We recently started Monster Riff Presents, a Spotify podcast about everything Stoner Rock and Stoner Rock-related. In our first episode, “Intro to Stoner Rock,” we explore the bands and songs that have helped to shape the genre over the years. Here’s the transcript from the first episode: Hey everyone, welcome to the first episode of […]
Read More Monster Riff Presents: Intro to Stoner RockPicture this: You’re behind the steering wheel of a rusted out van. Beneath you, the tires roll and bump over the uneven desert ground. The cool evening wind whips through your open windows, and bits of sand and grit slip into your hair. Above you, a full moon spills onto the desert vista. Far away, […]
Read More The Birth of Desert Rock: The Legend of the Generator PartiesStoner Rock is known for placing an emphasis on the riff. Sure, there’s room for Hard Rock-Pop sensibilities (like in Monster Magnet) and there’s also room for grandiose guitar solos (like in Greenleaf), but Stoner Rock’s signature has always been the warm, fuzzy, Earth-rattling guitar riff. That’s the starting point. But Stoner Rock—and its sonic […]
Read More How to Write the Perfect Stoner Rock Song: On Pedals, Amps, and CompositionStoner Rock is often linked back to Black Sabbath—and rightfully so. Black Sabbath’s massive, gloomy riffs on Black Sabbath and Paranoid set the template for the future of Doom and Stoner Rock (even if it took 20 years or so for other bands to really hone in on the sound). So, sure, Black Sabbath was […]
Read More The Link Between Stoner Rock and Punk Rock: Why Black Flag Was Just as Influential as Black SabbathStoner Rock’s roots go back quite a few decades. The earliest agreed upon instances of Stoner Rock were in Black Sabbath’s debut album in 1969, but we continued to see glimpses of the genre over the next few years: Pink Floyd expanded Psychedelia and Space Rock, Led Zeppelin showed that riffing and jamming could be […]
Read More Best Stoner Rock Bands By Decade