In many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for metal fans, yet... [+] Read More

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Criteria's Stephen Pedersen started out in Cursive, way back when Saddle Creek Records was still Omaha's little local secret. He eventually departed that group, moving to Durham, NC, to study law at Duke. But he couldn't stop rocking, and formed White Octave while in school. In 2001 Pedersen returned to Omaha, and wrote a batch of songs. They... [+] Read More

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Nirvana may have been the band that put an entire generation in flannel, and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden both sold a lot more records, but Mudhoney were truly the band that made the '90s grunge rock movement possible. Mudhoney were the first real success story for Sub Pop Records; their indie-scene success laid the groundwork for the movement that... [+] Read More

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Prior to Nirvana, alternative music was consigned to specialty sections of record stores and major labels considered it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off. After the band's second album, 1991's Nevermind, nothing was ever quite the same, for better and for worse. Nirvana popularized punk, post-punk, and indie rock, unintentionally bringing... [+] Read More

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ROUNDEYE WAS BORN IN 2004, AND FROM THE FIRST MOMENT THEY TOOK TO THE STAGE, HAVE NEVER LOOKED BACK. PLAYING CHICAGO VENUES SUCH AS THE DOUBLE DOOR, BEAT KITCHEN, THE VANS WARPED TOUR, AND RED LINE TAP AND MANY MORE, IN ADDITION TO SEVERAL STAGES FROM CHICAGO TO BOSTON AND BACK AGAIN, ROUNDEYE HAS FORGED THEIR WAY FORWARD IN THE CHICAGO MUSIC... [+] Read More

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Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges. Similarly, Jane's Addiction were too fascinated with prog rock and performance art to appeal to a wide array of metal fans. Soundgarden, however,... [+] Read More

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Sponge was one of the more underrated groups in the post-grunge boom of the mid-'90s. When they were on top of their game -- as on the hits "Plowed" and "Molly (Sixteen Candles)" -- their songs had a knack for jangly riffs and catchy, anthemic hard rock hooks, despite being wrapped in the fuzzy guitars and brooding seriousness of grunge. Sponge... [+] Read More

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Tad were one of the heaviest Seattle grunge bands, fashioning a loud, slow, lumbering grind that -- unlike many of their peers -- was inspired far more by '70s metal than punk. Less melodic and accessible than grunge's biggest names, Tad's music simply steamrolled over everything in its way, which likely contributed to their being the last... [+] Read More

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Temple of the Dog was a one-album project conceived in 1990. The purpose of Temple of the Dog was to pay tribute to the late Andrew Wood, the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. Following his death, Mother Love Bone broke up, but Wood's bandmates Jeff Ament (bass) and Stone Gossard (guitar) decided to continue... [+] Read More

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