Stoner Metal
17 vinyl records found
Stoner metal fuses doom metal's heaviness with psychedelic rock and blues, delivering slow-to-mid-tempo grooves powered by low guitar tuning and bass-heavy production. Born in the early 1990s from bands like Kyuss, Sleep, and Cathedral, the genre takes its name from the cannabis culture that permeated both the music and its fanbase.
About the Stoner Metal genre
The foundation of stoner metal rests on grunge's heavier end. Bands like Alice In Chains, Melvins, and Soundgarden brought psychedelic and blues elements into their heavy riffing, creating a bridge between Black Sabbath's doom lineage and contemporary metal. Soundgarden especially retained that post-punk metallic edge while keeping prominent blues DNA, effectively evolving Led Zeppelin through a punk and doom lens. The Melvins' shift into stoner territory with Stoner Witch in 1994 crystallized what would become the "stoner sludge" crossover that many bands explore today.
What distinguishes stoner metal from its close relative stoner rock is the emphasis on bass-heavy production and a heavier overall approach to the riff. Alice In Chains emerges as the most identifiable influence on modern stoner metal, their signature vocal harmonies and distinctive riffing style appearing throughout the subgenre's output. Stylistically, stoner metal bands frequently borrow from sludge metal and vice versa, blurring the lines between related subgenres while maintaining that slow, groovy, and heavily psychedelic character that defines the sound.
