Rate the "Big 4" Grunge bands

Which band has been most impactful for you?

  • Total voters
    539
Dr. Tinnitus

Dr. Tinnitus

Member
Messages
3,426
I'm just curious to know what we think about these bands about 30 years later.

It's not necessary a comparison, just which band has been most impactful in your life and with your music.
 
Dr. Tinnitus

Dr. Tinnitus

Member
Messages
3,426
jb70 said:
It's a tie between AIC and Soundgarden. I know Stone Temple Pilots technically aren't a Seattle-based grunge band, but they are probably my overall favorite of all of the bands that came out of that era.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same position, except Chains got me playing the guitar as a teenager and into my first band. However, Soundgarden has been the sustaining band throughout my 30's. I've slowly appreciated Soundgarden more and more over the years...
 
jabromusic

jabromusic

Silver Supporting Member
Messages
5,804
Dr. Tinnitus said:
I'm in the same position, except Chains got me playing the guitar as a teenager and into my first band. However, Soundgarden has been the sustaining band throughout my 30's. I've slowly appreciated Soundgarden more and more over the years...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's like 1a and 1b for me. Both were just about equally important.
 
S

sixty2strat

Member
Messages
12,561
I say1. Nirvanna as the catchy but heavy angry pop tunes opened my eyes to new music.2. Soundgarden was the most musically interesting and weird as well as heavy,maybe the Yes of grunge in that their stuff was too hard for most cover bands to play correctly, unless thye made it into 4/4 :(....lol. 5. PJ, ok but lost me quickly and hated the sound of the 1st album. 3. AIC, in retrospect not really grunge....more trippy smack metal. Can't say as they influenced me as I was the same age or 2or 3 years older. But after 10 years of screeching high vocals, gated reverb drums and whammy bar **** it was nice to hear songs riffs and melodies in powerful music
 
Last edited:
fuzz_factor

fuzz_factor

Silver Supporting Member
Messages
4,381
Nirvana was much more impactful on me when I was younger. They were my favorite band for years. But Cobain's dead and their star has kind of faded. Their music is still great, but has lost some of the impact and - dare I say - hasn't quite held up as well. (The songs are good; I'm talking about the cultural impact).

These days I listen to Pearl Jam more. Lot's of good rock songs. Soundgarden is great, too. I saw them when they were touring Louder Than Love, opening for Danzig. They blew everyone away and were by far the better band. Literally earthshaking. (Corrosion of Conformity also played). I guess their influence on me is more subtle. More in the music.

I like Alice in Chains, but they haven't had the emotional impact on me. I can see why they'd be tops for some people, however. Good stuff! Someone mentioned STP and I listened to that first album over and over. I never got the 'Clone Temple Pilots' thing. There isn't room for more than four good bands? It's not like they were Candlebox...
 
pbenn2112

pbenn2112

Member
Messages
1,227
Dr. Tinnitus said:
I'm just curious to know what we think about these bands about 30 years later.

It's not necessary a comparison, just which band has been most impactful in your life and with your music.
Click to expand...
I voted for Pearl Jam simply because I’ve listened to them the most. AIC and Nirvana might be kind of tied I suppose for 2nd. I never really got into Soundgarden as much for some reason. I always seem to like their music when I listen to it. Just haven’t listened as often.
 
Alpione

Alpione

Silver Supporting Member
Messages
1,204
Pearl Jam for me. Eddie can come off a little annoying and pretentious to me sometimes, but their catalog is pretty vast at this point and they’re the only one of these bands still kicking.
 
Barnzy

Barnzy

Member
Messages
3,947
Badmotorfinger was a huge game changer for me. The “Outshined” video started the fire for me. Then I special-ordered the double CD version with the “SOMMS” disc and still listen to it this day. It’s beat to hell from so many plays! I like Soundgarden’s “Into the Void” better than Sabbath’s version! The heavy riffs and Cornell’s soaring voice just captivate me. Don’t get me started on “Temple of the Dog”... start to finish my favourite album still!!!
 
S

strumminsix

Member
Messages
4,593
Love Nirvana.

Then I learned how to properly play Plush and realize how amazing their guitarist was. And then learned how to sing it and realize how amazing their singer was. Then I dug in and find them to be an amazing band.
 
Whittlez

Whittlez

Silver Supporting Member
Messages
3,326
Yea, I gotta give respect to Stone Temple Pilots. Wen they came out, they were dissed as a band that was jumping on the train and almost like a Pearl Jam soundalike (and yes, Scott Weiland to some extent appropriated the same style), BUT they definitely came into their own and I would rank them up there with my other favorite - Alice in Chains.

Nirvana bores the Q#$(#$ out of me. i think they are galactically overrated.

Also, STP uses REALLY unique chords and the songwriting in general is actually way more interesting than it seems at first glance. Beato points this out too - the DeLeo brothers are pretty amazing. The amount of variety in sounds and stuff they get from just those three instruments is amazing.

Soundgarden were great, but imo - STP and ALice in Chains were better and more impactful to me as well.

Pearl Jam I'm lukewarm on. They are almost kind of a "grunge jam band" - their live performances can be admittedly great. My biggest issue with them is Vedder's singer. The mumbly vocal style leaves me cold. I also think their remake of Last Kiss is TERRIBLE and his singsong chipmunky vocal style in that song is terrible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Trending Topics

Top Bottom