Stoner rock or
stoner metal is a musical subgenre which combines elements of
heavy metal,
psychedelic rock,
blues rock,
acid rock, and
doom metal. The term
desert rock is often used interchangeably with the term "stoner rock" to describe this genre; however, not all stoner rock bands would fall under the descriptor of "desert rock." Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid
tempo and features a heavily
distorted,
groove laden
bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and "retro" production. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by the
Californian bands
Kyuss and
Sleep.