| Stoner rock | |
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| Other names |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1990s, California, United States[1] |
| Typical instruments |
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| Subgenres | |
| Desert rock[2] | |
| Local scenes | |
| Palm Desert Scene | |
| Other topics | |
| Part of a series on |
| Cannabis |
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Chemistry |
Pharmacology |
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Stoner rock, also known asstoner metal[4] orstoner doom,[5][6] is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements ofdoom metal withpsychedelic rock andacid rock.[7] The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost byKyuss[8] andSleep.[9]
Stoner rock is typically slow-to-midtempo and features a heavilydistorted,groove-laden bass-heavy sound,[10] melodic vocals, and "retro" production.[11] Due to the similarities between stoner andsludge metal, there is often a crossover between the two genres. This hybrid has traits of both styles,[12][13] but generally lacks stoner metal's laid back atmosphere and its usage ofpsychedelia. Bands such asWeedeater,[14]High on Fire[15][16] andElectric Wizard creatively fuse both styles.[17]
The descriptor "stoner rock" may originate from the title of the 1997Roadrunner Records compilationBurn One Up! Music for Stoners.[18]Desert rock is also used interchangeably as a descriptor, and was coined by aMeteorCity Records intern, around the time the label released the 1998 stoner rock compilationWelcome to MeteorCity;[18] however, not all stoner rock bands would fall under the descriptor of "desert rock", since bands under this subgenre tend to include morehard rock characteristics.[18][19][2]
The involvement ofcannabis in the creation of "stoner rock/metal" can range among bands in the genre. Bands such asSleep have involved the concept of cannabis to be part of the core of their albums and songs.[20] The consumption of cannabis is common in the live performances of some stoner rock/metal bands, and bands such as Electric Wizard are known to have concerts with the band members and the crowd participating in smoking cannabis.[21]Dopesmoker (previouslyJerusalem) by Sleep received controversy because the 60-minute song is about cannabis, which resulted in conflict with Sleep's record company.[20] Some members of the genre state that "stoner rock is a style, not life," which is interpreted as the band members do not participate in smoking cannabis or are influenced by cannabis. However, the style of their music reflects the sound of "stoner rock/metal." Bands such as King Caravan andSea of Green have come under terms with this statement.[22] Similarly,Matt Pike from the bandHigh on Fire stated, "It's a very strong scene, but I don't think any of the stoner rock bands want to be labeled as stoner rock ... I might use the word 'stoner' in my lyrics, but I think we'remetal, dude. I'd say I wascrossover metal, actually, orprogressive metal. It's kind of a tough thing to lump into a category, but I guess we get the stoner-rock label because of the whole pot thing."[23]
Like most subgenres of music, the origins of stoner rock are hard to trace and pinpoint. Nevertheless, several known progenitors and signature songs are widely credited with helping to shape the genre.Blue Cheer is considered one of the pioneers of the style; asAllMusic author Greg Prato puts it, "When talks about 'stoner rock' come up, one band that tends to get overlooked is Blue Cheer."[24] According to critic Mark Deming, Blue Cheer's first album,Vincebus Eruptum, "is a glorious celebration ofrock & roll primitivism run through enough Marshall amps to deafen an army," not unlike the heaviness ofMC5'sKick Out the Jams andthe Velvet Underground'sWhite Light/White Heat.[25]
Rolling Stone claims, "What stoner rock delivers, slowed down and magnified, is theriff, the persistent legacy of Mississippi blues.Led Zeppelin andBlack Sabbath were the first to make a monolith of it."[26]Sir Lord Baltimore were called "the godfathers of stoner rock" byClassic Rock magazine, who went on to state thatLeaf Hound have been cited for influencing countless bands in the stoner rock movement, includingKyuss andMonster Magnet.[27] James Manning ofTime Out London recognisesThe Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" as "laying the foundations for stoner rock with the relentlessly spiralling outro".[28]
Buffalo's 1973 sophomore releaseVolcanic Rock has been "heralded as the first great stoner rock record,"[29] the songSunrise (Come My Way) "has since been shamelessly cannibalized for its parts by more stoner-rock bands than you can shake a bong at,"[30] and the songsTill My Death andThe Prophet have been likened to later stoner rock.[31]Primevil's albumSmokin' Bats at Campton's has been called a "touchstone" of stoner rock.[32]Jim DeRogatis has said that stoner rock bands are "reaching back for inspiration to the psychedelic, proto-metallic jamming of bands likeCream,Black Sabbath,Deep Purple, andHawkwind."[33]
