Pop/Rock » Heavy Metal » Stoner Metal

Though plenty of heavy metal bands have been regarded through the years as especially compatible with the effects of marijuana, stoner metal was a distinctly '90s phenomenon. Stoner metal bands updated the long, mind-bending jams and ultra-heavy riffs of bands like Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Blue Oyster Cult, and Hawkwind by filtering their psychedelia-tinged metal and acid rock through the buzzing sound of early Sub Pop-style grunge. Stoner metal could be campy and self-aware, messily evocative, or unabashedly retro; in any case, bands like Monster Magnet and Kyuss were perfect fits for the eclectic tastes of the early-'90s alternative metal movement. Even after grunge had faded away, and the influence of industrial and hip-hop began to dominate alternative metal, stoner metal maintained a devoted cult following into the new millennium.