Living With Ghosts: The delirious rants of an insane DJ

ALIVE PART TWO: “DOWN IN A HOLE”

By the end of 1991 the Soviet Union had dissolved, and so did a fair amount of the Heavy Metal universe. Seattle – born as a sound, transformed into a movement that featured shoving metal bands out of their own house. But that’s not how it ended.
Barging in alongside Pearl Jam’s obnoxious entrance to the 90s bash, Soundgarden grew as swiftly as the weeds in your backyard, and are just as difficult to ignore. The grimy, slow burn of the “Smokestack Lightning” sound (and the changing hands of bassist Hiro Yamamoto to Ben Shepherd), shifted into a fist-slamming declaration of discord and freedom within the opus “Rusty Cage”. 
“Badmotorfinger” displays the acrobatic grit jump and crawl of Chris Cornell’s vocals carried in by Kim Thayil’s wet and muddy wails, supported by Ben Shepherd’s weaving, all of it anchored by Matt Cameron’s leaden hands and feet. Several metric tons heavier than Nirvana and Pearl Jam combined and having a bit of a metal edge cutting shapes in their sound, in less than a year, Soundgarden skyrocketed into the stratosphere. 
In their ’89 and ’90 powerhouse performances at L’Amour in Brooklyn, watching them from the back bar on both occasions, Soundgarden came across like a nimble jet engine supercharged with compression/propulsion. I was overwhelmed by just how heavy a supposed “grunge” band from Seattle could tighten the screws on L’Amour’s entrenched metal crowd and win them over. The Brooklyn crowd, typically stand-offish with respect to newer bands, enjoyed the thickets of aural delight in their ears, welcoming Soundgarden with open arms.
The other set of nasty kids on the block who just have to crash your party and proceed to wreak havoc, Alice In Chains seem to dismiss the entire hair metal genre merely with the opening riffs of “Them Bones” and “Dam That River”. AIC exert even more Heavy Metal influence in their repertoire than their local cousins Soundgarden. Drop the needle down on “Dirt” (or push play, whatever blows your hair back) and drink in this fresh sonic entry so heavy, and hooks/riffs so clever in their simplicity, that metalheads find it impossible to brush off. Despondent and full of fuck-all, the tremolo confluence of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell nullify the shrieks of the cutesy-wootsy makeup yellers of yore. The revengeful lyrics of “Dam That River” reveal the writing on the wall. Mike Starr’s rumble of clustered knots is as unmistakable as Sean Kinney’s arcane timing. Alice In Chains is a tumultuous zephyr with a ripple effect powerful enough to push people off the ends of the earth. 
…If “Badmotorfinger” nailed the Metal coffin shut, then “Dirt” lowered it down in a hole. 
Although Metal lost quite a few bands on the road to the aughts, some of the big guns weren’t fazed. Iron Maiden, Pantera, Metallica (delivering its infamous “Black” Album in 1991), and others trampled the 1990s underfoot, unscathed by the Seattle onslaught. 

Well under way at the time, yet aptly buried underground bands like Autopsy, Suffocation, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Entombed, Death, Chemical Breath, Exhorder, Heathen, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Immortal, Blasphemy, and Testament were also making their respective statements of high volume Metal noize during the 90s, immune to Grunge. Relishing the underground status coupled with a relentless, brutal assault on the senses, any chance that the aforementioned bands would be turned over to the popular masses to be sacrificed at the altar of the almighty dollar is slim to none. Still is.
Fast forward, three decades have passed. Legacy Heavy Metal bands are alive and well – even if one last living original member continues to soldier on. Up until Covid, some Hair Metal bands were selling out stadiums. The Thrash/Death/Black Metal universe has risen with impunity, planting their flags around the globe, and have come to prominence so firmly that no matter what musical movements lie ahead, their resolve will not ever dissipate. 
Symphonic Metal, born in the 90s and most noted for mixing clean and growl vocals with grace and aplomb, is today on the advance and leading its own charge, replete with grand, overarching stories, opulent stagewear, and impressive live productions. Since the 90s countless other Metal sub-genres have spawned, scratched and clawed their way into existence, and are thriving. The days of one genre pretty much obliterating another are long gone. A lot of record labels recognize that there is power in diversifying their catalogue.
When was the last time you heard a band described as “Grunge”? Or “Alternative”? Bands described as “Metal” are everywhere. I always thought “Alternative” as a genre label was a stupid/empty word. Alternative to what exactly? Every type of music is an “alternative” to every other type of music.
The story of Grunge vs. Metal in the 90’s is actually a tale of survival. Grunge/Alternative won a battle. Metal won the fucking war.

Up Next: One band saves Rock and Roll.