Grunge music brought the world many stars. Many big names. Many famous faces. And many bands that changed the way people think about rock music. The sludgy genre from the Pacific Northwest produced groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden, all of which were great in and of themselves and all of which featured iconic vocalists.
Videos by American Songwriter
It’s hard to do much better than those acts. But that doesn’t mean people didn’t try. Throughout the style’s history, there have been several supergroups to pop up that have helped to spread the gospel of grunge. Below, we wanted to examine three of them. Indeed, these are three grunge supergroups that brought legends together.
Temple Of The Dog
Students of grunge know the tragedy that has befallen many in the genre. While there are many great memories and lots of high highs, there are also significant lows, including the death of rising grunge star Andrew Wood in 1990 from a drug overdose. When Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, died, his friend and former roommate, Chris Cornell, started the tribute band for the fallen singer. That band? Temple of the Dog. The supergroup, which included Cornell, Eddie Vedder, and Mike McCready (both of Pearl Jam) released their self-titled album in 1991, and it included the eventual massive hit, “Hunger Strike”, which is still a fan favorite today.
Mad Season
In 1995, after the wave of grunge had arguably crested, another supergroup popped up in the Seattle area to say grunge was still alive and well. Mad Season, which included McCready, Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley, Barrett Martin, and Mark Lanegan (both of Screaming Trees) released their sole studio album, Above, in 1995, and with it came the lead single, “River Of Deceit”. The heart-on-its-sleeve tune featured Staley singing openly and beautifully about love and addiction. Like Temple of the Dog, Mad Season only released one LP, but they remain fondly remembered.
3rd Secret
Much more recently, grunge gods got together to start yet another supergroup in the city of Seattle. Formed in 2021, 3rd Secret features Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana. It doesn’t get much more star-studded than that! And in 2022, the band released their debut self-titled LP. Then, a year later in 2023, they released their follow-up, The 2nd 3rd Secret. Both albums featured a swath of sonics, from the heavy to the ethereal and thoughtful. Check out the band today, if you haven’t already! Grunge lives!
Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.