On September 24, 1991, Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind was released to record stores. Just four months later, it hit the top spot of the Billboard 200 album charts. Nirvana's breakthrough success sparked the popularity of grunge music. And 20 years after this album hit the top, we revisit grunge music at its peak.
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| The albums Nevermind by Nirvana, Ten by Pearl Jam, Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden, and Dirt by Alice in Chains sparked the beginning of grunge music, which hit its peak in 1992. |
Grunge originated from Seattle, Washington, and its music consists of angst-filled lyrics, distored guitars, and loud, raspy vocals, way different from the glossy production of hair metal. In addition, grunge musicians don't care about the elaborate stage production nor the flashy clothes. Live shows featured a simplistic sound stage, and musicians tend to wear flannel shirts, torn jeans, boots and Converse chucks. The first record label dedicated to the genre was the Sub Pop records, which signed Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. The release of Nevermind paved the way for alternative rock to enter the mainstream. On this article, we feature the 'Big Four' of grunge.
1. Nirvana
Kurt Cobain - lead vocals, guitars
Krist Novoselic - bass guitars, backing vocals
Dave Grohl - drums, backing vocals
Undoubtedly the standard-bearers of grunge, Nirvana's Nevermind album is one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling around 30 million copies. The album produced hits such as 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come As You Are' and 'Lithium'. The band's success was unexpected, however it took its toll on Cobain, whose suicide in April 1994 effectively ended the band. Grohl later formed Foo Fighters, who achieved success on their own right. Novoselic would become an activist, and later contributed on the Foo Fighters' 2011 album Wasting Light. Pat Smear was added as a second guitarist late in the band's history, and soon after joined Grohl with the Foo Fighters on two separate stints.
2. Pearl Jam
Eddie Vedder - lead vocals, occassional guitars
Jeff Ament - bass guitars
Stone Gossard - guitars
Mike McCready - guitars
Matt Cameron - drums
Pearl Jam was formed as an offshoot of Mother Love Bone, where Ament and Gossard were members. Before the band's formation, they were joined by Vedder and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron as the Andrew Wood tribute band Temple of the Dog, and released 'Hunger Strike' in 1991. Months later, Pearl Jam released the critically-acclaimed Ten album, which spawned the hits 'Alive', 'Evenflow' and 'Jeremy'. The band continues to perform today, and recently released their greatest hits collection PJ20, a documentary and compilation album about the band's history. Cameron joined Pearl Jam in 1998, after Soundgarden disbanded. The band was known for refusing to make music videos during the mid-90s, relying only on radio airplay and live shows to boost album sales.
3. Soundgarden
Chris Cornell - lead vocals, occassional guitars
Kim Thayil - guitars
Ben Shepherd - bass guitars
Matt Cameron - drums
Soundgarden was the first of the 'Big Four' to form, as they were founded in 1984. Their most famous lineup was completed when original bassist Hiro Yamamoto left and Shepherd replaced him in 1990, before the release of their breakthrough album Badmotorfinger. But it was 1994's Superunknown that placed the band on the map. The album topped the Billboard 200 in the spring of 1994, and spawned hits such as 'Black Hole Sun' and 'Spoonman'. The band temporarily disbanded in 1997. During their 13-year hiatus Cameron joined Pearl Jam, while Cornell achieved modest success as a solo artist and as a member of Audioslave, alongside members of Rage Against the Machine. Soundgarden reformed in 2010 and released their greatest hits album Telephantasm. Even though the band reformed, Cameron continues to perform for Pearl Jam while Soundgarden is on hiatus, and vice versa.
4. Alice in Chains
Layne Staley - lead vocals
Jerry Cantrell - guitars, backing vocals
Mike Starr - bass guitars
Sean Kinney - drums
Listed above was their lineup from the 1992 album Dirt, which spawned hits such as 'Down In A Hole' and 'Would'. Unlike their contemporaries, Alice in Chains relied on heavy metal influences to create a rawer sound. The driving forces for the band were Staley and Cantrell, whose harmonic vocals provide the band a distinct sound that would influence later alternative metal bands. Mike Inez replaced Starr at bass in 1993, while Staley would die of a drug overdose in 2002. The band is now led by William DuVall on vocals and recently released Black Gives Way to Blue in 2010.
The popularity of grunge also extends to alternative rock on an overall perspective. Alternative funk group Red Hot Chili Peppers released their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik to good reviews, while California-based grunge band Stone Temple Pilots released their debut album Core. In addition, MTV would showcase the other side of grunge through its MTV Unplugged specials. All except Soundgarden performed on MTV Unplugged, with Nirvana's 1993 performance among the most critically acclaimed performances on the show. Another MTV program, Beavis and Butt-head, would also occasionally critique the music videos of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, mostly to good reviews. And the launch of Lollapalooza in mid-1992 provided young, up-and-coming alternative bands the opportunity for exposure.
Though grunge would no longer exist by the time Nirvana's Kurt Cobain shot himself to death in his Seattle home, its influence endures to future alternative rock bands. An example of which is Dave Grohl's current band the Foo Fighters, whose music is partially influenced by Grohl's former band Nirvana. In addition, bands such as Pearl Jam continue to perform and release albums, while Alice in Chains and Soundgarden reunited. Grunge may be gone, but it will never be forgotten.
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