Ultimate Grunge Guitar Riffs Battle (Pearl Jam VS Soundgarden VS Nirvana VS Alice in Chains) 

All 4. I can never pick

Son muy buenos los 4, mismo estilo, diferente sonido y único!

Alice in Chains

Alice in chains

4

AIC are heavier to me...

And superior

Nirvana: the father of grunge

@@Joshua-cy9nu - lol, Grunge already existed before Nirvana. I can't believe you have 4 likes...

I can't even agree to include Nirvana in the grunge list. To me they're Alternative Rock...

Are they seriously not? Considering the guy who made Little People is on their suprizes me

Soundgarden somehow isn't either

Redbone, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Smashing Pumpkins, the Offspring aren't in there as well.

@@ShrektheOgre4real For real, and somehow Jay Z was nominated this year???

@@charliecavness that's what I thought, but some people started using race as an excuse. I understand that 2-pac and Biggie are in there because of the impact they had and it's acceptable, but Jay Z? C'mon

Soundgarden is heavy metal too

Pearl Jam: hammer ons and pull offs Soundgarden: odd time signatures Nirvana: catchy chord progressions Alice in Chains: chromatic half-steps Smashing Pumpkins: ALL of the above...and then some. ;P

I always thought AIC had a lot of blues influence. Nirvana were the punk Beatles. Soundgarden's musicianship was like a dark version of Queen...and Pearl Jam were okay too.

Eh, would say Heavy Metal for Soundgarden and Sludge Metal for AIC, which granted still is a sub genre of heavy metal, but yeah

@@moviejumper not really. Their Louder than Love and Badmotorfinger are heavy metal records and Superknown is hard rock

And they keep on

Dude. I've never heard it put that way but that's awesome

Yess, most people forget they are blues too. Jar of flies is a good example

​@@TheStepmonkey you see a lot of that influence on mad season too

I always think of them as heavy metal w some blues roots than just a grunge band, but you define their sound perfectly

agree!

Agreed

Exactly. All four bands were so great in their own way, there really is no way to pin point in one being better than the other. And this was the grunge era, it's easy to take 4 of the top 10 bands and showcase hit riffs from a handful of songs that made them millions. There were so many other groups not nearly as popular who could shred just as good. The early 90's was like baseball, only a few made it to the show, but the farm system was loaded with talent, just no room on the roster for them

@@blancobaseballbreaks2525 if I got to "choose" , I'll say is a tie between Soungarden and Alice in Chains, but just because is my preference of sound, not to say they were "better" than the rest. Every band got his own style and ways to express their music.

For Nirvana change it to "sick and energetic riffs"... Have you not listened to "Bleach"...?

👍😉🤘

Actually that was Seattle!

Ikr there is also many interview of members of these bands saying great things about each other’s songs

Except Kurt hated Pearl Jam

@@tommycthulhu6572 maybe, but he liked eddie. he actually considered eddie a pretty good friend, it wasnt anything personal he just didnt enjoy pjs music

👍😉

Soundgarden >

Seriously tho

nirvana for me

AIC FOR SURE

Yeah, I prefer them because NO other band can make such sludgy songs that are depressing as shit

It is their biggest strength I think, they switched from heavy to acoustic albums and it was always their sound, amazing talent right there.

Funny, this is why they are last for me. Slow sludgy samey songs about heroin. The others at least varied tempo and subject.

@@finslaw You're wrong. All of AiC songs have different tempos and a catchy structure. Also, they were the only band brave enough to dedicate a whole album as a warning of drug addiction. They weren't fake as the other bands 🤷🏻‍♀️

@@finslaw this comment sounds as if it coming from someone who has never heard a AIC song outside of the ones played on the radio.

👍😉

Yes Seattle is the winner when it comes to music.. so miss this era of music.

@@janiedoman9336 Specifically grunge.

Seattle wins for Queensryche riffs, those before the grunge

@FoxyDanger Horrors they're all from Seattle

Wow I didn’t think of that until you mentioned it

Mike Starr

When are you guys gonna do a reunion? We wanna see it!

@@wokeupdead3428 lol when Noel stops being a dick.

