One has to wonder whatever became of Los Angeles stoner metal trio Smoke. Their sole full-length, Smoke Follows Beauty, was issued by Kozmik Records in 2002, and they self-released an EP in 2004, never to be heard from again. It’s a true stoner rock “where are they now?”

In the long-long-ago, in the before-times, I was a college radio DJ with a stoner and doom specialty show, and Smoke‘s Smoke Follows Beauty was one of the first promos I ever received for on-air play. I don’t know what became of that disc — that’s a lie, it’s either in a laundry basket in my basement with other artifacts of that time or on my shelf — but Smoke Follows Beauty always stuck with me for some reason; its ultra-dank vibes, killer riffs and barely safe for work (BSFW) or at least safe for work if your boss is into cartoon boobage and pubes (SFWIYBIICB&P) Malleus cover art never completely out of mind.

Smoke Follows Beauty (which always reminded me of Sleep’s Holy Mountain for mentioning the band’s name in the album title) languished on my Amazon wish list for years until I finally ordered it and a few other goodies last week. I hadn’t heard the record in more than half a decade, but I put it on this afternoon and experienced the thickened post-grunge Smoke trailed behind them again for the first time. It’s got samples, it’s got weedian lurch, and “Splitfire” has some of the hairiest bass on plastic. I feel more than justified in the six bucks I spent on this used copy.

So although it’s a mystery as to the band’s or the label’s current whereabouts, at least Smoke Follows Beauty is still out there on the cheap for anyone willing to find it. For being nine years old, it doesn’t sound any more dated than stoner rock ever does, and with the added drone elements on “Devil Down” and “Redux,” who knows what Smoke might have been able to accomplish had they kept going. In any case, one good album is farther than a lot of people get, so I’m more than happy to enjoy Smoke Follows Beauty for what it is.