I’m really sticking my neck out here, but I’d argue this EP is every bit as significant for stoner rock as Sleep’s monumental Dopesmoker. It’s that bold, that immersive, and that essential.
If there’s one record that bursts out of the post-Kyuss dust clouds like a sun-bleached mirage with an engine block heart, it’s Amusing the Amazing. When Kyuss dissolved in ’96, John Garcia didn’t waste a second — he gathered a crew of local desert dwellers, fired up the amps, and carved this four-track monolith straight into the canyon walls. Fifteen minutes, four songs, zero bullshit — and yet one of the most essential pieces of Stoner Rock ever blasted onto tape.
The EP kicks off with “The Prizefighter”, a short, punchy, garage-stoned jab that feels like lighting a fuse rather than delivering the explosion. But that’s the trick: it clears the haze for the real trip.
“Muezli” swings in on those thick, sun-ripened riffs and that wonderfully wobbling bass, channeling Blues for the Red Sun with a fresh spark and a few extra grains of sand in the teeth. The groove is simple, primal, irresistibly warm — exactly what Desert Rock should feel like when the sun is too high and the world vibrates.
Then comes the beast — “Pilot the Dune.” Good lord. This track moves. A fuzz-powered dune crawler with Sabbath-soaked grit, melodic swagger, and Garcia prowling right through the mix with that unmistakable desert-soul howl. It smokes, it drifts, it simmers — easily one of the coolest, hottest, and dirtiest Stoner hymns to ever roll out of Palm Springs.
“July” closes the EP by diving headfirst into molten grunge, brushing up against Soundgarden shadows while still keeping that slow-burn desert heartbeat alive. It’s dark, heavy, and beautifully scorched.
And then — nothing. Slo Burn played Ozzfest ’97, turned heads, melted a few amps… and vanished back into the sand. Which makes Amusing the Amazing feel even more like some sacred artifact: an all-killer, no-filler snapshot of a band that could’ve ruled the dunes if they’d stuck around.
This EP isn’t just a footnote in the Kyuss family tree — it’s a cornerstone of the genre, a reminder that Stoner Rock doesn’t need ornamentation or overthinking. Just fuzz, feel, flow, and that wide-open desert spirit.
If you love Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Sleep, or anything that smells like hot tubes and hotter asphalt — this is required listening.
Four tracks. Fifteen minutes. Eternal impact.
-Helge Neumann
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