In the minds of many, grunge is dead and gone. Though the heyday has long past, the genre did produce some very good and interesting bands. I like to compile lists of artists and albums that I call the "Ten Essential". In no particular order, I group up ten artists that I consider essential if you were to start a record collection of that genre. So break out the old jeans with the knees torn out and your best (torn) flannel shirt... without fanfare, here is my list of ten essential grunge artists you should know.
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains, alongside Metallica, was the definitive metal band of the early '90s. The band featured a bleak, minimalistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock and subtle acoustic tracks. They straddled a line between metal, punk and garage that placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands.
Green River
One of the first, if not THE first grunge band, and named for the Green River in the Seattle area, members went on to form other notable grunge bands such as Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney and Pearl Jam. Their tone has been described as dirty, sludgy and gleefully ugly... I can't disagree.
Mudhoney
Here is what allmusic.com says about the band. Mudhoney were the first real success story for Sub Pop Records; their indie-scene success laid the groundwork for the movement that would (briefly) make Seattle, WA, the new capital of the rock & roll universe; and they took the sweat-soaked and beer-fueled mixture of heavy metal muscle, punk attitude, and garage rock primitivism that would become known as "grunge" to the hipster audience for the first time, who would in turn sell it to a mass audience ready for something new. Well said...
Nirvana
The breakout artist of the grunge movement. They were not the first, but they were at the onset of grunge's popularity, with their gazillion seller "Nevermind". In the minds of many, they created grunge. We know this to be incorrect, but in terms of influence, Nirvana topped the scene. After Kurt Cobaine's death, a great post-grunge band Foo Fighters emerged from the ashes.
Pearl Jam
Back in '90, my roommate wore out the cd "Ten". I think it was my cd, but he wore it out. Rising from the ashes of Mother Love Bone, they went on to become one of the most popular bands of the '90s. According to allmusic.com: "After vocalist Andrew Wood overdosed on heroin in 1990, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament assembled a new band, bringing in Mike McCready on lead guitar and recording a demo with Soundgarden's Matt Cameron on drums. Thanks to future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons, the demo found its way to a 25-year-old San Diego surfer named Eddie Vedder, who overdubbed vocals and original lyrics and was subsequently invited to join the band." the rest is history, as they say.
Soundgarden
This was actually the first grunge band I caught on to. I heard their first outing, and it seemed to be a refreshing hard rock (read: non-hair band) take in the late 80s.A guy I know from A&M gave me a demo copy of their first record, and I enjoyed the fresh sounds. Zeppelinesque, I thought at the time. These guys brought a metal tone to alt rock.
L7
More than just the obligatory "all girl" band of the genre, L7 brought a punk sensibility and ethos to grunge. They hailed from LA, but were often lumped in with the "Seattle Movement" of the early '90s. Founded in 1985 by a pair of guitarists/singers, Suzi Gardner and Donita Sparks, they forged a sound that was in the right place at the right time for success. Suzi has punk street cred, as she was featured on Black Flag's "Slip it In".
Melvins
The Melvins revelled in the slow, sludgy sounds of Black Sabbath meets Black Flag. Slow and heavy and barren of indulgent guitar solos — it's dark and plodding. The Melvins' first record was released in 1987 and in 1993 they went to a major label, thanks to Kurt Cobain. The band formed in Aberdeen, WA, the same town that produced Nirvana's Cobain and Krist Novoselic.
Mother Love Bone
On the grunge family tree, this band gave birth to Pearl Jam. One of the original grunge acts, they were harkening back to a sound from the early 70's glam and metal scene. The untimely death of lead singer Andrew Wood brought about the early demise of MLB and the birth of Pearl Jam.
Screaming Trees
The Trees melded punk, psychedelia and metal into an awesome sound. Never quite the darlings of the MTV grunge explosion, they had a sound that seperated them from the run of the mill acts of the time. These guys were cut from their own cloth, and not easy to pidgeonhole alongside other acts and therefore never attained the towering heights of other Seattle area bands.
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots turned grunge into stadium rock, to the delight of fans and scorn of critics, who saw them as derrivative of arena rock and other Seattle acts of their era. Less like the dark lyrics and droning of many other bands, they had a tight, radio-friendly sound that holds up pretty well.
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