Is Jerry Cantrell the most definitive Grunge guitarist?

[lightningsmith]

There's no ultimate cause they're all so unique and each help define the Grunge genre with their respective bands, but in terms of capturing the quintessential Grunge guitar sound I think Jerry comes out on top with his grouchy, aggressive, dishevelled and raw style - pretty much what Grunge is all about - that's played very masterfully.

 

[tnvol]

Kim Thail is right up there in my opinion.

 

[wingwalker]

I nver thought AIC was a "Grunge" band...

Definitive Grunge guitar player...many would agree but many would disagree but I have to vote King Buzzo

 

[PVH5150]

Never considered AIC grunge. They're a straight up hard rock band.

Jerry's got insane chops and awesome tone, something I don't associate remotely with grunge.

 

[secretsoundz]

all hail king buzzo!!!

 

[reo73]

AIC is not 'Grunge' so the answer is no. But he is a damn fine hard rock guitar player.

 

[Tri7/5]

I'm glad that others agree that AIC wasn't a grunge band. AIC was AIC. Incredibly dark riffs and feel that no one really matched at the time.

 

[lightningsmith]

You know, I always thought many don't consider AIC as Grunge because they have more Metal influence in their sound as opposed to Punk and 60's/70's Rock but their attitude and variation of Metal certainly points to Grunge, at least that's how I feel about it. Plus, many agree that Staley's voice is the definition of Grunge singing, even before he died.

 

[cugel]

god no

 

[tiktok]

ACI != Grunge.

Buzz Osbourne = Grunge
Kim Thayil = Grunge
Jerry Cantrell = Hard Rock

 

[tsar nicholas]

I agree with the majority that Alice In Chains wasn't a straight 'grunge' band; I think of them now as more metal / hard rock-oriented. Of course, at the time, they were lumped in there with grunge by everybody including me.

I'd say Mark Arm (Mudhoney) is the definitive grunge guitarist.

 

[Madguitrst]

I think Kurt Cobain was "the most definitive Grunge guitarist".

The rest of the guitarists from the popular "grunge" bands at the time were more capable players, thus it had to be hidden by taking away "the guitar solo" from most of grunge....at least guitars solos that showed off playing prowess (ie, anything but simple).

Anyway, just my $0.000002

 

[In Absentia]

ACI != Grunge.

Buzz Osbourne = Grunge
Kim Thayil = Grunge
Jerry Cantrell = Hard Rock

Looks pretty grunge to me.

I think a lot of the rock/ metal guys wanted to adopt AIC as being similar to them as a way to show that they were still relevant. Grunge as grunge can be, except Facelift. Anyone ever watch "Singles"?

 

[Polynitro]

yes. AIC and Soundgarden were grunge all the way. The problem is trying to fit a band into a label/mold. They may not have fit as well as Nirvana or Mudhoney but they were grunge. Pearl Jam dont fit perfectly either. The Melvins too-I think of them as stoner metal/rock more than grunge.

 

[dsmc80]

AIC is not 'Grunge' so the answer is no. But he is a damn fine hard rock guitar player.

This.

Cantrell is great, but AIC is much more in the vein of hard rock than it is Grunge.

 

[lightningsmith]

Looks pretty grunge to me.

I think a lot of the rock/ metal guys wanted to adopt AIC as being similar to them as a way to show that they were still relevant. Grunge as grunge can be, except Facelift. Anyone ever watch "Singles"?

Yeah, I think their obvious Metal sound made them stood out from other Grunge bands and it is probably for that reason the Rock/Metal crowd dig them and don't regard AIC as Grunge. But you could tell they were trying to be part of the Grunge movement then. I didn't watch the entire movie but yeah, I remember that part in Singles where AIC was playing in a club, cool scene!

 

[A-Bone]

This has always been one of the difficulties with "grunge" as anything other than a marketing label for music arising from a specific geography within a set of years.

After all, was Seven Year Bitch grunge? The Gits? Fastbacks? The Melvins? Tad? Mudhoney? Pearl Jam? Alice In Chains? Soundgarden? Nirvana? Even with this really superficial list in terms of Seattle music from the late 80s and early 90s there is pretty wide sonic variety between individual bands.

 

[A-Bone]

I remember an interview with Cantrell where someone asked him about AIC as a grunge band, and he said something like "I don't know what grunge is. I always thought of us as a metal band."

They definitely came out of the music scene with Soundgarden, et al, but I think it was not a matter of AIC trying to fit into it, as much as they were a natural part of the same local scene. And in that scene, "grunge" did not mean anything.

 

[Lemon Crush]

Great tone, riffs, phrasing and vocals. J. Can FTW!

 

[lightningsmith]

This has always been one of the difficulties with "grunge" as anything other than a marketing label for music arising from a specific geography within a set of years.

After all, was Seven Year Bitch grunge? The Gits? Fastbacks? The Melvins? Tad? Mudhoney? Pearl Jam? Alice In Chains? Soundgarden? Nirvana? Even with this really superficial list in terms of Seattle music from the late 80s and early 90s there is pretty wide sonic variety between individual bands.

It's true, those bands were very different musically but the Grunge movement, I feel, was more of a representation of the attitude of the new post-Hair Metal generation that took the notion of discontent and back to basics to the extreme, as evident in their disenfranchised and look-at-me-I'm-struggling overall tone.