Chris Goss - Stoner Godfather
© Metal Hammer 2000

If you've ever checked the credits on the back of Kyuss or Queens Of The Stone Age albums, then you'll know the name. CHRIS GOSS is the man who produced much of both bands' material, and has become a crucial name on the stoner scene.

The gentle giant first came to the fore with Masters of Reality, a huge influence on the stoner community who released their self-titled debut album in 1989. Yet despite subsequently excellent albums like Sunrise On The Sufferbus (1993) and Welcome To The Western Lodge (1999), the band have remained very much an underground phenomenon, leaving Goss to make his name as a producer of no little influence on the stoner scene... except that Goss himself isn't impressed with that stoner tag, of course.

"Like a lot of so-called stoner artists, I've no idea what it means. Someone in Europe probably came up with that one, but it actually bears no relation to the music."

Having worked on the new Queens Of The Stone Age album Rated R, Goss is now in pre-production with new Seattle band Post Stardom Depression.

"Their sound is edgy and sexy. I'll produce the album in Los Angeles, and it should be out through Interscope in the autumn. That's a great name, eh? I told the singer he's obviously thinking ahead!"

Goss also has plans beyond the musical sphere...

"I'm buying some desert property near Joshua Tree Park. That's where I aim to found my future study centre for Esoteric Aestheticism and Parallel Astralism. Course covered will include: alpha training, Bauhaus, catholic traditional orthodoxy, trepanning..."

Who said stoner musos were boring?