(Credits: Far Out / Album Covers)
Some genres seem intangible and unpenetrable from the outside. One of those that has been around the longest and is a form that has left many uninitiated scratching their heads is stoner rock. While it does what it says on the tin, in that it is perfect for rock lovers who love smoking grass, there’s much more to it than that. It’s a fusion of metal, hard rock, psychedelia and other sounds that has been taken in eclectic directions by its prime artists.
While the opening of Sleep’s 2018 number ‘Marijuanaut’s Theme’ is perfect in conveying the base essence of the genre in both the opening bong rip and then the towering, de-tuned riffs that propel it forward, stoner rock is not just about the longtime marriage of the sweet leaf and heavy guitar music. From its inception, the ostensible sound has continued to develop and astound with some of the places it takes listeners to, from the splendidly melodic to sonically crushing.
Although those who aren’t familiar with the arc of the genre might think they’re totally new to it, they’re not. Any rock fan who’s heard a song by Queens of the Stone Age has experienced a slice of this extensive and unerring form. Whether it be ‘Feel Good Hit of the Summer’, ‘No One Knows’, or even a later effort like ‘My God Is The Sun’, all are united in that they fall under the stoner banner. Even just the mention of the three conveys how stylistically dextrous it can be outside of the immediately recognisable viscous guitars.
Below, we celebrate stoner rock in five masterpiece releases from the genre, spanning from its inception to its cultural peak. The list includes classics, cult efforts, and transitional moments that anyone wanting to get into it should delve into.
Five essential stoner rock albums:
5. Black Sabbath – Master of Reality (1971)
While Black Sabbath’s position as the progenitors of stoner rock can be traced back to their haunting, self-titled debut, which they then followed up Paranoid later in 1970, it is their third effort, 1971’s Master of Reality, which is their ultimate stoner offering.
With more assertive de-tuned riffs than what came before – which explicitly influenced the sound of others on this list – an increasingly expansive sound, and tracks such as ‘Sweet Leaf’ that openly reference the narcotic properties of weed, this is the moment that stoner rock as we know it was born. Look no further than the aforementioned track and ‘Children of the Grave’.
If it wasn’t for Master of Reality, you can bet your bottom dollar that Josh Homme or Matt Pike, the two foundational guitarists of the definable stoner genre, would not exist.
4. Kyuss – Blues for the Red Sun (1992)
Many fans know Josh Homme as the frontman and leader of Queens of the Stone Age, one of the contemporary era’s biggest bands, who fuse the stone genre with many others and have pushed it into an array of different areas, including toying with classical flecks and dance. However, before he formed the band in 1996, he’d already played a pivotal role in stoner coalescing as the guitarist in Kyuss – one of the key players in the Palm Desert scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Although Kyuss are certainly well respected by long-haired weed demons worldwide, most of the rock community only knows them for their rumbling single ‘Green Machine’, which features a pretty comical vocal delivery by John Garcia. However, the album it is the lead single from, Blues for the Red Sun, is an undisputable stoner classic that will blow your head off with its elemental riffs and moments of sheer melodic beauty. Raw but accomplished and brimming with interesting dynamics and compositional choices, it’s another crucial release in the stoner genre.
3. Sleep – Sleep’s Holy Mountain (1992)
It was a close call between Sleep’s classic second album and their ground-breaking third effort, the stoner cornerstone, Dopesmoker. However, it had to be Sleep’s Holy Mountain, as it is one of the releases that brought the sound to a much wider audience. With tracks such as the infallible, sludgy grooves of ‘Dragonaut’, ‘Holy Mountain’ and ‘The Druid’, it’s safe to say that this release helped cement the foundations of the genre, not to mention that the spirit of Black Sabbath courses clearly throughout it.
While Sleep’s ultimate stoner offering might be the hour-long ‘Dopesmoker’ off the album of the same name, it wouldn’t have happened if they had not done the leg work on Sleep’s Holy Mountain, with Matt Pike’s riffs taking the baton from Iommi and crafting riffs of immense intensity. Furthermore, with Al Cisneros penning lyrics such as “Look into the rays of the new stoner sun rising” on ‘Holy Mountain’ and “Stoner caravan from deep space arrives”, ‘From Beyond’, it’s clear how key this record was.
2. Electric Wizard – Dopethrone (2000)
I know this is classed as a staple of the doom genre, but it and stoner are direct relatives. There’s not really any difference between this record and the others on the list in terms of sonic character apart from the fact that the guitars are placed front and centre of the mix and that Jus Oborn’s delivery is by far the most ominous. Yet, with a name like Dopethrone and such sludgy riffs, it also qualifies as a stoner classic.
With leader Oborn indulging in both cannabis and cocaine before recording each song, the narcotic properties of both drugs can definitely be heard in the record, which, despite its overarching darkness – due to the internal strife at the time – is the perfect soundtrack for smoking a spliff, at least for participants who like heavy music. It’s clangorous and arresting and ticks every box in the stoner genre while adding its own criteria, too. Highlights include the title track, ‘Funeralopolis’ and ‘Vinum Sabbathi’.
1. Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (2002)
A lot of fans would probably choose Rated R as the Queens of the Stone Age album to feature on this list. That is due to it sitting in the sweet middle ground between the rawness of the band’s debut and the pure accomplishment of their third effort, Songs for the Deaf – but it had to be the latter. This was the moment stoner went global and when Homme had perfected his formula after well over a decade of burnishing it.
A loose concept album charting a drive through the California desert from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree that tunes into fictional radio stations in towns along the way was a genius move. Not only did it allow Homme to merge stoner with different genres, but it also tapped into the very essence of the form and its American roots in his native desert.
Boasting hits such as ‘No One Knows’ and ‘Go With The Flow’ as well as pulsating classics such as ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire’, Songs for the Deaf is a stoner masterpiece. It also features the talents of Dave Grohl, Mark Lanegan, Chris Goss, Dean Wean, and even Lux Interior.
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