According to DeRogatis, the roots of stoner rock can be heard on Black Sabbath'sMaster of Reality, Hawkwind's25 Years On 1973–1977 box set, the aforementioned Blue Cheer album, Deep Purple'sMachine Head andBlue Öyster Cult'sWorkshop of the Telescopes.[33] The 1970s California-based supergroupCaptain Beyond have also been described as "pioneers" of stoner rock.[34] Black Sabbath'sMaster of Reality is often cited as the first album of the genre,[35][36] andMartin Popoff states: "When 'Sweet Leaf' kicks in, one witnesses simultaneously the invention of stoner rock".[37]Allmusic summarizes this unique fusion as follows: "Stoner metal bands updated the long, mind-bending jams and ultra-heavy riffs of bands like Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Blue Öyster Cult, and Hawkwind by filtering their psychedelia-tinged metal andacid rock through the buzzing sound of earlySub Pop–stylegrunge."[11] However, Kyuss membersJosh Homme andJohn Garcia have shrugged off the heavy metal influence, and instead citepunk rock andhardcore punk, particularly the sludgy hardcore ofBlack Flag's albumMy War as influences.[38]
The doom metal bandTrouble introducedacid rock elements on their 1990self-titled album, which became even more prominent on 1992'sManic Frustration. Similarly, the British doom metal bandCathedral increasingly moved toward a psychedelic/stoner sound over the course of their first three releases, culminating in the critically acclaimed 1993 albumThe Ethereal Mirror. During this same period, heavy metal bandWhite Zombie achieved multi-platinum success with their twomajor label albums, significantly expanding the heavy music audience with their groove-based, sample-laden "psychedelic horror" sound.[39]
During the early to mid-1990s, a number of southern-California bands developed the style that would be called stoner rock. In 1992,Kyuss emerged from thePalm Desert Scene withBlues for the Red Sun. Critics have hailed it as "a major milestone in heavy music,"[40] whileNME described their music as an attempt to figuratively melt "a hundredweight of hot desertsand into metal".[41] In 1992,San Jose doom metal bandSleep released their albumSleep's Holy Mountain, and along with Kyuss were heralded by the heavy metal press as leaders of the emerging stoner scene.[9] These two bands were among the first to introduce a psychedelic groove to theirdoom-influenced sound.[42] A year earlier,New Jersey'sMonster Magnet released their debut albumSpine of God, which displayed fewer metal influences but was psychedelic and sludgy, in the vein of their California peers.[43] Together with these three bands, southern-CaliforniansFu Manchu, who released their eponymous album in 1994, are credited with being "one of the most enduring and influential bands" of the genre.[44] In 1994, San Francisco'sAcid King and Britain'sAcrimony released their debut albums, both of which adopted this psychedelic approach to doom metal. Though more closely associated with thegrunge movement (which itself sometimes influenced, was influenced by, and occasionally overlapped with stoner rock),[11][45]Soundgarden has also been cited as "stoner metal" or influential on the stoner rock genre,[46][45][47] with their 1994 albumSuperunknown being described as a "stoner rock classic".[48] Other influential bands from this era includeClutch,Sons of Otis andCorrosion of Conformity.[49]
Kyuss broke up in 1995 after the release of theirfourth album, with many members going on to develop the stoner and desert rock scene through new projects. In August 1997, Kyuss'Josh Homme foundedThe Desert Sessions at the now-famousRancho De La Luna inJoshua Tree, California. This musical collective brings artists together for impromptu writing and recording sessions that yielded ten albums between 1997 and 2003. The project has included members from Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet,Goatsnake, earthlings? andEagles of Death Metal, as well asPJ Harvey,Dean Ween and others associated with thePalm Desert scene.[50] Also in 1997,Roadrunner Records released the stoner rock compilationBurn One Up! Music for Stoners, which includes many of the aforementioned bands, as well as a track by Josh Homme's new bandQueens of the Stone Age.[18] In September 1997 Jadd Shickler (of stoner band Spiritu) and Aaron Emmel founded an online store based inAlbuquerque, New Mexico calledAll That's Heavy, which began selling hard-to-find releases of Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Fu Manchu.[51] They soon expanded the catalog to include artists who stylistically fit with those bands.[18] After half a year they were contacted by the former proprietor for the first Kyuss fan website, who recommended All That's Heavy do a compilation of unsigned bands that Kyuss fans would enjoy.[52] This resulted in the formation ofMeteorCity Records and the release of the compilationWelcome to MeteorCity in 1998, which included established desert and stoner rock acts, as well as new bands established byJohn Garcia of Kyuss,Ed Mundell of Monster Magnet, andPete Stahl of Goatsnake.[51] The album was the first time that the new stoner rock bandsSixty Watt Shaman,Lowrider,The Atomic Bitchwax,Dozer, Goatsnake, andLos Natas were featured on record.[18] According to MeteorCity founders:
"When this was happening, there wasn't really a [stoner rock] scene yet, there were just a lot of people around the world who were still sad about the end of Kyuss, as well as the end ofSlo Burn, and who listened to stuff like Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu but wanted more. The label took off when we appeared withWelcome to Meteor City, as though the world was waiting for someone to do what we were doing."[52]
MeteorCity soon signed a number of musicians and bands from the Palm Desert Scene, includingHermano,Unida and emerging Swedish stoner rock bands such as Lowrider, Dozer andThe Mushroom River Band.[52] During this time,The Hidden Hand andSpirit Caravan also began to gain popularity within the developing scene.
