Do you enjoy listening to heavy music while? Do you get riffs stuck in your head instead of lyrics? Are songs about aliens, demons, the end of the world, and ancient gods your jam? Well, you might already be a fan of stoner rock, stoner metal, doom metal, or one of the other myriad monikers by which groove-laden heavy music with a psychedelic twist is known.
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Whether you’re a resin-caked stoner rock veteran, just getting into the sub-genre, or looking for a soundtrack to your next session, these five deep cuts will scratch the itch.
“Guild of Mute Assassins” by Clutch
Let’s start this journey into stoner rock with Clutch. The Maryland-based band is accessible, has a deep discography, and packs more groove than you can shake a stick at.
Clutch isn’t the most obscure band by any means, but this track from their 2003 compilation album Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased is a hidden gem in their catalog. It has all you’ll need—big, fuzzy riffs, cool lyrics to sink your teeth into, and Neil Fallon’s top-tier vocals.
“Dying Earth” by The Sword
Texas-based rockers The Sword were a little more doom-heavy in their early days. This is especially true for their 2006 debut Age of Winters. However, by the time they released Apocryphon in 2012, they had found a new sound that was just as groove-heavy as their debut but with faster tempos.
“Dying Earth” isn’t the most popular cut on Apocryphon. However, it’s a nearly perfect stoner rock track. It starts with a spacey intro followed by a breakneck guitar work that leads into a monolith of a riff that’s sure to satisfy. J.D. Cronise’s vocals blend perfectly with the crushing guitars and thunderous drums. All of that, combined with lyrical themes of wizards, magic, and the end of the world make this the perfect addition to your playlist.
“Tharsis Sleeps” by Throne
Stoner rock like the above tracks is great. However, many fans agree that the real good stuff comes at the intersection of doom metal and stoner rock. With that being said, let’s get a little heavier and a little deeper in the weeds.
Throne was an incredibly promising stoner/doom metal band from the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the band split after four years together in 2015. The previous year, the band released its sole EP, Where Tharsis Sleeps. The collection’s title track will give you a taste of what could have been. The massive riffs, lyrical themes, and vocal delivery are all exemplary of the sub-genre’s sound. Also, the hand-stitched animated video is a work of art.
“Holy Mountain” by Sleep
No honest conversation about the intersection of stoner rock and doom metal would be complete with Sleep. Hailed by many critics, historians, fans, and aged wizards who live in huts atop mountains as the godfathers of stoner metal, Sleep never fails to deliver.
Their 1993 album Sleep’s Holy Mountain helped lay the blueprint for countless bands. “Holy Mountain” is a perfect example of why the band and this album are held in such high regard more than 30 years later.
“Tree of Woe” by Acid Mammoth
Billing themselves as “Sabbath-worshipping Cimmerian Doom,” Acid Mammoth is criminally underrated. Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if Black Sabbath-era Ozzy Osbourne fronted a stoner/doom metal band? Well, Acid Mammoth is as close to that as you’re going to get without the help of AI.
The band’s 2020 release, Under Acid Hoof, is a near-perfect example of their sound, and “Tree of Woe” is the collection’s high point. The riffs are so heavy that listening to this track with headphones is like being crushed under the weight of a smoke-scented mammoth in the best way possible.
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