Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock that emerged in the '60s. It is influenced by the psychedelic culture of the time, and psychedelic (psychotropic) drugs, such as LSD and shrooms.
The musical style often incorporates flowing, hypnotic rhythms. Typical instruments associated with the genre include electric guitar, which is often augmented with effects pedals; various types of organs, which include Hammonds and Farfisas; bass guitar, and drums. Vocals in psychedelic rock music are also sometimes augmented with effects.
The 13th Floor Elevators, who formed and released their debut album in 1965, are often credited as being one of the first, if not the first psychedelic rock band. Other bands like The Charlatans (who formed in 1964, but would not release their debut album until 1969) had a similar style, but The 13th Floor Elevators brought the style of music to prominence among the mainstream. In the following years, more psychedelic rock acts began to emerge, such as Love, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Kaleidoscope, and The Pink Floyd. Bands that were active before the popularization of psychedelia, such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, began to move their music in a more psychedelic direction as well.
There are many subgenres of psychedelic rock as well, such as space rock, acid rock, and psychedelic pop. From the seeds of psychedelic rock emerged genres like hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, and experimental rock. Neo-psychedelia began to emerge in the 1980s, with bands such as Spacemen 3 and Loop. Contemporary bands that could be described as psychedelic rock include The Warlocks, The Black Angels, KingBathMat & Dead Meadow
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