Grunge music is known for its moody, dark, sludgy sounds. And one aspect of the style, which was born in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s and continued through popular culture into the 1990s, was that it often lacked big guitar solos made famous from other rock acts prior.
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Still, however, there were standout guitar players from the major groups that melted faces and reminded why the electric six-string is such a staple in rock music, even if it isn’t always used as a soloing tool.
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So, to honor a handful of the genre’s best guitar players, we wanted to dive into some of the artists’ histories and their work. Here below, then, are the five most memorable grunge guitarists.
1. Kurt Cobain
The left-handed guitar player, songwriter, lead singer and frontman for the iconic rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain flouted time signatures and key signatures to write whatever music on his six-string that sounded good. Case in point: the song “Come As You Are,” the opening line for which has since become one of the first things many early guitar players learn. Cobain could shred on electric, which he did occasionally, but more than that, it was his touch on and ear for the instrument that helped make him and his group incendiary.
2. Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Cantrell wore many hats for his group Alice in Chains. He was a co-lead singer, along with the banshee vocalist Layne Staley. He was also a songwriter, guitar player and co-frontman. Cantrell could play leads if the song required it, but mostly it was his sense of the sludge, the dark, heavy quintessential sounds of grunge that made him a standout on his instrument. A few years ago, he talked about discovering the instrument in his teens, discovering bands like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. Well, he took that inspiration, gave it a mood relaxer, and created an iconic group.
3. Kim Thayil
More than Cobain or Cantrell, Soundgarden’s lead guitar player Kim Thayil was cut from more of a true lead guitarist’s cloth. But Thayil was special because, while he could wail with the best of them, soloing his heart out, he also knew how to turn the volume knob down ever so slightly and play just under the surface. As front man Christ Cornell sang his legendary lyrics, Thayil filled out the songs with sonic rage and rousing riffs.
4. Mike McCready
If grunge music ever had a true lead guitar player in the vein of Jimmy Page or Jimi Hendrix, it was Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. The six-string player has said he plays by ear, mostly, going with the feeling of a song more than any hard-written rule of music theory. And the result, when unleashed, is a blistering, lighting storm of notes. Torrential stuff that makes audiences feel as if they’re being lifted note by note toward the heavens.
5. Jack Endino
Known as “The Grungefather,” Jack Endino was one of the early engineers in music in the Pacific Northwest to understand and hone the local sludgy sounds. Endino produced songs for the then-burgeoning label Sub Pop in the ’80s, recording acts like Soundgarden and others, doing so quickly and cheaply. But also masterfully. Outside of his studio work, though, Endino was an accomplished songwriter and electric guitar player, known for his work in the early grunge group Skin Yard. His ear is a national treasure.
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