Singer/guitarist Ben McMillan began his career as the frontman for seminal Seattle grunge band Skin Yard, which cranked out four albums during his six-year tenure, and included future- producer and alternative rock linchpin Jack Endino (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, et al.) on guitar. In 1990, he drafted ex-Skin Yard drummer Norman Scott,... [+] Read More

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Although often lumped in with the "Seattle Movement" of the early '90s (due to their sound, look, and attitude), the all-female punk band L7 hailed originally from Los Angeles. The seeds for L7 (whose name was taken from a slang term in the '50s that meant someone who was a "square") were planted in 1985, when a pair of guitarists/singers, Suzi... [+] Read More

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The Melvins were the first post-punk band to revel in the slow, sludgy sounds of Black Sabbath. Their music is oppressively slow and heavy, only without any of the silly mystical lyrics or the indulgent guitar solos -- it's just one massive, oozing pile of dark slime. The Melvins' first record was released in 1987; they've released several... [+] Read More

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Before Pearl Jam, there was Mother Love Bone. Future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard (guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass) were founders of this Seattle-based glam/punk outfit, which was fronted by flamboyant singer Andrew Wood. But despite countless accolades from the press and their peers, the group's career was cut short before it could truly... [+] 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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Pearl Jam rose from the ashes of Mother Love Bone to become the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s. After vocalist Andrew Wood overdosed on heroin in 1990, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament assembled a new band, bringing in Mike McCready on lead guitar and recording a demo with Soundgarden's Matt Cameron on drums.... [+] 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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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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