Sunday Metal Shop blows through your ears from the windswept Southern California desert with the fuzzed-out sound of Kyuss. Their chops honed through countless open air desert jam sessions/parties, Kyuss burned hot, burned quick and when they finally burned out gave birth not only to numerous other bands but also a new genre of metal, Stoner Rock.

Kyuss hit the scene with the 1991 album “Wretch” and quickly followed in 1992 with the album that defined their sound, “Blues for the Red Sun”. These records featured the classic lineup of singer John Garcia, guitarist Josh Homme, drummer Brant Bjork and bassist Nick Oliveri. 1994 saw the release of “Welcome to Sky Valley” and Scott Redder replacing Oliveri on bass. The following year Kyuss brought Alfredo Hernandez in for Brant Bjork and released their final album, “…And the Circus Leaves Town”.

Out of the ashes of Kyuss rose Stoner Rock luminaries Queens of the Stone Age, Unida, Slo Burn, Hermano and Vista Chino. Don’t let the label “Stoner Rock” fool you, an affinity for the hippie lettuce is not a requisite for enjoying the music. Built upon the bones of bands like Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult and Sir Lord Baltimore, the music is defined by an emphasis on the riff over soloing and often features a fuzzy, droning and down tuned sound. Though it’s probably the most poorly named genre of music since Grunge (we sophisticates prefer the more appropriate title of “Desert Rock”), it includes solid bands like Fu Manchu, Sleep, Monster Magnet, Bongzilla, Dozer and High on Fire.

Here is “Demon Cleaner” off of the album “Welcome to Sky Valley”. If you like this you can also check out the songs “Gardenia”, “Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop”, “Big Bikes”, “Thumb”, “Green Machine” and “One Inch Man”.