'". Rolling Stone.
  13. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (May 25, 2018). "11 Great Space Rock + Metal Albums You Need To Know". Loudwire. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  14. ^ "Demon Cleaner - Tool". Letras.mus.br. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "CollectiveUnconscious 03/27/1998". Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "CollectiveUnconscious 03/29/1998". Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  17. ^ 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)
  18. ^ 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)
  19. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 159.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kyuss – Welcome to Sky Valley" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 18, 2022.