Do you not like Kyuss? It does in many ways serve as a transition from Kyuss to QOTSA. For example there is a lot more in their first album that you could compare to Kyuss than there is in Lullabies. I feel its their most sludge-ish, repetitive at times, stoner rock album. They started to really move away from it after that album by album.

Yeah, I would go along with that. I think the move away from everything that was Kyuss was gradual though rather than achieved with the self titled. I assume you feel similar even if not word for word if you feel you could be swayed in your opinion?

Im surprised you hate the self titled though, I must admit. But each to their own.

yeah I do like Kyuss a lot, but compared to LTP I guess it's chalk and cheese. I quite like the prospect of copping their first and latest releases and comparing though lol

they're a great band, one of the few genuinely deserving contemporary multi million-sellers, you know what you're getting but Homme seems perfectly capable of delivering a proper headf*ck when it's called for

I love Kyuss, but the transition period between the two sounds wasn't really my slice of cheese. You've got the heavy, downtuned psychedelia that Homme pioneered in Kyuss and he just sticks some falsetto in there and expects it to work. There were a few highlights to the album (I Was a Teenage Hand Model sticks out in particular) but apart from that there was little for me to cling onto. Rated R marks such a huge contrast in sound to the self-titled & split that I don't feel the necessity to guard them from open criticism.

Eva Vulgaris may surprise you a little in that case. Its still QOTSA, i wouldnt be expecting anything else but I dont feel they have made a record like it before and feel it covers a little new ground. I'm not even going to begin to try and describe 'Make It Wit Chu' because if you havent heard that one already I think its best left until you can check the record out. Theres differences between Kyuss' output and the first QOTSA album but I feel there was a lot of Kyuss still in Homme at the time of writing that record, much more than there is in his songwriting now.

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Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kwali Are Black Star (1998)

A hip-hop classic... Just first class in every aspect, over a decade old now but it's still a crowd-pleaser, forward-looking whilst utilising old skool, conscious hip-hop values to funky effect. There's more than a hint of ragga which is always good to see acknowledged, Barrington Levy gets a rep.
Unfortunately it's not on youtube for comparison here, but Mos Def delivers the first hip-hop cover version I've ever heard (Slick Rick's 'Children's Story') and flips the content to make it a scathing commentary on beat-pilfering mainstream fluff :D The chorus from 'Definition' hijacks an old Boogie Down Productions refrain as well.
Essential!

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Tangerine Dream - Zeit (1972)

Insane headfuck in dilute solution. Phaedra and Rubycon are both damn good but this double album of droning Moog shakes my apartment. Kick-ass album.

Nice one and good 'lil review you got there. Experience any of their other stuff?

Right now, I'm digging:
Death is this Communion, by High On Fire; Nice and heavy, with dark sword and sorcery lyrics. Matt Pike of Sleep is the vocalist.
Brave Yesterdays, a compilation by Katatonia; An awesome recent discovery.
Primo Victoria, by Sabaton; Cool power metal that deals with WWII.

I had no idea that even existed. I'll have to get my hands on a copy.


Censored Colors - Portugal. The Man

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I thought there were a number of really great stand out tracks on this album. I loved the reverb quality of the album too, it adds this interesting mood to it all. There's a lot of layered vocals which I quite enjoyed, which makes it sound almost choral at times. Good album in my books.

Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron and Wine

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I thought this album was really great as well. It was really an introduction of sorts to Iron and Wine, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. The acoustic style mood they create at times is so beautiful and soft; it's like a gentle breeze of beautiful harmony. I love the guitar work and vocals of it all, but particularly tracks like Fever Dream, Cinders and Smoke and Passing Afternoon. Great stuff.

Dolores - Bohren and Der Club of Gore

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This album was really interesting, and really caught me and made me stop on the first listen. The whole mood is phenomenal, with this warm, lush but subdued and omnious sound. I think it was described as "doom ridden jazz music" and I could definitely see why. I'm not really sure how it would fit genre wise, but I would definitely recommend it if you like experimental things. It has a very subdued, dark and tempered feel overall, but uses warm instrumentation like (what I presume is) an electric keyboard of sorts. Lots of slow jazz style drumming as well, with plenty of brush work. The tracks with saxophone particularly blew me away; it was so simple but so incredible. I guess I'm quite drawn to minimalist music though.

24 Nights - Eric Clapton

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I found this in a local music shop the other day, and though I haven't heard it all, what I've heard is really great. His guitar work over these tracks is really great, and his tone alone is worth the listen in my opinion. He does a 13 minute Old Love which basically turns into an incredible jam. His guitar work on the whole track is spot-on.

Bohren and Der Club of Gore are sensational if you are in that mood. As for the floyd. it's a bootleg. I have an 18 disc set that has virtually every unreleased track the Floyd have ever put out. Still yet to fully delve into it though.