What's more sad is that we lost Andy after only one album. Rest in peace the REAL godfather of Grunge, L'Andrew The Love Child.

👍😉🤘

Damn

Nah, he already has Jerry.

@@aerofan89 Don’t get me wrong, Jerry has a great voice, but Kurt and Layne, that’s some next level stuff

@@Paul-gf6kp Kurt’s voice wouldn’t match as good with Layne’s voice as Jerry’s does. Their harmonizing would be better.

👍😉🤘

Word! I remember getting a tape of Dirt when I was 11 or 12. Holy shit. Dark and heavy. Loved it!

Old age doesn’t get a ton of play. But yes agree

Breed is my favorite Nirvana song since high school, probably their most underrated song

I feel like Drain You is Nirvana's most under appreciated tune....it blends so much heavy and dark sound together

Listening to Eddie vedder sing black live on MTV is a life changing experience

Soundgarden does all of that :/

Although Nirvana is the most popular, they're my least favorite out of the 4...

@@Aromatic-ring Sorry but you're wrong...

@@Aromatic-ring Wtf did you said?

👍😉🤘

AHHHH

It is impossible not to think of his powerful scream when listening to Them Bones.

Ahhhhhh

Me too! 🤘🏻

His death and Robin Williams really hit me. It's weird to grieve so much for someone you've never met. CC was a special person.

Chris was extremely talented

I don't see crhis as a underated artist, everywhere I see something about grunge he is always there. The one I think is more underrated is Scott Weiland.

How’s he underrated lol, Cornell was amazing but he was the 2nd most popular grunge musician behind only cobain. Such a great musician and a legend but underrated is definitely not a word I’d use to describe him, he was extremely popular and super highly rated by basically everyone who’s familiar with him as a singer/lyricist/songwriter. 2nd best grunge musician as a whole imo behind only Cantrell but obviously Cornell’s voice was in a different stratosphere. All time great musician especially vocally.

Nirvana -Smells Like Teen Spirit -Come As You Are -Heart Shaped Box -Lithium -About a Girl

Soundgarden: Jesus Christ Pose Outshined Rusty Cage Fell on Black Days Black Hole Sun Alice In Chains: Man in the Box Down in a Hole Would Them Bones Nutshell

Pearl Jam: - Alive -Even Flow -Black -Daughter -Do the Evolution

That would've been an epic concert 😢

@@zer0_iz_d34d take out Jesus Christ Pose and put in Blow up the Outside World, The Day I Tried to Live, or Spoonman

lars be like

“Nirvana guy”

@@Casualfatdude "hey it's that guy from nirvaRna" "didn't he kill himself?" "no, don't say that! I'm talking about the other guy, the drummer!"

angry chair too

@@goldmantis5850 “uhhh… isnt he like, not with us anymore, or something?”

Of course Grunge was a genre

Disagree, grunge was a definite sound I always called it "loose bass strings". The scene was from those into the sound.. it sounded "grungey"... therefore we looked it :)

I think nirvana borrow from popular music like the Beatles.

Comment of the year

I’d say Soundgarden was sludge metal like while AIC was more pure metal

🤘😉🤘

I can almost hear Layne singing the AHH

👍😉🤘

👍😉🤘

Hi, it's me what would you call it then? Dark music can be hella fun to listen to from the right band

@Hi, it's me they're not dark

Nirvanas songs are just also very depressing you know

Catchy/feel good? Ever heard of last kiss anyone? Lol

Yeah - they didn't pass away their demons got them.

At least we have eddie veder still with us

Kat Welham not sure you understand the term “pass away”

Fugginozim Films lol it was an auto correct error but thanks for the correction I didn’t see it.

I honestly thought Cornell and Vedder were gunna die old men together and they were gunna end up the rolling Stones of grunge together. Guess it's up to pearl jam now to carry the torch

👍😉

My favorite song of theirs for sure, the unplugged version.

👍😉

I think its cause grunge is an amalgamation of a bunch of siffrent genres, with more bands pulling more from a certain genre than others

I think even the Seattle bands hated the term Grunge. They all were their own bands. They just all came out of Seattle and all sounded great and it happened at the same time.

