<B> Kyuss- Blues for The Red Sun </B>
This album changed my perception of music as I knew it, well not so much music but, it really changed my definition of what heavy was. I was mostly into thrash metal, and power metal and very technical, fast music. But this was something different. It started out with a very chilled spacey kind of intro, this would be the beginning of one of my favorite songs of all time, <B> Thumb</B> it sounds all jangely, and floaty, but still brooding, then you hear the drums kick in and all hell breaks loose, a riff comes in that is so heavy and Dense that it just makes you feel like dancing. The guitars on this song, and pretty much the rest of the album sound like buzz-saws, and they cut through the mix perfectly. The dynamics in this song made me realize “Damn! Everything I thought was heavy before wasn’t” that’s not to say that Slayer or, Megadeth are not heavy, but this was heavy in a different way.
After the wicked solo and ending to Thumb, the next song, <B>Green Machine</B> ditched the light, then heavy, then light dynamic of Thumb, and Just brought the heavy, The fast and the heavy, but there was something different about this, it wasn’t just heavy it had a real groove to it, something a lot of the music I was listening to was missing, and as a budding bass player it also won me over with an awesome bass solo, this wasn’t the typical slap/pop bass solo, there Bassist at the time <B>Nick Olivera</B>, slides up the neck and wrenches out something that sounds totally different, I yelled “He’s playing’ his bass like a guitar !” only two tracks in I already loved this CD
The next track <B>Molten Universe</B>, which is a very appropriate title, is heavy as hell too, but this didn’t wiz by like the last two tracks, this was slow and brooding, Crushing everything in its path just like Molten Lava, I think I forgot to say this but Kyuss always had cool names for there songs. Molten Universe flows right into another appropriately titled track <B> 50 Million Year Trip</B> this track really is a trip, it starts off fast as the earlier tracks, but then goes into the more groove heavy side of things, the drummer at this point in time, <B> Brant Bjork</B> lays down some exceptionally awesome drumming, that with the bass makes this song thicker then Molasses, but then things change again, the guitar begins to do something completely different, and chills out, playing some shimmering chords, that really go With Singer <B>John Garcia’s</B> Melodic vocals. Then comes a solo from Josh Homme that I really could listen to forever, and I get the feeling that he could have played forever because they have to fade him out while he is playing it, not ounce but twice. This is one of the moments on this album that makes me wonder, what if they would have let him keep going… but I guess Ill never know.
The next couple songs are awesome as well; <B>Thong Song</B> is just silly, with off the wall lyrics, and simple but effective music. The next two songs <B>Apothecaries' Weight, and Caterpillar March</B> are awesome instrumentals. The first of the two being one of my favorites of all time, it sounds like Bad Company’s I Feel Like Makin’ Love, interpreted through a wall of fuzzy guitars, but that’s just what I hear, and Caterpillar March is a feedback drenched quickie that flies by and doesn't really let you get a hold of it before it runs all over you.
The Next track <B>Freedom Run</B>, is the albums center piece, it is an epic, and it starts off with delayed guitar and bass feedback, While John Garcia chants the Mantra of the song, “Freedom run, Free to run” as the music in the background intensifies, and cuts out leaving the bass alone, quickly followed by a few little licks on guitar, followed by the rest of the band crashing in like a tidal wave. This song is heavy, really heavy, and most of it sounds like it is completely improvised, which wouldn’t surprise me all of the members in this band were excellent musicians.
Next comes the second half of the album, It starts off with <B>800</B> which is the intro to the next song, <B>Writhe</B>, 800 is mostly tribal drumming and lightly strummed guitar, with John chanting “Eight-Hun-Dred”, over and over again. The bottom then drops out and leaves Josh to strum the first Heavy as hell chords of Writhe, this is probably the most Melodic song on the album, and one of my favorites, but the production just seems a little muddy on this track.
Remember earlier in the review when I said this album has a couple of What if moments, well this is one of them. This instrumental <B>Capsized</B> is a beautifully strummed acoustic piece that sadly only last 55 seconds every time it starts to fade out, I think man, WHAT IF they would have kept taping but again I will probably never know. Capsized fades out and makes way for <B> Allen’s Wrench</B>, which is an awesome little ditty that keeps the heavy as hell, motif of the album. Unfortunately I really don’t know what the hell this song is about, but its awesome nonetheless. After Allen’s Wrench, the next track fades in and its called <B>Mondo Generator</B> and it’s a tripped out, fuzzed out journey of a song, the lyrics are completely unintelligible, and the music is groovy as hell, noting really special, but it seems like an appropriate song end the album with., after Mondo Generator comes to a screeching halt, <B>Yeah</B> The final track on the CD is pretty self explanatory.
So after listening to this CD for the first time, I started to look at music in a completely different light, it wasn’t all about blistering speed, or the most Technical chops, it was about soul, passion, and just having a good time. This album really is the crown jewel in the little genre some people lovingly christened <B> Stoner Rock</B>, and it really does deserve a 5 out of 5. So if you’re in your local record shop and you see the little white divider that says Kyuss, go ahead take a look, you could really purchase any of the cd’s and you’re a winner, but if you see <B>Blues for the Red Sun</B> go ahead and by that one, because you will love it forever.
