Is Alice in Chains really the most BELOVED grunge band?
 

I always get the impression that Alice in Chains gets the most love out of "Big 4 of grunge", despite not being the most popular (it's obviously Nirvana, but they have a ton of haters; Pearl Jam is also much more successful than AIC and they're also quite polarizing).

What do you think? Is AIC the most beloved/least hated grunge band and WHY?

Idk. Alice in Chains has a crazy biography, but literally all the grunge bands do. also RIP to layne his vocals are so gravelly and emotional. his screech sounds like a cry for help. its beautiful.

I don't know how you'd quantify most beloved. But they were special. Dirt, their self-titled album, Jar of Flies and even Sap to an extent were all excellent. Not to mention their MTV Unplugged session. The big thing they had over the others was the harmonizing between Staley and Cantrell. Great band. They inspired many rip offs, the primary one being Stone Temple Pilots but also lesser but still popular bands like Days of the New.

Does Nirvana have a tonne of haters? I thought they were pretty universally liked? Critically at least.

I'm planning to revisit their discography some time soon. Thanks to the recent glowing review of Dirt by Pitchfork, I have Would? stuck in my head for days now. I remember seeing the video on late night MTV when I was about 10 and being mesmerized.

I was thinking the same thing about Nirvana. To me they and Soundgarden were the best grunge bands. Was never as big on Pearl Jam to be honest and I guess AIC was okay.

For the uninitiated or those only lightly familiar with their material, don't skip out on their self-titled album. It has their most underappreciated material:





Out of the "big 4" grunge bands, AIC was easily the most emotive of them. I'm fans of all of them to varying degrees, but none of them were able to convey sadness and misery like AIC were.

I think Alice in Chains is on equal footing with the other three bands (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana). They had their fair share of excellent songs.

Personally, Alice in Chains is my favourite of the bunch. Nirvana was never my cup of tea. Soundgarden would probably be #2 for me, with Pearl Jam #3. Screaming Trees is up there too. I'm starting to get into Mark Lanegan's solo stuff. The man was talented.

I think they're the best, 3 incredible albums, a solid reunion album, the best mtv unplugged and above that they've also got one of the best EPs ever made.

The others are also great but I think AiC did grunge the best, Laynes vocals are next level and I love how much heavier they are.

AIC had the most balls. That broadened their appeal deeper into mainstream across several age brackets. They had a bit of metal to them.

Yes this. Balls = heavier = AIC

Soundgarden were also metallic (i.e. Jesus Christ Pose, Rusty Cage).

Yup, they even got doomy and sludgy with their metal.

Agreed - Soundgarden were a bastard cousin of doom metal, where AIC were a bastard cousin of trade metal. One being more testosterone driven than the other.... I think that gets you more fans. From what I've seen at least, I'm no expert but other metalheads don't love my doom playlists.

I had to look up "trade metal" because I had no clue what you were talking about. Metal enjoyed primarily by tradesmen? I then realized you probably meant "trad metal" and felt just a bit silly. :laughing:

But yeah, "grunge" is a dumb genre that doesn't really exist. The big four of Seattle all sounded very different.

It's funny that STP was probably a bit more adventurous with their sound than the other four, despite starting off as total ripoffs:

:laughing: Yeah my stupid ass meant trad, not trade. But my god think of the possibilities.

You make a great point about grunge as a genre. I've thought similarly before.

I'm gonna be an annoying hipster and say **** all this **** it's about the Melvins. Not only have they consistently ruled their entire career but they took major label money to make some of their best albums that major labels could do nothing with.

I always forget about The Melvins. I think because my introduction to them was a lackluster song, so I never bothered going further.

That was good.

I mean they invented sludge, they got hardcore, they got drone doom, they got weird ****. If as a doom fan you haven't yet explored their discography then there's a straight up S-tier band on a level with Candlemass and Electric Wizard waiting for you to fall in love with them.

Eh. I know. So they say. So much music out there, at the end of the day... I judge by first appearances.

Well here's a third impression cause every fan of heavy riffs deserves the Melvins.

I liked Screaming Trees too. I forget his name, but the Melvins' singer has some of the best rock hair this side of Claudio Sanchez.

That whole album like that? All anyone ever shows me is Houdini. Might add to my spotify if so.

I'm not enough of a Melvins aficionado to remember but they were definitely moving in a more experimental direction by that point (two albums after Houdini). Stag is definitely a banger album though by my recollection. I'm in a pretty Melvins mood atm though so in the near future I might be able to give you a more informed recomendation.

I remember Melvins being one of the heavier bands out of that era. Mudhoney was up there too, if I remember correctly.

I'll throw that Stag in the mix, but keep me apprised

Throw Stoner Witch in there too if you dig it. And Lysol since I remember you being into drone maybe?

Not drone so much. Very discerning with the drone. It's easy for drone to be bereft of character IMO. I'll throw Stoner Witch album in the pot too though.

Is Melvins a METAL band?

I don't know if they're considered metal.

With Soundgarden, Kim was interviewed for a metal documentary a number of years back (Metal evolution). They never considered themselves to be metal.

I personally love AIC. Layne Staley voice does't piss me off like other grunge bands not naming names (Pearl Jam). I love the instrumentals and I don't get how anyone could hate them cause all their songs fed fr. Their are probably better grunge bands but AIC is def up there. :yeah:

Love 'em but love other grunge bands too.