The term grunge describes mostly attitude to making music and... their clothing. I think it's a forced label too.

Thanks a lot my friend! Rock on... 👍😉🤘

I’m going to leave your likes at 666. 😈

@@miguelsequeiraguitar what ? Sequeira,is that Brazilian or Portuguese from Portugal ?

@@marciocardoso75D Sou de Portugal! Grande Abraço! 👍😉🤘🇵🇹

@@miguelsequeiraguitar Valeu,morei 5 anos em Lisboa,hoje moro a quase 20 anos nos Estados Unidos. Dos 2 países,Portugal mora no meu coração !

Cantrell was the best guitarist of the grunge era in my opinion, though Pearl Jam is my favorite to of the big 4.

@@dylangray6931 Cantrell and Thayil are two of the best

he really is underrated

Pretty sure Jerry Cantrell is my spirit animal...

Yeah!

🤘😉🤘

Foda 4 super bandas... Mas Nirvana é Nirvana kkk

mermao isso é impossivel

Press F to respect

@@Ruyter_cllipes nunca escutou Alice In Chains tadinho

When someone comments about this i think of pearl jam's alive

Kurt: Iamma the better guitarist Cantrell: No! Iamma the better guitarist! Kim Thayil: Hold my beer

it's a tie between Alice and Soundgarden, altough Pearl Jam riffs are super groovy

I love Alice in Chains. My personal fav of the 4, but I'm not a fan of overdubbing guitar sounds. If you can't do it with one guitar, get a 2nd guitarist.

@@Coats2112 They did :)

@@Coats2112 well, Nirvana also did alot of dubbing in the guitars tracks of Nevermind and In Utero. Is just a production trick to give it more layers.

Lazy Rabbit you have opened a whole new part of my brain. this is genius.

@@horrorinfusion thanks

this is true but -grunge

Lazy Rabbit what would Stone temple pilots be classified as if it was in this list?

Soundgarden is pretty metal too, really

How tf do you call nirvana "chill"

@@shintjee9860 because opposed to the other bands shown, they have a very chill tone. Obviously they have a lot of crazy songs, but a large part of their discography is more somber and acoustic sounding.

Pearl Jam - Catchy Sound Garden - Intelligent Nirvana - Angry AIC - Scary

pearl jam: anthemic soundgarden: powerful nirvana: energetic alice in chains: apocalyptic

@@sillythygoose What about Pearl Jam?

bankai !

Personally I've tried to listen to all of Bleach. I have a CD of it. I just haven't yet gotten through the last fourth of it or so. I've tried. I've tried many times. But IMO it just isn't as good as the first half and tbh idk why. Probably just me trying to hard to get into it

@@typicalfurry2747 I agree that the first half is amazing of bleach

@@scottthewozznijak359 I know! Negative Creep, Blew, Floyd the Barber are all great. Even Paper Cuts and About a Girl have their moments. But everything doesn't fall off, but it does have a drop of quality after about Mr. Mustache. The artwork on the CD is really nice though and the album is the only cardboard CD case I have in my current collection. But with the music itself. Pretty must about 3/4 of the album has song type changes. Blew and Floyd the Barber are sluge rock tracks, About A Girl is a Beatles type love balled. And after that we explore thrash, slow dissonance, earworm riffs and a sort of middle eastern thing in Love Buzz that kinda sounds out of place but is still good nonetheless. But yeah other than like the last 3 tracks its a weak 8 strong 9 out of 10, with them its like a medium 8 medium 9 thing. 8.5/10 I guess you could say.

@Iqbal Hidayat yes but bleach hits different

Tenshi Beatmaker That is by far the best description of each band.

Dense as in heavy?

@@jameskey4475 Dense as in complex.

More like Nirvana was the energetic band. Well, back in 89 and 90. Bleach era Nirvana is the best, and was the best.

Same😀

Sameee

Brother , my last 28 year has been one long Grunge binge .. hehehe .. good times...

It’s convenient for sure

The nëw band: NirvSoungPearChins!!!!!!

👍😉🤘

Hahaha...🤣🤣🤣 I agree with you! Cheers...

