Stoner rock

Stoner rock (or stoner metal^[1]) is a subgenre of heavy metal^[2][3] combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues-rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features low-tuned guitars, a bass-heavy sound,^[4] melodic vocals, and 'retro' production.^[5] The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by the Californian bands Kyuss^[6] and Sleep.^[7]

Terminology

The progenitors of stoner rock, like their followers today, often share the characteristic that they and their audience are "stoners," recreational users of cannabis. While it would be grossly inaccurate to describe all fans and performers of stoner rock as marijuana users, some may find that the effects of marijuana and the down-tuned, slow, and psychedelic riffs of stoner rock complement one another — which eventually led to the common usage of the term "stoner rock" or "stoner metal" to define the genre.

This kind of connection between music and the use of drugs is not unique in music culture. Similar comparisons can be made between dance music and recreational drugs such as ecstasy. Various musicians who identify themselves as marijuana users (notably Pantera, who have included cannabis logos on their merchandise) do not qualify as "stoner rock" as the style of their musical output is largely outside the genre.

Due to the similarities between stoner and sludge metal, there is often a crossover between the two genres. This hybrid has traits of both styles^[8][9] but generally avoids stoner metal's positive atmosphere and its usage of psychedelia. Bands such as Bongzilla,^[10] Weedeater,^[11] High on Fire^[12][13] and Electric Wizard have been reported to fuse both styles.^[14]

History

Influences (1960s–early 1980s)

Like most subgenres of music, the origins of stoner rock are hard to trace and pinpoint. Nevertheless, stoner rock has its known progenitors and signature songs that helped shape the genre. Blue Cheer are considered one of the pioneers of the style, as Allmusic author, Greg Prato, put it, "When talks about "stoner rock" come up, one band that tends to get overlooked is Blue Cheer."^[15] Piero Scaruffi has stated that the band's first album, Vincebus Eruptum, "introduced a terrifying sound (deafening guitar and bass amplification), that predated stoner-rock by 25 years."^[16] Rolling Stone claims, "What stoner rock delivers, slowed down and magnified, is the riff, the persistent legacy of Mississippi blues. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were the first to make a monolith of it."^[17] Sir Lord Baltimore have been called "the godfathers of stoner rock" and Leafhound have been cited for influencing countless bands in the stoner rock movement including Kyuss and Monster Magnet.^[18] Primevil's album Smokin' Bats at Campton's has been called a "touchstone" of stoner rock.^[19]

Allmusic summarizes this 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 and acid rock through the buzzing sound of early Sub Pop-style grunge.^[5]

Early development (late 1980s-1990s)

Releasing their first album in 1988, Soundgarden have been called the standard-bearers of stoner rock during the 1990s.^[17] During the early–mid 1990s, a number of Californian bands developed the style that would be called stoner rock. In 1992, Kyuss emerged from the Palm Desert Scene with Blues for the Red Sun, which is often regarded as the first stoner rock/metal album. Critics have hailed it as "a major milestone in heavy music,"^[20] while NME described their music as an attempt to figuratively melt "a hundredweight of hot desert sand into metal".^[21] In 1992, San Jose doom metallers Sleep released their album Sleep's Holy Mountain. It became a favourite of the heavy metal press and the band was heralded, along with Kyuss, as leaders of the emerging stoner scene.^[7] These two bands were the first to introduce a "trippy" groove to their doom-influenced sound.^[22] During the same year, New Jersey's Monster Magnet released their debut album Spine of God, which displayed fewer metal influences but was psychedelic and sludgy, in the vein of their Californian peers.^[23] In 1994, San Francisco's Acid King and Britain's Acrimony released their debut albums, both of which adopted this psychedelic approach to doom metal. The latter are regarded as pioneers of the British stoner scene, which has since seen the rise of notable bands such as Orange Goblin.^[24]

Since Kyuss' break-up, the success of the bandmates' other projects has caused the Kyuss back catalogue 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".

References

• Scaruffi, Piero (2003). A History of Rock Music:1951-2000. ¡Universe, Inc.. ISBN 0-595-29565-7. 

Notes

See also

• Palm Desert Scene
• Doom metal

External links

• Allmusic entry for Stoner metal/rock
• StonerRock.com - websource devoted to Stoner Rock
• Rawk'n'Roll.net - websource devoted to Stoner Rock (Bulgarian language)
• Duna Records official website

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