Over the next couple of months I am going to count down some of my top records collectively from a specific genre with each artist having collectively 1 album which I think is their masterpiece.
This Week I’m Covering: Stoner-Metal / Stoner Rock
Stoner rock (also referred to as “desert rock”) and Stoner Metal are terms describing sub-genres of rock and metal music. They are typically slow-to-mid tempo, low-tuned, and bass-heavy, incorporating elements of psychedelic rock, blues-rock and doom metal into a more repetitive and riff-centered style. Other common traits include melodic vocals and ‘retro’ production. The genres emerged during the early 1990s and were pioneered foremost by the Californian bands Kyuss and Sleep.
Also all artists on here I encourage you to search deeper and listen to their other albums in the catalogues because there are just too many to list without it feeling like diary.
Top 30
High on Fire – Death is this Communion
-Basically if you like Motorhead and Slayer you’ll love this band. They mix and mash a lot of things together and create a monstrous riff festival on every album. This is my favorite though
Kyuss – Welcome to Sky Valley
-Essentially one band credited with the initial birth of Stoner Rock. Although constantly confused as being a “Metal” band Kyuss plays an extremely psychedelic style of stoner rock especially on this album. Their guitarist Josh Homme’s current band is also on this list..just wait for it.
Sleep - Dopesmoker
-1 hour long song plus Sonic Titan (live). Another band credited with heavy influence in Stoner rock. But I feel like if you’re a first time listener I would stick to stuff like “Holy Mountain” by them instead of this because it’s a little more difficult to get into really unless you know how they play generally.
EYEHATEGOD – Dopesick
-Stoner Metal with a Southern Touch. Pretty misanthropic and normally termed as Sludge Metal, but for the sake of this I think it would just be easier to leave it at that. They’re sound is pretty much summed up as feedback induced insanity. This album is my favorite because I feel it is their most influential but I really like most of their other albums.
Buzzov-en- Sore
-Obviously with my love for Weedeater, this is a must to list. But not just for that reason they only came out with a couple of albums and a ton of demo’s and EP’s. They have a general sound about them but sound similar to EYEHATEGOD though. Good stuff and Dixie Dave is also in this band or was rather.
Weedeater – Sixteen Tons
-As described in my Top 57 of the decade. This is the band you want to be listening to when you crack open that cold beer and sit back for a nice relaxing evening. But completely sober this band is still great of course considering you enjoy the style. Dixie Dave is the man
Electric Wizard – Come my Fanatics
-Outside of their album “Dopethrone”, this is an essential Wizard recommendation. Doom-Mantia is still one of the heaviest freaking songs ever at least to me. This album is fairly hypnotic as well as I’ve found out many times. If you’ve never heard of this band then go look them up now.
OM- Pilgramage
-You’ll want to inhale deep this one; Om is rather an acquired taste as I have found out. I cannot say enough positive things about this band. Absolutely most relaxing music at least I feel it is. Just lie back… and relax away your day.
Bongzilla- Gateway
-As the name suggests, I believe a hefty dose of the leaf is in order for this one. Bongzilla pretty much cover anything and everything that is marijuana related as a Stoner band and they don’t stray from that ideology. Dixie Dave is in this one as well.
Melvins- Lysol
-As much as I love the Melvin’s album Houdini, I still think this album is superior. I really can’t put a solid base on why but I love this band. Still haven’t got to see them, and I probably won’t but buddy if I did it would be awesome as hell. It’s like listening to Stoner rock mixed with Grunge. Buzzo’s vocal delivery is my favorite part of the album.
Ufomammut – Snailking
-This album is sort of like listening to Pink Floyd mixed with harsher Stoner metal bands mixed together. Really unique I think but their newest album “Eve” is far superior to this album but both are deserving recommendation.
Torche – Torche
-Poppy sounding Stoner rock/metal? Is it possible? Well before Torche I haven’t heard a band that made the genre sound so warm. I guess that’s because of the genre’s typical themes. When I first heard Charge of the Brown Recluse I was hooked but all the way up to this year this band still continues to put out good stuff. Check em out.
Monster Magnet – Spine of God
-I know that a lot of people differ on which album is the best by this band, a lot of people say its “Dopes of Infinity” or “Powertrip” and I have had one person say that “Superjudge” was the best. I mean those are good albums don’t get me wrong, but in no way are they better than “Spine of God”. Monster Magnet is pretty much essential if you like this kind of music because they have this ambiance about them on every album.
Fu Manchu – Daredevil
-Just imagine yourself driving at an absolute insane speed in the desert while listening to this album and you can pretty much understand their whole catalogue.
Goatsnake- Dog Days
-Stoner Rock greats. Goatsnake still has one of the best Vocalists in this genre in modern times.
Baroness- The Red Album
-Gruff sounding and absolutely amazing band from GA. Their blue album I thought was more progressive sounding and didn’t retain the heavier aspects that the Red album did when I first heard it. Enjoy this!
Orange Goblin – The Big Black
-Very Doom-ish kinda of like Electric wizard I suppose. Very slow constant grooves but then it just hits you like a ton of bricks. It’s like listening to Black Sabbath for the first time all over again.
Spiritual Beggers – Ad Astra
-Pretty awesome band, but sometimes I got to be in a mood to listening to them mainly because of the vocal delivery on this album. Still highly recommended though.
Kylesia – Static Tensions
-This band takes everything that Pink Floyd, Melvins, and Slayer do correctly and improve on it. Two drummers and Two vocalists. Already sound amazing right? It is
Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf
-And here it is…Josh Homme from the band, Kyuss earlier on the list. This is his band and its pretty much mainstream now but still it was really awesome when I first heard this and on occasion I enjoy re-listening to it. Good stuff.
Firebird – Firebird
-Another great stoner rock band
Sheavy – Celestial Hi-Fi
-A lot of people cite this band’s first album as the best but I think that this one is better. Sounds a lot like Black Sabbath riff wise I think, and possibly vocally too.
Black Sabbath – Masters of Reality
-The Masters of them all, this is my favorite album of theirs. Yes Paranoid is good and Yes their self-titled album is good too but I like this one because ive listened to it more than any other in their catalogue of albums.
Mondo Generator – Cocaine Rodeo
-You know these dudes were high as hell recording this……just listen to it.
NovaDiver – Void
-Another great Stoner rock band, pretty immense if you ask me. Lots and lots of feedback just the way I like it. Put this on driving down the road, great driving music.
Saint Vitus – Born to Late
-America’s Response to Black Sabbath. I also consider them Kings of the Genre because almost as many people rip them off as they rip off Black Sabbath.
Soundgarden- Badmotofinger
-Typically people wouldn’t think of them as a Stoner rock band but I personally feel that the comparison is or should be universal but I guess because it isn’t politically correct call them that they were “Grunge” or “Hard Rock” whatever haha
Blood Farmers- Permanent Brain Damage
-Just recently got into this band, I suppose I overlooked them before. There are a lot of interesting ideas on this album maybe some other albums are good but I don’t know yet because this is the only album I’m really digging on right now.
Che- Sounds of Liberation
-Amazing Supergroup with musicians from Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Unida, Yawning Man, Queens of the Stone Age.
Shrinebuilder - Shrinebuilder
-Another Amazing supergroup(and one of my albums of the year in 2009) the musicians have previously played in Om, Neurosis, Melvins, Saint Vitus, Sleep and im sure more but I cannot remember either way this album is great!
Hopefully you'll find something new in this list. I know alot of these are well known at least to people to know about the given bands but alot of people overlook bands because they are supposidly "Clones" of a given style. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment