Kyuss reunite and get ready to tour NZ

Kyuss will rock in New Zealand, minus Josh Homme. Photo / Supplied

Kyuss - the band that made Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age the man he is today - have reunited and are heading to New Zealand for the first time to play two shows in May.

While Homme won't be with the Californian desert-dwelling stoner rock pioneers, the three other original members will be here. Singer John Garcia, bassist Nick Oliveri (who used to be in Queens until he got asked to leave for being a rabble-rouser) and drummer Brant Bjork will be joined by Bruno Fevery on guitar when they play two shows in New Zealand, including the Powerstation on May 14.

They split up in 1995 after releasing fourth album And The Circus Leaves Town, and following classic albums Blues For the Red Sun and Welcome To Sky Valley.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday from powerstation.net.nz and public sales open on Thursday from Ticketmaster and Real Groovy.

Also Steriogram are back home for the summer and hitting the road in celebration of their latest album Taping the Radio. In support will be leather clad rock'n'rollers Shotgun Alley and Pistol Youth, a band led by Steriogram guitarist Bradley Hanan Carter.

The dates include Headland Rock Festival, Coromandel, Dec 28; Detonate Festival, New Plymouth, Dec 31; Blacksmiths Bar, Whitianga, Jan 6; Shed Bar, Taupo, Jan 7; Boiler Room, Whakatane, Jan 8; Kingslander, Auckland, Jan 13; Kentish Hotel, Waiuku, Jan 20; and Big Day Out, Auckland, Jan 21.

In other tour news, masked hip-hop maverick MF Doom - whose many albums include the excellent The Mouse and the Mask (2005) with Dangermouse, and Madvillainy (2004) with Madlib - plays Wellington's San Francisco Bathhouse on March 21 and Auckland's Fu/Zen on March 22.

Meanwhile, veteran Canadian punks D.O.A. stop in for some shows in March including the Kings Arms on March 4 and Hamilton's The Void on March 6.