If you are such a huge fan of cannabis, chances are you have listened to “stoner rock” music. This specific genre is known for its combination of various styles, including heavy metal, blues rock, doom metal, and psychedelic rock. The music has a brooding sound with tempos that are slow-to-middling.
Stoner rock bands first appeared in the 90s, and this genre is often confused with desert rock. Nevertheless, they can be distinguishable with their trippier groove, which is actually what separates it from other rock genres.
A Little Bit of History
Since the early 1960s, there is no doubt that rock ‘n’ roll dominated the music scene. It has continually evolved through time to suit modern trends. In some cases, rock ‘n’ roll set new trends. These changes paved the way for other genres and sub-genres, including heavy rock, heavy metal, hard rock, and downer rock.
Among the numerous terms for the other subtypes of rock came a fascinating one, which is what we now know as stoner rock. It is quite evident that the name is a reference to cannabis. It is believed that the term came from Roadrunner Records, especially with the compilation album that was released in 1997. It was entitled “Burn One Up! Music for Stoners.” A year later, MeteorCity Records gave another name for this genre, which was desert rock. However, many fans of stoner rock believe that these two are not the same.
Describing the Genre
Stoner rock has the same effects of weed, along with rock ‘n’ roll. It means that you can get slow to mid-tempo music that comes with high gain guitar tunes with a loud bass guitar and simple drum beats. As for the vocals, they sound like how Ozzy Osbourne from the early 70s.
Basically, this genre has the groove of doom metal with psychedelic rock in the mix. It also has a random groove metal sound to it at times. There are also instances where there is a fast-paced part of the song.
The Best Stoner Rock Bands
If you want to hear how stoner rock sounds, you can start listening to Kyuss. These rockers who were based in Palm Desert are considered one of the pioneers of this genre, even though some would say the roots of stoner rock can be traced all the way back to the 60s. Many people will also argue that the band was influenced by Black Sabbath, MC5, and Led Zeppelin among others. However, what makes them an important in the history of stoner rock is what they initiated.
Other essential bands include Monster Magnet, notably when Kyuss broke up, along with Queens of the Stone Age, Celestial Season, and Fu Manchu, which formed right after. If you are searching for songs to listen to under this genre, you may want to try Kyuss’ album called Blues for the Red Sun, which was released in 1992.
Monster Magnet also released a stoner rock album called Powertrip in 1998. It sold in millions and among the songs that many stoners love are Space Lord, Goliath and the Vampires, and Crop Circle.
