Musical Style and Influence
Blues for the Red Sun incorporates acid rock, grunge, psychedelic rock, space rock, and doom metal, and has been compared to such acts as Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Blue Cheer, and Alice in Chains. The album is considered a pioneer to the stoner metal genre. Daniel Bukszpan, the author of The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal, has written that the album has influenced "countless" bands. Many consider Blues for the Red Sun, "the template for 21st century bands that have followed in the pioneering wake of Kyuss." Exclaim! credited the album for opening, "the way for bands like Monster Magnet and a whole host of other desert grunge practitioners." Melissa Auf der Maur has said that she attempted to "knock-off" Blues for the Red Sun for her single, "Followed the Waves", to the point that she recruited the band's rhythm section to play on the track and Chris Goss to produce. Other fans of the album include Dave Grohl and Metallica.
Steve Taylor, the author of A to X of Alternative Music, wrote that in comparison to the music, "lyrics can't really compete," and went on to call the album's lyrics, "stoned immaculate phrases." Rolling Stone described the lyrics of "Thong Song" — a song about flip-flops — as "deathless."
Guitarist Josh Homme plugged down-tuned guitars into bass amplifiers for the distortion featured on the album. Wah-wah pedals were also used by Homme on Blues for the Red Sun. Wayne Robins of Newsday described Homme's riffs as, "post-Hendrix guitar flurries." Several of the songs on Blues for the Red Sun have slow tempos and groove-laden rhythms. "Green Machine" features a bass guitar solo, and the album features several instrumental tracks. A number of songs on the album also credit lyrics to John Garcia, but have no discernible lyrics or even vocals. It is possible that the only word written by Garcia is the uttered "yeah" at the very end of the album.
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