Grunge VS Hair Metal

[Boudoir Guitar]

Metallica and Megadeth aren't hair metal though

The Black Album sure came.close, though...

 

[la szum]

The Black Album sure came.close, though...

Countdown To Extinction is Megadeath's Black Album.

 

[Jarick]

Okay I've been going down the Sponge rabbit hole, and apparently that band formed after their previous band Loudhouse dissolved. That band also had the brothers Mike and Tim Cross on guitar, and Vinnie (singer) was actually the drummer.

Not sure what I expected but it sure wasn't this:

 

[Baba]

Boy bands weren't "bands".

And Hair Metal wasn't "metal".

Marketing.

This.

"Hair Metal" is a term that was not used when the music it describes was in fashion. The term came much later, so, on it's face, it's a stupid term, and there were many different kinds of hard rock at that time. Hair and distorted guitars were the main things that tied them together.

For me, I grew up in the 80's and like actually playing guitar, so you know what my answer is

In all seriousness though, I didn't like the "glam" or so much of the hard pop/rock that was on the radio at the time, I was a Rush-head, and a 70's progressive rock fan, so I was more into more complex stuff that didn't center around chicks and partying, so, it was that late 80's early 90's stuff like Winger, Giant, Mr. Big, Extreme, Queensryche, King's X, etc, that I liked, along with all kinds of other rock, like Dan Reed Network, (look them up).

If you look past "Seventeen", even on Winger's first album, and especially on the following albums, you will find some interesting songs that are as about as far from Seventeen as you can get, especially lyrically.

Just like:

"Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello"

Is probably not his best work, and he shouldn't be pigeon-holed by just those lyrics.

I also loved AIC, Soundgarden, and STP, but I don't consider them "Grunge" per se.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Countdown To Extinction is Megadeath's Black Album.

At least spell it right! I don't think they have a Black Album? If they did; it was too little too late. Thankfully.

 

[Stone]

I also dont consider AiC as Grunge i mean listen --->

 

[Stone]

No matter how you label them I enjoyed a lot of the Hair Metal Bands and a Lot of the Grunge bands , don't mater how they were labelled
Labels are just that

 

[Jarick]

I also loved AIC, Soundgarden, and STP, but I don't consider them "Grunge" per se.

How are Soundgarden not grunge? They pretty much defined the sound and the scene in the late 80's.

While grunge purists could say basically anything more melodic than the Melvins, Mudhoney, or Green River isn't real grunge, to me it's more of what the genre became of that era. I didn't live the scene of course but reading about it, there was definitely a division between the more punk based grunge and the metal based grunge like AIC that came on a bit later.

I'm a big fan of emo music, or at least was in the late 90's, and had to suffer through the eyeliner period of the mid/late 2000's. To me, emo wasn't My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy, but it was Sunny Day Real Estate and Jimmy Eat World. There's probably others that consider anything past Rites of Spring or Fugazi to not be emo. Now there are considered "waves" of emo. First wave is the hardcore punk scene in the 80's, mostly DC based. Second wave is the more melodic stuff in the 90's, mostly midwest. Third wave is the pop stuff of the 2000's. Fourth wave is the revival stuff that started in the 2010's mostly.

So maybe in that vein, you could think about "waves" of grunge. First wave being the originators like Green River and Melvins and what not. Second wave would be the Seattle bands that wrote some catchier songs and made it big like Nirvana, Soundgarden, AIC, etc. Third wave could be the bands that exploded right after that which had a kind of similar sound, like STP or Smashing Pumpkins. Although I'd argue that those are close enough in time that they may as well be in the same era. And then there's post-grunge of the mid 90's, stuff like Sponge and Candlebox and eventually grunge inspired bands like Godsmack and Creed and what not. And of course grunge revival is going on now.

 

[Stone]

The Black Album

A.K.A as the Bob Rock album
but there are some hidden gems in that album nonetheless
The struggle within and wherever I may roam come to mind
But yes after the black album i pretty much stopped listening to Metallica from then on, but never stopped listening to all the albums before the Bob Rock Album

 

[Stone]

and then there's post-grunge of the mid 90's, stuff like Sponge and Candlebox and eventually grunge inspired bands like Godsmack and Creed and what not

Puddle of Mudd as well i liked them quite a bit, still on my rotation

 

[JiveTurkey]

I certainly acknowledge and utilize labels for bands. But I prefer good music and bad music over any other labels. There is certainly "good music" that I definitely regard as "bad" and vice versa. Both of the genres in question are full of examples of both ends of that spectrum

 

[Baba]

How are Soundgarden not grunge? They pretty much defined the sound and the scene in the late 80's.

That's true, I guess I just like their writing, sound, and his voice, MUCH more than say Nirvana or Pearl Jam, etc.

 

[JiveTurkey]

That's true, I guess I just like their writing, sound, and his voice, MUCH more than say Nirvana or Pearl Jam, etc.

Agreed. Louder than Love and Badmotorfinger are godly, imo. But I will say; I like Nirvana about a billion times more than I should; given my normal tastes. Pearl Jam is good for about 5 songs then I'm out.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

That's true, I guess I just like their writing, sound, and his voice, MUCH more than say Nirvana or Pearl Jam, etc.

I take a similar approach to defining grunge: "the stuff I like isn't REALLY grunge...too melodic"

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

So, is "alternative" music a broader category into which grunge fits, or a whole separate entity

 

[JiveTurkey]

So, is "alternative" music a broader category into which grunge fits, or a whole separate entity

I'd say grunge falls into alternative and metal simultaneously. I would say it is also punk inspired but I put that under the alternative umbrella.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I will also say the early days of hair metal>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>than what it became. I'll take Out of the Cellar a bazillion days a week over some tired gross Slaughter album that I despised from 1991. Please don't get me started on when those bands tried to go "heavy"

 

[Jarick]

So, is "alternative" music a broader category into which grunge fits, or a whole separate entity

I consider anything with a similar style to the popular Seattle bands of the early 90's to be grunge, even if they weren't from the Seattle area. I often just call it "90's Alternative Rock & Grunge" in my mind, because it captures everything.

Here's a playlist I made with my top 100 songs of that era. It's not exclusively grunge, definitely wider net. I like to make playlists and have been working on other genres as well.

 

[la szum]

I care what others think of music I like.


NOT!! One! Fooking!~ Bit!~

 

[Lopp]

I will also say the early days of hair metal>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>than what it became. I'll take Out of the Cellar a bazillion days a week over some tired gross Slaughter album that I despised from 1991. Please don't get me started on when those bands tried to go "heavy"

I was right with you until the Slaughter album. Well, okay, I originally wasn't a fan. But I've got fond memories of dating a stripper who thought I looked like Mark Slaughter. *sigh* Then grunge killed my rock star image crutch. (Actually, record execs trying to get the next cash cow by signing all the half-assed wannabe bands killed it).