No, the Beach Boys weren't psychedelic, except perhaps for a few minutes during Pet Sounds. I would say, in the vaguely metal realm, the best example is Hawkwind. Generally speaking, the music swoops and sweeps and whips and whirs and contains all kindsa neat spacey sounds. But that's trying to put a box around it, which I don't think is easy.
To be plain and simple about it, it's impossible to describe the psychedelic experience to someone if they've never had it (not that I know whether you have or haven't). That sounds conceited, but I don't mean it like that. It's like trying to describe what smells are to someone who doesn't have a nose. That said, I find that a lot of music I like has psychedelic elements.....but it's not always obvious, and not always labled psychedelic in nature.
All that said, some bands that I like, and consider psychedelic are as follows. Most of them are also labled as psychedelic by the world at large......
ISIS
Hawkwind
Grateful Dead
Acid Mother's Temple
....well that's a few anyway.
Succinctly, it tends to be very trance like and repetive, but with big long crescendos and sweeping landscapes. You know.....
Oh, and for those of you who are noting I left Pink Floyd out....well, to me they are just too depressing to be psychedelic, or at least too depressing to listen to while using psychedelics.
PS - none of this is an admission to using (or not using) psychedelics. Heh.
Though, that would make an interesting conversation in the old-school forum if you ask me.....
