4 Grunge Riffs From the 1990s That Hit As Hard Today as They Did Back Then

Between 1991 and 1994, grunge shifted pop culture and changed the sound and attitude of rock music. Seattle bands, as well as similar bands from other parts of the country, blended arena-size riffs with a punk spirit. This mix created tension between fame and the anti-commercialism of reluctant rock stars who suddenly found themselves on magazine covers and MTV.

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The hype may have lasted only a few years, but as is the case with other scenes, the music survives. Like these timeless grunge riffs from the 1990s that hit as hard today as they did back then.

“Outshined” by Soundgarden

Soundgarden’s breakthrough single sounded both immediate and odd. Immediate because it echoes the doom metal riffs of Tony Iommi. But odd in its 7/4 time signature. (Most songs contain bars of 3 or 4 beats.) Then Chris Cornell howls one of the best grunge lyrics in all of grunge: “I’m looking California / And feeling Minnesota.” Perhaps the most naturally heavy metal of the Seattle bands, this tune hasn’t lost its edge since it arrived in 1991.

“Rearviewmirror” by Pearl Jam

Typically, a Pearl Jam song began with a Stone Gossard riff. But on the band’s second album, Vs., the addition of Eddie Vedder’s guitar playing broadened Pearl Jam’s musical palette. Vedder wrote “Rearviewmirror”, which more closely resembles the post-hardcore of Fugazi than the Jimi Hendrix-tinted blues-rock of “Alive” and “Even Flow”. Vedder’s anxious riff builds tension over an emancipation anthem, where he describes finally gaining the courage to exit a terrible situation.

“Angry Chair” by Alice In Chains

“Angry Chair” was written by singer Layne Staley as Alice In Chains dialed up the brooding vibe that defined them. Similar to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, you can trace the band’s DNA to classic rock in the 1970s. Yet the dark harmonies sung by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell, put against sludge metal riffs, made them immediately identifiable, even among the post-grunge bands that followed in the 1990s. Staley uses a childhood timeout metaphor to explain his misery, and “Angry Chair” feels no less gloomy today.

“Scentless Apprentice” by Nirvana

A good friend of mine was a Steve Albini diehard, so by the early 1990s, I was well aware of how Albini approached record-making. An album bearing his name wouldn’t be labeled “Produced by.” Instead, Albini aimed to present bands as raw as possible, and the idea of “producing” a recording would have been the opposite of his philosophy. “Scentless Apprentice” shows you what this philosophy sounds like in action.

It begins with Dave Grohl’s giant drums, and instantly, one feels like they are in the middle of Albini’s studio, among the mics and cables. Then Kurt Cobain enters with a noisy, chromatic revolt against his previous album, Nevermind. You can almost feel the air moving through his speaker cabinet as he plays a guitar riff written by his drummer. Foo Fighters later proved just how much Grohl the apprentice had learned.

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