Kyuss & The Circus Leaves Town

Kyuss’ fourth studio album was its last full-length before the band’s 15-year split, which found guitarist Josh Homme founding Queens of the Stone Age before performing with Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures (with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones). The raw production and stripped-down songwriting on ...And the Circus Leaves Town has aged remarkably well since its 1995 release. “Hurricane” opens, throwing sonic punches and sounding like a tougher sibling of Queens of the Stone Age. “One Inch Man” is even catchier and more simply arranged. “Catamaran” boasts the cleanest guitar tones, and it comes close to propelling the band beyond its blueprints until Homme’s guitar growl triggers the chorus like so many rock songs of the '90s. The 34-minute triptych “Spaceship Landing” closes on an epic note.