In June 2000, Josh Homme's new projectQueens of the Stone Age released their breakthrough albumRated R, which helped bring the stoner rock sound into the mainstream, despite the band themselves rejecting both the genre and being labeled as such.[53]
Songs for the Deaf, their next release in 2002, includeda single from the album peaking at No. 1 on the USModern Rock Tracks.[54] Another label focusing on the international stoner rock scene wasSmall Stone Records,[55] which released a number of compilation albums of stoner rock bands doing covers of 1970s music, includingRight in the Nuts: A Tribute to Aerosmith (2000),[56]Sucking the 70's (2002), andSucking the 70's – Back in the Saddle Again (2006).[57]
In 2002, theOrquesta del Desierto was formed featuring key members of the major desert rock bands and released two albums.
In 2009, the magazinesDecibel andTerrorizer released issues featuring a list of the 100 greatest and most important albums of the 2000s, respectively. The stoner band Electric Wizard'sDopethrone was featured on both lists, being placed 10th on Decibel's list and 1st on the Terrorizer's one.[58][59]
Since Kyuss' break-up, the success of the bandmates' other projects has caused the Kyuss back catalog to become more widely listened to and their fanbase has inevitably swelled. The sound has been continued on by directly descendant bands Unida,Slo Burn,Hermano,Mondo Generator,Fu Manchu,Brant Bjork and the Bros, and at times by Queens of the Stone Age, who have since largely departed from Kyuss' stoner rock sound, and reject the label, preferring the term "desert rock".
As acknowledged byDave Wyndorf, the lead singer ofMonster Magnet, in a 2015 interview: "Europe is really good for psychedelic music."[60] So much so that some US stoner rock bands will even choose to tour Europe rather than North America.[61] Founded by a French aficionado of stoner rock, the website MoreFuzz.net has been a big promoter of the stoner rock scene in Europe and internationally.[62] Stoner rock bands in Europe, much like their North American counterparts, mix elements of heavy rock music withpsychedelia andacid rock. The influence ofBlack Sabbath orBlue Cheer can be heard – among other examples – in bands such as the SwedishGraveyard[63] and the GermanKadavar. Instrumental stoner rock bands such asKarma to Burn are rare in the US but are more frequent in Europe.
Additionally, several bands in the stoner-rock revival movement (Nebula, for instance) began crafting a slightly psychedelic variation on garage punk.
...they are widely acknowledged as pioneers of the booming stoner rock scene of the 1990s...
[Kyuss] almost single handed invented the phrase 'Stoner Rock'. They achieved this by tuning way down and summoning up a subterranean, organic sound...
Stoner metal could be campy and self-aware, messily evocative, or unabashedly retro.
...sounding like a cross between Sleep's drowsy, Black Sabbath-like meanderings and Electric Wizard/Burning Witch-style gut-curdling, muddy sludge.
...elements of hardcore punk, psychedelic stoner rock, technical speed metal, and good old-fashioned Black Sabbath sludge appear in their music.
...manufacturing that sludgy, choleric sound...
...it so effortlessly bridged the stylistic gaps between doom, sludge, stoner, horror, and, at times, even space metal...
The second Buffalo album, Volcanic Rock, is now heralded as the first great stoner rock record.
Baxter is the true star of, and instigator behind, 'Volcanic Rock,' beginning with his blistering leads that launch album opener 'Sunrise (Come My Way),' which shares as much DNA with the MC5 as it does with Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath. Not surprisingly, the song has since been shamelessly cannibalized for its parts by more stoner-rock bands than you can shake a bong at.
"Till My Death" brings the good times back, as the band lays down some excellent proto-stoner riffs layered with a chorus that is very of-the-times melodic, the band taking a Zep songwriting structure but crashing and bashing it through a gritty Detroit filter. "The Prophet" then slows things down a bit, which is perfect: this band excels when going heavier and slower, and it's also where their personality shines. Dave Tice's vocals soar with a ton of '70s gruff-guy grit 'n' melody, but they're charming enough to make you wonder why this band didn't get bigger than they did. A killer song, one that has enough metal heft to sound great to longhairs today, but also enough free-flowin' '70s vibes to make it a hit back then. Corrosion of Conformity (with Pepper Keenan) could cover this and it would fit right in any of their albums. We're talking proto-doom, stoner, even nearing sludge here.
Although they are widely acknowledged as pioneers of the booming stoner rock scene of the 1990s, the band enjoyed little commercial success during their brief existence [...]. Soon hailed as a landmark by critics and fans alike, the album (Blues for the Red Sun) took the underground metal world by storm and established the signature Kyuss sound once and for all: [...].
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