by Andrew Bohardt

Created on: September 21, 2010

Hailing from the California desert, the band Kyuss created a legendary sound during its days in the early 1990s that is still unparalleled - and unappreciated - by the masses, but the group's influence lives on in today's music scene.

Formed in 1989 with John Garcia on vocals, Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age fame) on guitar, Chris Cockrell (later replaced by Nick Oliveri and Scott Reeder) on bass and Brant Bjork (later replaced by Alfredo Hernandez) on drums, the band, then known as Sons of Kyuss, released its eponymous demo in 1990.

A year, a shortened name and a few reworked songs later, Kyuss released its debut album, "Wretch," in the fall of 1991. The album came out when the band members were still in their late teens, and to an extent, it shows. "Wretch" was a straight-forward hard rock effort that received little fanfare but showed potential of what the band could become as it matured musically.

That potential was realized a year later, when Kyuss put out its landmark second album, "Blues for the Red Sun." Still widely regarded as Kyuss' best work, "Blues for the Red Sun" incorporated influences such as Black Sabbath, psychedelic effects and down-tuned guitars plugged into bass amps. The result: the creation of a new genre of hard rock/heavy metal known as Stoner Rock (due to Kyuss' sound finding popularity with marijuana smokers).

The aforementioned lineup changes did little to quell Kyuss' momentum, as Homme's guitar work and Garcia's patented growling vocals served as the foundation for two more epic albums, "Welcome to Sky Valley" and "...And The Circus Leaves Town." These two albums featured a number of Kyuss' most memorable songs, including Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop, Gardenia and One Inch Man - the latter received airplay on MTV as Kyuss' sound started to find a bigger audience after the grunge era ended.

Sadly, just as Kyuss began finding a bit of mainstream success after "Circus" was released in 1995, Garica and Homme decided it was time to move on, and the band called it quits. Since its breakup, Kyuss released a split EP with Queens of the Stone Age and have gained more notoriety in the years since, as Homme's fans have discovered his back catalog and Kyuss' idiosyncratic sound still serves as a breath of fresh air in today's machine-like music scene.

Kyuss' demise also has spawned a number of other bands in addition to QOTSA, most notably Homme's Them Crooked Vultures and Eagles of Death Metal. Garcia has stayed in the stoner realm, playing with acts such as Slo Burn, Unida and, most recently, Hermano. He also is rumored to be working on a solo project. Others include Bjorks' Brant Bjork and the Bros., Oliveri's Mondo Generator and Reeder's solo album.

But while some of the post-Kyuss catalog has had much greater success in the mainstream, nothing any of the members have done since Kyuss has generated the same influence or critical acclaim as the forefathers of stoner rock did.

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