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Like the phoenix from the flames, Queens Of The Stone Age arose from the ashes of the almighty Kyuss, whose lack of success was reciprocated by the devotion of their worldwide fanbase and the critical acclaim bestowed upon them by both metal magazines and the "serious" press. Kyuss were famous for their crushing, dense and super-bassy sound, and their natural knack for mixing blues, metal and rock into heartbreakingly-heavy songs. An always blazing rhythm section provided the solid foundations (the members of whom revolved a few times over the band's lifetime) for the core duo of John Garcia (he of the beautifully soulful rock voice) and Josh Homme (he of the rock-school of guitar genii armed with laser-sighted solos).
Anyway, Kyuss split in 1995, after 8 years, four albums and numerous tours with such luminaries as Metallica and Faith No More, for reasons too earth-shattering to repeat here. Various members formed new groups (the short-lived but brilliant Slo Burn) or joined old ones (Fu Manchu). Guitarist Homme, however, went back to college, only to be persuaded by the Screaming Trees to tour with them. Then he set about in earnest to write songs for a new band with Kyuss' newest drummer Alfredo Hernandez. They recorded a bunch of songs with the mysterious Carlo on bass. But he buggered off. Then after seeing a naked Nick Oliveri, the first Kyuss bassist, beat a man up onstage during a Mondo Generator show (Nick's new band), Homme and Hernandez wanted him in. And then they toured after releasing their songs into the wild.
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