Pearl James brunettes Soundgarden black aic reheat nirvana blonde

@@andrewbrown1936 agree

Dive is my personal favorite!

Couldn’t agree more!! Some of my all time favorites! ⚡️🎸🤘🏽🤓

Agree, my favourits albums are incesticide and in utero

I love everything that's in "in utero"

Drain you or D-7.

👍😉

👍😉🤘

Regards from Portugal!👍😉

🤣🤣🤣

Which one is kim thayil?

...

Harrison Skye Rieth 🙊

@@miguelsequeiraguitar Great job, Pear Jam are great and I nearly could enjoy Nirvana 🤣 AIC and Soundgarden are all time fave bands, but AIC even more, Layne was a god, Rip Layne, Chris and Chester. But Dave Grohl is a lovely guy and did a great job on the 2003 Killing Joke album. The mighty Killing Joke and Godflesh are my absolute fave bands. KJ since 1982, Godflesh since pre GF Fall of Because 1986

👍😉🤘

Me too... but if he played any songs from Bleach, Nirvana woukd have been in first place.

I agree, 1,000,000%

Thank you very much David! Greetings from Portugal!

Thank you very much! Greetings from Portugal!👍😉

Well..... Man in the Box's main riff is pretty damn simple. But, simple's not necessarily a bad thing.

@@riteousrighthand6144 well yeah but I mainly mean the use of his half-step or whole step tuning. Like Acid Bubble for example.

@@googly311 I got ya. He had this deeply inlaid haunting vibe too. Nutshell and Shame in You are great examples.

Like it was hard to down tune your guitar...

@@juztinking8813 I'm pretty sure that wasn't the point. They don't call him the riff god because he invented half-step or drop d tuning. 🙄

Alice in Chain was a way beyond any of these bands and they were not even Grunge....

So true.....

Fun fact, I have only recently become a huge fan of AIC. Holy cow, is Jerry Cantrell an amazing guitarist. Someone once described his guitar sound as "crunchy", and I have to agree. Angry Chair is a great example.

As a Nirvana fan and anti-AIC fan, i can confirm that

@@missyriley2099 dude I just discovered Alice In Chains like last week gods

Thanks a lot man! Greetings from Portugal!

Thank you very much! Regards from Portugal!

Endless, Nameless

Totally!!! Especially songs like “big cheese” and “blew”...as well as incesticide

Nirvana was heavier in the Bleach era

Nirvana definitely had some heavy stuff even on incesticide

Negative creep is probably the heaviest

I agree, except for the vocals. Jerry cannot match layne or cornell

Nirvana is leagues better. Way better guitar riffs and songwriting

@@Lucas-nu8ur I agree

Jerry is a genius!

@@truettkeaton5023 Nah, Nirvana is not on the same level as AiC. Kurt created some catchy riffs tho

Thanks a lot! Greetings from Portugal!👍😉

Thanks a lot man! Rock on...🤘😉🤘

I thought so too. Cool video!👍

\m/ \m/

Out of the other 3 bands, AIC is the closet band of having a metal sound like doom, stoner, or alt. AIC 4EVER! 🤟🏻😎🤟🏼♥️💛🧡🖤

They were very strongly considered doom metal, but were just a hair too heavy-rock/grunge to actually be categorized into doom. Edit: which is a shame. They’re my favorite band of all time.

I think Soundgardens Badmotorfinger and Superunknown sound closer to metal. I agree AIC had a metallic edge too though. Its was more of a sludgy metal imo.

Tyler Mankins yeah

Thanks a lot my friend! Greetings from Portugal!

Thanks a lot man! Regards from Portugal!

I'm not nor have i ever been a stoner. He's simply got it, no one can deny that. His style permeates and transcends any labels.

Disagree. He's amazing but it comes down to preference.

I think Soundgarden had a bigger catalogue of metallic riffs, but Jerry Cantrells catalogue was somehow catchier and had more groove. Its really a matter of taste between the two. Hardcore metalheads would probably like soundgardens riffs better, while hard/alt/modern rock ears will like Jerrys chewy sounding sludge groove better.

