Welcome To Sky Valley - Album Information

Album Information

Welcome to Sky Valley was recorded in early 1993, but due to the collapse of the band's record label (Dali), its release was delayed until mid-1994. It was the first Kyuss album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced the departing Nick Oliveri after the recording of Kyuss' previous album, Blues for the Red Sun. Welcome to Sky Valley was the last to feature founding member Brant Bjork. 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.

On compact disc, 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. However, most commercially-sold versions of the compact disc contain the three tracks, a setup which is meant to encourage listeners to experience it as a full album instead of as a collection of separate songs. Guitarist Josh Homme claimed in an interview that the band "just wanted it to be like hell to play on a CD player". The album's liner notes instruct the listener to "Listen without distraction".

The band Tool covered "Demon Cleaner" during a show at the Hollywood Palladium, with bassist Reeder joining them onstage during the performance. The song is also contained in the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica.