Grunge

Constantine wrote:Here are some recommendations:

Forevertree - Turning
Yonderboy - Mission Of Mercy
Guardian - Buzz, Bottle Rocket
Randy Rose - Sacrificium
King James - The Fall
Johnny Q. Public - Extra Ordinary
Sometime Sunday - Stone, Drain
Leaderdogs For The Blind - Lemonade
DeGarmo & Key - To Extremes
GS Megaphone - Out Of My Mind

Everdown - Sicken
Wish For Eden - Pet The Fish
Strongarm - Atonement
Stavesacre - Friction
Plankeye - Spill
Skypark - Am I Pretty
Holy Soldier - Promise Man
Skillet - S/T, Collide
Third Day - Conspiracy #5
Precious Death - If You Must

Thanks constantine, i'll check some of those out.  I remember a few of them and some of them look like they might have followed the trend (DeGarmo & key, really...)

TZ75 wrote:

outofstep wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:According to the book: Nirvana, by Carrie Borzillo, I think that was the book, I have read a few-- it was Everett True, a journalist for Melody maker that coined the term.  As for pearl Jam... They had some cool tunes, too.  I would call them straight up 90's rock with a flannel shirt. Alice in chains had that sludge factor, not saying it was inspired by Melvins etc, just saying they had it, which is why they possibly could have been nicked as a grunge band.  Who knows.  great band either way.

I think you're absolutely correct in saying the Melvins had an influence on the Alice in Chains. I completely agree that bands like Alice in Chains and the early Soundgarden albums were massively influence by metal as well, in all honesty if Alice in Chains was from Boston they probably wouldn't have been lumped in with grunge.  Pearl Jam is much more 90's rock to me, just like you and others said, but they formed from the ashes of Green River, much more true to the classic "seattle sound". Much better than Pearl Jam too, but I've kind of always hated that band for reasons unknown.

You’re forgetting the whole Mother Love Bone period between Green River and Pearl Jam.

I did, yes! Thanks for reminding me.

UltraMagnus wrote:Stone Temple Pilots are my favorites from that era. They got lumped in with the Seattle scene, even though they were from California. With the possible exception of their debut, Core, I don't consider them grunge at all. They're more-or-less a classic/hard rock band. Kind of a blend of Led Zeppelin and The Doors most of the time.

They are excellent.  They were coined the fake grunge band for some reason. Nothing fake about them, they had that old classic zep, doors thing mixed with this funk and heavy groove vibe, fantastic.  And the bass player is a mofo!

STP’s Core album is great! 

It rocks and has a lot of melodic hooks.

Tombie wrote:Members from both the Melvins and Nirvana are originally from Aberdeen, Washington... my hometown. In fact, I went to school with Chris and Kurt from Nirvana and Dale from the Melvins. They were all friends and Dale Crover actually played drums for Nirvana at one time... Just a little useless knowledge lol.

Wow, that's cool! yeah Dale did a stint with Nirvana, I think after chad left...?  or was that the drummer from Mudhoney... anyway, I think he's on a track on insecticide album, too.  That's cool you went to school with all those guys, wow.

Dustofyears wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:Stone Temple Pilots are my favorites from that era. They got lumped in with the Seattle scene, even though they were from California. With the possible exception of their debut, Core, I don't consider them grunge at all. They're more-or-less a classic/hard rock band. Kind of a blend of Led Zeppelin and The Doors most of the time.

They are excellent.  They were coined the fake grunge band for some reason. Nothing fake about them, they had that old classic zep, doors thing mixed with this funk and heavy groove vibe, fantastic.  And the bass player is a mofo!

Robert DeLeo is one of the most underrated bass players and songwriters out there. I love everything he and his brother have done. The Talk Show album is one of my all time favorites. I don't see why everybody seems to hate it. It's pretty much Tiny Music II. The Army Of Anyone album is good as well.

UltraMagnus wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:Stone Temple Pilots are my favorites from that era. They got lumped in with the Seattle scene, even though they were from California. With the possible exception of their debut, Core, I don't consider them grunge at all. They're more-or-less a classic/hard rock band. Kind of a blend of Led Zeppelin and The Doors most of the time.

They are excellent.  They were coined the fake grunge band for some reason. Nothing fake about them, they had that old classic zep, doors thing mixed with this funk and heavy groove vibe, fantastic.  And the bass player is a mofo!

Robert DeLeo is one of the most underrated bass players and songwriters out there. I love everything he and his brother have done. The Talk Show album is one of my all time favorites. I don't see why everybody seems to hate it. It's pretty much Tiny Music II. The Army Of Anyone album is good as well.

I like the Army of Anyone album. It’s very underrated! And Ray Luzier’s drumming is also fantastic.

TZ75 wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:Stone Temple Pilots are my favorites from that era. They got lumped in with the Seattle scene, even though they were from California. With the possible exception of their debut, Core, I don't consider them grunge at all. They're more-or-less a classic/hard rock band. Kind of a blend of Led Zeppelin and The Doors most of the time.

They are excellent.  They were coined the fake grunge band for some reason. Nothing fake about them, they had that old classic zep, doors thing mixed with this funk and heavy groove vibe, fantastic.  And the bass player is a mofo!

Robert DeLeo is one of the most underrated bass players and songwriters out there. I love everything he and his brother have done. The Talk Show album is one of my all time favorites. I don't see why everybody seems to hate it. It's pretty much Tiny Music II. The Army Of Anyone album is good as well.

I like the Army of Anyone album. It’s very underrated! And Ray Luzier’s drumming is also fantastic.

I have not heard army of anyone, thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Ray's a machine behind the skins.  KXM are great too.

Dustofyears wrote:

TZ75 wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:

UltraMagnus wrote:Stone Temple Pilots are my favorites from that era. They got lumped in with the Seattle scene, even though they were from California. With the possible exception of their debut, Core, I don't consider them grunge at all. They're more-or-less a classic/hard rock band. Kind of a blend of Led Zeppelin and The Doors most of the time.

They are excellent.  They were coined the fake grunge band for some reason. Nothing fake about them, they had that old classic zep, doors thing mixed with this funk and heavy groove vibe, fantastic.  And the bass player is a mofo!

Robert DeLeo is one of the most underrated bass players and songwriters out there. I love everything he and his brother have done. The Talk Show album is one of my all time favorites. I don't see why everybody seems to hate it. It's pretty much Tiny Music II. The Army Of Anyone album is good as well.

I like the Army of Anyone album. It’s very underrated! And Ray Luzier’s drumming is also fantastic.

I have not heard army of anyone, thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Ray's a machine behind the skins.  KXM are great too.

No problem! I think you will like it.

Constantine wrote:

I would also add the bands GS Megaphone and The Prayer Chain.  Since you brought up Plankeye, their first three albums were stellar.

GS Megaphone is on the list, bottom of the 1st section.

I didn't include Prayer Chain because after reviewing their songs, they didn't seem to fit the OP's criteria as well as some of the other bands.   His criteria was a sound along the lines of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Alice In Chains.

I would add one more right now though, it has a definite Nirvana vibe:


Nailed - All Washed Up

Prayer Chain's Shawl is their grunge album.

Dustofyears wrote:

Tombie wrote:Members from both the Melvins and Nirvana are originally from Aberdeen, Washington... my hometown. In fact, I went to school with Chris and Kurt from Nirvana and Dale from the Melvins. They were all friends and Dale Crover actually played drums for Nirvana at one time... Just a little useless knowledge lol.

Wow, that's cool! yeah Dale did a stint with Nirvana, I think after chad left...?  or was that the drummer from Mudhoney... anyway, I think he's on a track on insecticide album, too.  That's cool you went to school with all those guys, wow.

I also lived near a few Metal Church members... Kurdt Vanderhoof and David Wayne. Kurdt and I worked out together at a local gym... They were originally from a neighboring town called Hoquiam.

So, I'll start by saying that being in high school and college in the 90s, I really don't even know what grunge really is/was.  Honestly, I think a lot of the bands we consider as doom are way closer to what I always thought the grunge sound was supposed to be.

Anyway, that being said, of the so-called grunge era, Grammatrain and Sometime Sunday top the list for me.  While I've never considered either one of them as grunge bands, I guess they were as close as anyone.  Grammatrain's demo before Lonely House is easily the best record they ever made IMO.  They got a little more polished (and farther away from what I want grunge to be) with each subsequent album, but that first one is still the best for me by far.

Now, Sometime Sunday - probably my absolute favorite 90s band from the so-called Christian market.  Both albums they did were so different and yet so great for different reasons.  I just can't say enough good things about both records.  The first one was much more "grunge" sounding while the second one had more punk influences to me, but I've never considered them a grunge band either way.

One band that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Elder.  They started out as Four Living Creatures then evolved into Elder.  Their first record was okay, but their second record, Plagues and Woes, is the epitome of the 90s alt rock sound for me.  It is easily one of the most underrated albums from that period, and there's definitely some grunge influences on there.  The songwriting, production, and lyrics are simply great.  Call it grunge, alternative, or whatever, that album was and is the total package for me for that sound.  If your looking for anything remotely related to the 90s grunge sound, give it a try.

FivePointPunk wrote:So, I'll start by saying that being in high school and college in the 90s, I really don't even know what grunge really is/was.  Honestly, I think a lot of the bands we consider as doom are way closer to what I always thought the grunge sound was supposed to be.

Anyway, that being said, of the so-called grunge era, Grammatrain and Sometime Sunday top the list for me.  While I've never considered either one of them as grunge bands, I guess they were as close as anyone.  Grammatrain's demo before Lonely House is easily the best record they ever made IMO.  They got a little more polished (and farther away from what I want grunge to be) with each subsequent album, but that first one is still the best for me by far.

Now, Sometime Sunday - probably my absolute favorite 90s band from the so-called Christian market.  Both albums they did were so different and yet so great for different reasons.  I just can't say enough good things about both records.  The first one was much more "grunge" sounding while the second one had more punk influences to me, but I've never considered them a grunge band either way.

One band that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Elder.  They started out as Four Living Creatures then evolved into Elder.  Their first record was okay, but their second record, Plagues and Woes, is the epitome of the 90s alt rock sound for me.  It is easily one of the most underrated albums from that period, and there's definitely some grunge influences on there.  The songwriting, production, and lyrics are simply great.  Call it grunge, alternative, or whatever, that album was and is the total package for me for that sound.  If your looking for anything remotely related to the 90s grunge sound, give it a try.

I concur on all of this!  Although I did consider Grammatrain and Sometime Sunday to be grunge bands at the time.  They were both awesome, but Sometime Sunday was tops for me too.  And that Elder album was amazing!

FivePointPunk wrote:So, I'll start by saying that being in high school and college in the 90s, I really don't even know what grunge really is/was.  Honestly, I think a lot of the bands we consider as doom are way closer to what I always thought the grunge sound was supposed to be.

Anyway, that being said, of the so-called grunge era, Grammatrain and Sometime Sunday top the list for me.  While I've never considered either one of them as grunge bands, I guess they were as close as anyone.  Grammatrain's demo before Lonely House is easily the best record they ever made IMO.  They got a little more polished (and farther away from what I want grunge to be) with each subsequent album, but that first one is still the best for me by far.

Now, Sometime Sunday - probably my absolute favorite 90s band from the so-called Christian market.  Both albums they did were so different and yet so great for different reasons.  I just can't say enough good things about both records.  The first one was much more "grunge" sounding while the second one had more punk influences to me, but I've never considered them a grunge band either way.

One band that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Elder.  They started out as Four Living Creatures then evolved into Elder.  Their first record was okay, but their second record, Plagues and Woes, is the epitome of the 90s alt rock sound for me.  It is easily one of the most underrated albums from that period, and there's definitely some grunge influences on there.  The songwriting, production, and lyrics are simply great.  Call it grunge, alternative, or whatever, that album was and is the total package for me for that sound.  If your looking for anything remotely related to the 90s grunge sound, give it a try.

Thank q.  I forgot all about Sometime Sunday.  I think Rose and Applehead, I think they were sort of grungy or 90's rock too from what I recall.  I will checkout Elder, too and Grammtrain again, it's been a life time.

Tombie wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:

Tombie wrote:Members from both the Melvins and Nirvana are originally from Aberdeen, Washington... my hometown. In fact, I went to school with Chris and Kurt from Nirvana and Dale from the Melvins. They were all friends and Dale Crover actually played drums for Nirvana at one time... Just a little useless knowledge lol.

Wow, that's cool! yeah Dale did a stint with Nirvana, I think after chad left...?  or was that the drummer from Mudhoney... anyway, I think he's on a track on insecticide album, too.  That's cool you went to school with all those guys, wow.

I also lived near a few Metal Church members... Kurdt Vanderhoof and David Wayne. Kurdt and I worked out together at a local gym... They were originally from a neighboring town called Hoquiam.

Metal Church is the only band mentioned that I've ever cared a lick about, and I like them a LOT.

Some of these aren't even close to grunge imo. Eternal Decision? Stavesacre? I didn't get much into grunge though AIC had some cools songs. And I knew the singer of Sometime Christia.....er, Sunday and he was an egomaniac jerk who thought he was cool because he wore a skirt and smoked.

Black Rider wrote:Some of these aren't even close to grunge imo. Eternal Decision? Stavesacre? I didn't get much into grunge though AIC had some cools songs. And I knew the singer of Sometime Christia.....er, Sunday and he was an egomaniac jerk who thought he was cool because he wore a skirt and smoked.

My recommendation for Eternal Decision is for the Ghost In the Machine-era only.  They were still a metal band, but they used a heavy grunge influence for that album and had admitted such in interviews.  Certain songs are more influenced by grunge than others and some don't sound like it at all.  But it's still there for interested parties in a cross-over album.

Looked up Sometime Sunday to see what their singer is up to now. And I guess Mikee Bridges no longer claims to be of the faith and has put out a documentary about an insiders look at the Christian music industry, which looks to be a pretty negative take from what I could tell.

Black Rider wrote:Some of these aren't even close to grunge imo. Eternal Decision? Stavesacre? 

Technically, early Stavesacre was emo, a form of post hardcore.   However, most rock historians would say that emo was shaped by Nirvana and the grunge scene and that musically they are not that far apart in sound (not so much in aesthetic).  
I think the 1st Stavesacre album is likely to appeal to a Nirvana fan.

Superjuice wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Some of these aren't even close to grunge imo. Eternal Decision? Stavesacre? I didn't get much into grunge though AIC had some cools songs. And I knew the singer of Sometime Christia.....er, Sunday and he was an egomaniac jerk who thought he was cool because he wore a skirt and smoked.

My recommendation for Eternal Decision is for the Ghost In the Machine-era only.  They were still a metal band, but they used a heavy grunge influence for that album and had admitted such in interviews.  Certain songs are more influenced by grunge than others and some don't sound like it at all.  But it's still there for interested parties in a cross-over album.

Looked up Sometime Sunday to see what their singer is up to now. And I guess Mikee Bridges no longer claims to be of the faith and has put out a documentary about an insiders look at the Christian music industry, which looks to be a pretty negative take from what I could tell.

He hasn't put out a documentary yet.  He and I have been developing a documentary series that we're pitching to streaming networks.  I'm a Christian and I'm an executive producer of it.  Mikee would be the host and a producer.  He's not a believer anymore but he's not hostile to the faith and appreciates the whole scene and wants to highlight it for a wider music and documentary-loving audience, warts and all.  It will just be an honest look at the history and the bands, which will be positive or negative depending on what the bands themselves say in any given episode.

Constantine wrote:

Black Rider wrote:Some of these aren't even close to grunge imo. Eternal Decision? Stavesacre? 

Technically, early Stavesacre was emo, a form of post hardcore.   However, most rock historians would say that emo was shaped by Nirvana and the grunge scene and that musically they are not that far apart in sound (not so much in aesthetic).  
I think the 1st Stavesacre album is likely to appeal to a Nirvana fan.

Example: Nirvana and evanescence sound nothing a like, sound wise (though both bands I enjoy very much).  I think it's more in the introspective quality of the lyrics and the fact they bleed their souls perhaps. I like grunge but the vast majority of emo (Bucket please, aside from the ever gorgeous Amy and band).

Dustofyears wrote:

 I like grunge but the vast majority of emo (Bucket please, aside from the ever gorgeous Amy and band).

I think most emo is disposable and not interesting.   But I will go out on a limb and say that the 1st 2 Stavesacre albums would be well worth your time, not just for the music, but the lyrical depth is a few cuts above most bands in ANY genre.

Did anyone mention Rob Walker (Wish For Eden)?
His one solo album was really good.

Rob Walker and Wish For Eden were good for sure.  But the greatest Christian grunge album that nobody heard was Torn--Solitude.  Independent release that I reviewed for the Phantom Tollbooth back in the day.  It's on the heavy rock side of grunge, but IMO he was a world-class rock singer and it's a shame he never did anything else.  He could have ruled the radio airwaves.

I had the Torn album and didn't care for it. I traded it away on SwapaCD.

Constantine wrote:

Dustofyears wrote:

 I like grunge but the vast majority of emo (Bucket please, aside from the ever gorgeous Amy and band).

I think most emo is disposable and not interesting.   But I will go out on a limb and say that the 1st 2 Stavesacre albums would be well worth your time, not just for the music, but the lyrical depth is a few cuts above most bands in ANY genre.

  I remember them from the day and if memory serves they had a member or some members from  the crucified.   I'll give 'em a spin and thank q for the rec.