@@Orange6921 I do agree with you but I actually would switch up your description of the two. Soundgarden was more traditional rock while AIC was more metal, in my opinion.

Sure, but Pearl Jam has the best Rhythm + Lead working together, Soundgarden has the best individual talent and Nirvana has the best written guitars

👍😉🤘

@DeathToMasons very true. Honestly my opinion’s changed a bit on all of them 😅 like AIC is more about inner demons so their music is darker, especially new Chains, nirvana is about challenging authority and convention so their music really is angry sometimes, PJ is very political with songs like even flow challenging homlessness, they want their music to sound more mainstream to reach more ppl, and Soundgarden is apocalyptic (just look at 4th of July lol), with their sound going dark af sometimes to really makes that doom grunge

Sound garden are more prog grunge

@@blake3001 guess that’s also true! :)

Instrumental and vocal harmonies*

Thank you very much! Regards from Portugal! 👍😉

👍😉👍👍

without the voice of Layne alice in chains is nothing

Neon Gris that's total and utter bullshit. Every member of that band is a master of their instrument. Boggy Depot is a prime example of that. Layne was an irreplaceable voice, but Jerry IS Alice in Chains.

@@parzibalamblin1890 without Jerry Cantrell Alice in Chains is also nothing

Ofc

Cantrells a god....period...i wish his newer stuff was as creative as the old,but thats what happens when u strip the drugs away as happy as i am hes sober of course.lol drugs unfortunately seem to help people write better shit most the time..look at Metallica,lol..give thdm a ton of coke,.meth,alcohol,weed,etc and u get Master ,Ride,and Justice..take it away and u get them with Lou Reed sober.😂😂😂😂

Thank you very much my friend! Rock on...🤘😉🤘

Thank you very much! Greetings from Portugal! 👍😉🤘

@@miguelsequeiraguitar greetings from The Netherlands 😎👍🏻👍🏻

Nirvana is the gifted kid

@@TheAlphaCreations01 lol

Me too

@@TheAlphaCreations01 Honestly... they're all gifted

That's too accurate

Thanks a lot man! Regards from Portugal!

Thanks a lot man! Regards from Portugal! 👍😉🤘

Xime Armenta they really are just beyond music

Jerry Cantrell is one of the best riff writers of all time

Jerry is the Tony Iommi of grunge riffs

They’re fine I guess.

Exactly, Jerry is the riff lord.

Bingo.

Your descriptions could even be attributed to each bands albums and songs...if you prefer punk you might like this Soundgarden album or song, if you like classic rock you might like this Soundgarden album or song, if you like metal you might like this Soundgarden album or song...same can be said for all 4 bands if you have listened to their whole catalogs. 4 very talented bands that had diverse catalogs and songs that appealed to lots of different people with lots of different tastes in music. The “Grunge” label that everyone gets caught up on, wasn’t as much about music style as it was about the Seattle music scene in general. Including the time, the place, the style of dress, the attitude,...

I second this opinion wholeheartedly.

Pearl Jane and nirvana for me

Well played.

Thanks a lot my friend! Regards from Portugal! 👍😉

Thanks a lot! Greetings from Portugal!

Ya know what...yes

Couldn’t agree more

AIC and Soundgarden are two of my all time fave bands! Though I love AIC even more. But Soundgarden a unique sound lol? A mix of Sabbath and Zeppelin, but they brought it to life again in an amazing and even heavier way! And Chris is the singer LZ should have had instead of Robert.

Charlotte, What Black Sabbath song sounds like the day I tried to live? What Led Zeppelin song sounds like Superunknown or ty Cobb? There’s no doubt that soindgarden was influenced by zep and sabbath but to say that they don’t have a unique sound is just not true. As someone steeped in early blues I have a hard time seeing sabbath and zep as having an original sound. Don’t get me wrong, the wizard is definitely in my top five favorite songs of all time and both bands show up on any play list I make but neither of them are as musically original as soundgaden. Wolfmother sounds like sabbath/zep but were not talking about wolfmother...

