Grunge: Metal or not?

[Zzzptm]

Kyuss has a foot in metal, but it's definitely heading toward the desert. And, yes, desert is for those who don't like the stoner label... and, yes, they're all closely related to sludge and grunge and it's really hard picking and choosing, but I know for sure when I hit stuff I don't like, chances are that the Bandcamp tags include "sludge" and/or "grunge". If I've made a really bad choice, "shoegaze" is in there or some other word ending in "-gaze".

I almost made another thread for it, but the styles are all *so* close, I thought I'd capture that frustration and keep that discussion here.

One could almost characterize the styles by drugs that fit the music...

HARD ROCK: Alcohol and cocaine

PUNK: Alcohol and meth

METAL: Cocaine and meth. And alcohol.

GRUNGE: Heroin

SLUDGE: Heroin and prescription meds way past their expiration dates

STONER: Weed

DESERT: No weed, but they're getting a contact high off the stoners in the crowd

DOOM: Absinthe and acid

SPACE: Acid and more acid

[Billy Underdog]

^^^

You could add Heroin to later Punk and Goth too. There should be a genre based on Extacy/MDMA. Rave Metal...

But how is this not Metal? And how is it "radio-friendly" in '89? Everything with Dale Crover is automatically Metal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-hk4IkTPgI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMDGO8RjJEg

[Zzzptm]

Indeed, how is it not metal? This is more a sliding scale than a binary yes/no thing. Sounds like we need another thread for *that* topic, as it's getting beyond the grunge/metal question.