Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Badmotorfinger\u00a0<\/em>(1991)<\/p>\n As we already mentioned, Soundgarden\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>one of the more psychedelic-based groups of the Seattle scene, so there were a few different options here. But “Searching With My Good Eye Closed” from\u00a0Badmotorfinger\u00a0<\/em>has such a dreamlike, airy sound to it and even starts off with a talking children’s toy called a See N’ Say that makes the farm animal noises.<\/p>\n It’s such an eccentric, atmospheric track overall and it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s 6-and-a-half minutes long.<\/p>\n “There was something really trippy about it,” Chris Cornell<\/a> said of the song in a retrospective interview<\/a>. “I think there was something in that world of indie psychedelia that was still sort of heavy that we could do well.”<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Jar of Flies\u00a0<\/em>(EP, 1994)<\/p>\n Alice In Chains had plenty of colorful moments in their discography, but “Rotten Apple” from the acoustic\u00a0Jar of Flies\u00a0<\/em>EP is certainly a standout. It sounds like an acid trip in the Wild West because the airy acoustics and the talk box at the beginning give it a slightly country twang.<\/p>\n Layne Staley<\/a>‘s harmonies are hypnotic and mesmerizing throughout the entire track, working more as an instrument than a lead vocal and creating a sense of disorientation.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Dust\u00a0<\/em>(1996)<\/p>\n Of all of the grunge and grunge-adjacent bands, Screaming Trees were the\u00a0most\u00a0<\/em>psychedelically infused, channeling\u00a0a trippy garage-rock energy through most of their career.<\/p>\n Among their many psychedelic songs is “Halo of Ashes,” which is especially unique because of the shimmering, Eastern-inflicted guitar tone that’s delivers the same hypnotic effect as a sitar.\u00a0That tone carries throughout the song, anchored by an energetic\u00a0rhythm and Mark Lanegan<\/a>‘s deep, airy vocals.<\/p>\n “Halo of Ashes” is ultimately the perfect blend of intensity and spacious, hallucinogenic textures. Much of the band’s later ’90s work is considered more grungy than what they put out earlier in the decade, but this song showed that they still had an experimental side.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Binaural\u00a0<\/em>(2000)<\/p>\n Who needs hallucinogenics when you can just listen to Mike McCready<\/a>‘s trance-inducing guitar work on Pearl Jam<\/a>‘s “Nothing As It Seems”? It’s a slow-burning descent into introspection that feels like half-consciously drifting through a dream.<\/p>\n Eddie Vedder<\/a> stays in his lower register throughout the track and delivers his vocals in a gentle and unsettling way that’s almost like hearing a voice echo in the distance. The rhythm section is subtle and the production is ambient \u2014 listening to it in the dark would essentially teeter on the edge of spooky.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Above\u00a0<\/em>(1995)<\/p>\n It’s not often that you hear a vibraphone in a rock song, but that’s what opens Mad Season<\/a>‘s sole 1995 album\u00a0Above\u00a0<\/em>at the start of the song “Wake Up.” The ethereal, delicate instrumentation sounds like the most relaxing dream, then Staley’s familiar, emotive vocals carry you even deeper into a sense of calmness.<\/p>\n The second half of the song builds up dramatically, with McCready’s soaring guitar work that adds an otherworldly flavor, before digressing back to its\u00a0soothing original pace. At 7-and-a-half minutes, “Wake Up” is a rollercoaster of consciousness, like drifting off to sleep, having a vivid dream and then slipping back into a deeper state of slumber.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Skin Yard\u00a0<\/em>(1987)<\/p>\n Skin Yard were like The Doors of the late ’80s because of\u00a0just how bizarre and unique their sound was. “The Blind Leading the Blind” from their 1987 eponymous album was one of the earliest instances of psychedelia heard within the Seattle grunge scene.<\/p>\n The first few seconds of the song alone are rather unnerving, with screeches and guitar effects that slither\u00a0back and forth like a serpent. Ben McMillan’s\u00a0soft-yet-commanding vocals float over the hypnotic, fluid rhythm, creating an eerie and mesmerizing listen.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Bullhead\u00a0<\/em>(1991)<\/p>\n Melvins<\/a> have always been one of the most experimental forces in heavy music. Diehard fans often point to the Lysol\u00a0<\/em>album as the band\u2019s most mind-bending, psychedelic statement, but since it\u2019s not available on YouTube or Spotify, we had to look for the next best thing.<\/p>\n \u201cBoris,\u201d the opening track on Bullhead<\/em>, is the perfect runner-up. It’s a long listen at over 8-and-a-half minutes, but well worth it. It\u2019s not \u201cpsychedelic\u201d in the same way other songs on this list might be because it\u2019s still unmistakably Melvins \u2014 heavy, sludgy and drenched in thick, fuzzy distortion. But the hypnotic repetition of the main riff creates a trance-like effect with a hallucinogenic edge.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Album:\u00a0<\/strong>Apple\u00a0<\/em>(1990)<\/p>\n Another instrument grunge bands didn\u2019t use often\u00a0was the piano, but Mother Love Bone<\/a>\u2019s sole 1990 record Apple\u00a0<\/em>opens with one of the most inviting and mesmerizing piano melodies you can imagine. \u201cChloe Dancer\/Crown of Thorns\u201d isn\u2019t psychedelic because it throws around trippy effects, but because of the ethereal, dreamlike atmosphere it creates.<\/p>\nAlice In Chains, ‘Rotten Apple’<\/h2>\n
Screaming Trees, ‘Halo of Ashes’<\/h2>\n
Pearl Jam, ‘Nothing As It Seems’<\/h2>\n
Mad Season, ‘Wake Up’<\/h2>\n
Skin Yard, ‘The Blind Leading the Blind’<\/h2>\n
Melvins, ‘Boris’<\/h2>\n
Mother Love Bone, ‘Chloe Dancer\/Crown of Thorns’<\/h2>\n