@@godwantsplastic I'm born 1964 and grew up with awesome music. Blues and jazz too of course. Soundgarden have a unique style, omg, no way they're a rip off or so. I meant it's like a modern version of that first heavy bands. Totally agree with Wolfmother. And Greta von Fleet is fucking awful. Btw I listen to every genre, Soundgarden are citing my beloved Killing Joke as an influence. Absolute all time fave band, Geordie is a god for me, second is Godflesh (from Birmingham too, Justin and Ben said it's a very bad place to grow up, therefore the heaviness, way more than Sabbath) I love hundreds of bands and genres, also weird stuff like Coil, Swans, Throbbing Gristle etc. But AIC and Soundgarden are one of the best of course. Love AIC more because they are so dissonant, also Layne and Peter Steele saved my fucking life. Of course I was devastated about Chris too. What a waste of life and talent 😢

👍😉🤘

Even the new stuff is awesome

It’s alright.

Thanks a lot man! Regards from Portugal!

Thanks a lot for your words! Regards from Portugal!

same

Thanks a lot brother! Rock on...🤘😉🤘

Thanks a lot! Regards from Portugal! 👍😉

@@miguelsequeiraguitar only the truth ! greetings back from Germany :)

👍😉

Oh yeah yeah

Both, in my opinion. I’ve had spiritual journeys with them. It’s crazy.

That’s the most metal thing I’ve ever heard.

Viral PooPoo oh yeah yeah yeah yeah

Sean Carlson thank you sir

Rock on...👍😉🤘

@@miguelsequeiraguitar bro! ✨☕️☕️☕️✨🏆🇨🇦

👍😉🤘

Nirvana stomps them if we’re talking about guitar riffs.

@@truettkeaton5023 ur right

@@truettkeaton5023 Nah, Nirvana is not on the same level as AiC. Kurt created some catchy riffs tho

Nirvana has "popular" riffs but AiC is way more iconic, Cantrell is a genius.

​@@TheStepmonkey How is Alice in Chains more "iconic" than Nirvana? You can like Alice in Chains more, that's just a matter of taste. But objectively speaking, Nirvana is the most iconic rock band of the 90s, without question. Fans of the era would have recognized any of the first songs played. But only one song didn't need a title and most people today would still know the name. If we're honest with ourselves, we all know what song I'm talking about.

Thanks a lot bro! Rock on....

@@fovnwetovnwviqerv0qe8rj0er4 არაა ;დდდდ

Luka Anchabadze I think AIC and Soundgarden are

@@drperkyreal4686 Pearl Jam for me

STP - The most psychedelic

Staley's lyrics were golden and his voice is just untouched in my opinion. With all due respect to Kurt and Nirvana (my first favorite rock band ever alongside KISS)

BEST BAND OF ALL TIME!

In my opinion Soundgarden were the best of them all. Because of the groovy and original music writing and because of the voice of Chris, one of the top rock singer ever existed.

They always sounded whiny to me, especially Layne. When Cantrell sang lead at times it felt too soft.

@@qriminal1648 Said no one ever. Layne Staley's voice is extremely beautiful and haunting. Best voice in all rock history

@@mattmoves5920 Soundgarden is good but not on the same level as AiC.

Thanks a lot! Greetings from Portugal!

👍😉🤘

🤘😜🤘

Angry Chains, haha

3:00 - Angry Chair

This would be a damn good play list.

I think soundgarden wins in guitarmenship most skilled but alice in chains makes very catchy smooth riffs so yeah in my opinion alice in chains wins for most best riffs but soundgarden wins in guitarmenship overall skills

Love Alice in chain's. But I think he should have picked a couple from SGs bad motorfinger, Jesus Christ pose and rusty cage. It was a heavier album

Technically, many call Toni Iommi the "riff master" as it is said he has hundreds still on deck. But AIC forever...\m/

Well, Ritchie Blackmore composed probably the most memorable riffs. Nevertheless, I go with Soundgarden.

Todd Heath [:]-O

👍😜🤘

that's sad cause musically the guitar work was so sufisticated they were more than grunge

Dean DeLeo is on a different level than Kurt, Kim, Jerry, Stone & Mike

Y e s

Yes

I know right?!! I woulda loved to hear some Dead and Boated, Silvergun Superman, Plush, Interstate Love Song.

👍😉