This is the album everyone will be talking about this fall. The first recorded work from Kyuss Lives (Now known as Vista Chino) is an undeniable return to the desert sound they helped create and then pioneer with a modern touch.
Taking cues from …And The Circus Leaves Town and heading full force into Blues For The Red Sun territory at times, Peace stands on its own as a triumph to the legacy of Kyuss.
Speaking of Blues…, listening to Peace brings me back to the first time I put that album into my tape deck (Yes, tape deck). It’s as pure as they come sound-wise and, while it will surely be compared to earlier work, is anything but a nostalgia-fueled trip.
“Dargona Dragona” might not have been the best choice as an opener (Not including instrumental “Good Morning Wasteland” which quietly opens Peace) but it’s an easy track to get new fans acquainted. If that one doesn’t do it for you, however, there’s a slew of instant hits that follow.
“Planets 1 & 2” immediately comes to mind as the otherworldly epic grooves and shakes for six and a half minutes with Brant Bjork pulling double duty behind the kit and behind the mic.
Instrumental “Mas Vino” doesn’t compare with any of the fuzzed out numbers on Blues… but it’s a, ahem, bluesy reminder of those times nonetheless. “Adara” and “Barcelonian” are both tunes that would’ve sounded out of place on an old Kyuss record but here they sound like a glimpse of what’s to come.
Closer “Acidize…The Gambling Moose” is where it’s at, though. Clocking in at 13 minutes long, this is the one it all leads to with guitarist Bruno Fevery leading the charge with a singular guitar riff that builds and builds culminating with this The Black Keys-esque breakdown that leads to the end.
Any doubt that John Garcia and Bjork could not only continue without Homme but also craft their own classics will surely be put to rest after Peace.
Peace is out on September 3rd through Napalm Records. Pre-order options are available here.
Grade: A+