After a primer on math rock, today's I'll introduce a more difficult genre to define: Stoner Rock.
I didn't know I was a fan of Stoner Rock until Spotify kept insisting I was. Every time I liked a song on Discover Weekly and I went to read about the band it turned out to be classified as this genre.
So what is Stoner Rock?
Although it's named after pot-induced (or other psychedelic drugs) trippy slow tempo endless solos, from its psychedelic rock influences, it's also marked by simple but catchy, marked guitar riffs from its Hard Rock and Grunge roots. Throw in some scales and down tuned guitars from Metal, slow and dark themes from Doom, the retro atmosphere from Garage Rock, and the raw energy of Punk Rock, and you have a unique mix ready to generate some diverse tunes.
Some claim Black Sabbath was the first Stoner Rock band. If it isn't, it's clear the influence it had on the many Stoner Rock subgenres. In reality, the recognized origin is in the early 90s, as an underground alternative to Grunge, called then Desert Rock, from its birthplace, Palm Desert, California.
Josh Homme, which would eventually found one the most popular Stoner Rock bands of all time, Queens of Stone Age, led this scene with his first Band, Kyuss.
Another notable band from this scene and style are Fu Manchu, here with a cover of Blue Öyster Cult famous anthem, which was also a very influential band to this genre.
From there, many branches or subgenres were developed. One of them, more modern sounding, polished and very riff-based, can be demonstrated by Atomic Bitchwax, a Superband formed by former members of other Stoner Rock bands:
Another branch, more bound to the psychedelic roots, is represented here by Earthless, which play endless, trippy, instrumental, awesome songs:
In the middle, I'll present Clutch, more punky-sounding, with raw guitar riffs:
This barely scratches the surface of the Stoner Rocks different facets, but it should be enough for you to know if it's your thing. So, is it?
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