There was straight punk rock, heavy metal, and so-called “hair bands” who played a mix of heavy metal and glam rock before the emergence of grunge music in the mid-1980s. A group called the Melvins influenced a number of local punk rock bands in the Seattle music scene to experiment with a fusion of heavy metal riffs and punk rock energy. Heavy distorted guitars and emotional lyrics delivered in an unpolished and gritty style characterized the new sound, which was first developed in Seattle. This prompted a member of Green River, a Seattle band, to coin the term “grunge,” which he did not mean as a compliment at the time.
In the late 1980s, there were many local Seattle post-punk bands performing the grunge sound, but only a few managed to gain national attention. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains, and Nirvana, to name a few, have all managed to catch the attention of major record labels. The rawness of the sound, as exemplified by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, gave the national music scene a new punk-like energy, and offered many disenfranchised 20-somethings a lifestyle that matched their feelings of angst and frustration.
Grunge music’s development is heavily influenced by the culture in which it first gained popularity. If the 1980s were defined by vanity, excess, and wealth in both economics and popular music, the culture and music of the 1990s developed in stark contrast. Disillusionment and personal struggle were prominent themes in grunge, which served as a critique of hair bands’ shallowness and vapid pop music.
There were unofficial subgenres within the grunge movement. Alice in Chains and Nirvana, for example, leaned toward an alternative heavy metal sound, whereas Nirvana straddled the line between punk and the emerging emo sound. With their blend of pop, garage, and heavy metal, Pearl Jam, on the other hand, became almost mainstream. Several grunge bands actively opposed their sudden commercial success, claiming that money and fame would be detrimental to the music’s true spirit.
The grunge music movement had suffered a number of setbacks and losses by the mid-1990s. Kurt Cobain, Nirvana’s charismatic lead singer, allegedly committed suicide after years of physical and emotional problems. Other bands have disbanded as a result of drug abuse or internal strife among members. Some of the original grunge bands have continued to perform, most notably Pearl Jam, but their newer material lacks the distinctive punk and emo energy of their grunge years.