I recently completed the second installment in my underground grunge music series. I love the genre and felt that there were too many artists to share in the first two parts of the series, so I decide to add a third iteration! All the tracks here have elements of grunge within them, although every artist is very different from one another.
Review by Jane Howkins
Picture by Patient Lounge
Patient Lounge – Hard Truth
Starting this list off is Patient Lounge, an alternative rock band with some grunge stylings thrown in for good measure. The track starts out quite slowly, with a spiralling guitar melody and an awesome production quality. The riffs kick in every so often, providing a nice dynamic change, before the music slows back down again. The vocals have that classic raw grunge style, showing a great deal of emotion on Hard Truth’s heavier choruses, with an immense guitar solo appearing towards the end of the track.
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Moraine – Life In This Haunted House
Moraine’s offering to this list starts off with a single guitar line, before the rest of the music arrives, making Life In This Haunted House sound a good deal heavier than it first appears! The main guitar melody is catchy, adding a good sense of melody to this grungy song. The vocals are a little distant in the mix, but they work really well with the style of the music, with some lovely backing vocals appearing to provide an extra backbone to the piece.
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Lucifers Beard – The Guy With A Black Eye
The Guy With A Black Eye starts out with an amazing buzzsaw guitar riff, with an almost western style vibe to it. The beat and vocals kick in shortly afterwards, with the fast rhythm giving Lucifers Beard’s track a punky quality. The vocals sound frantic when mixed with the beat, as semi-discordant guitar lines appear every so often, adding a flavour of attitude to proceedings. The Guy With A Black Eye exudes a sense of energy that never lets up, fitting the grunge genre well.
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Metrophobia – Words Unsaid
Metrophobia are a Swiss duo, making it all the more impressive how good their music is, considering that there are only two of them! Words Unsaid has a pulsating guitar style that gives the music an eerie yet catchy atmosphere. The vocals are quite low, adding to the dark ambience of the piece. The energy never lets up – surprisingly there isn’t really a chorus as such, with each verse segueing into one another with some lovely instrumental breaks, making for a track that is very distinctive sounding.
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Attendant – A.I.T.A.
A.I.T.A. opens with a huge, frantic drum beat, before the crushing guitar riffs are added, raising the tension from the start of this amazing tune. The vocals have a dreamy vibe at first, sounding distant underneath the immense barrage of riffs that Attendant have added to their music. The sound changes to include palm-muted guitars at other times, although the energy still remains high throughout, creating music that is perfect for headbanging. These guys are great so make sure you check them out!
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Tokeo – I.A.F.D
Tokeo are a British-based indie rock band with elements of grunge, punk and the garage rock scene present in their music. The vocals on I.A.F.D have a distinctive British quality, spat out in an angry punk fashion, whilst the discordant guitar riffs and bass weave in and out of each other. The chorus raises things to a heavier fashion, before dropping quickly back down to the verse, which has a slight ska-style beat. Tokeo are a band doing something different, for which they should be praised.
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Next To Zero – Pretending To Be A Cowboy
Pretending To Be A Cowboy opens up with some eerie backing effects, before the music kicks in proper, adding a country/Americana vibe to proceedings. It’s still definitely a rock/grunge song, but there are also moments of the blues and desert rock in there too. The drums are huge, working well with the cool guitar licks as they work their way through the music on Next To Zero’s killer track. The vocals are very emotive and raw sounding, particularly on the verses.
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Wanaka – When I Die
When I Die starts out a bit differently from what you might expect, having more of a rock ballad sound, as pretty acoustic guitar melodies mix with a beautiful, slow solo. However, it’s definitely got a post-grunge ballad sound, with the raw vocals containing a great deal of emotion as they play over the guitars and piano. A harmonica appears at one point in the track, adding a little country to the music, before the epic guitar solos arrive once again, rounding Wanaka’s music out in style.
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Doll Riot – Get A Life
I first discovered Doll Riot a couple of months ago, and I’ve loved everything they’ve put out since then. Get A Life is the name of their new track, mixing grunge and punk together in the only way they know how. Get A Life is extremely fast, having an urgent energy to it that really makes you want to get up and start pumping your fists in time, particularly on the chorus. It’s more of a punk song but the riffs sound immense, especially when mixed with the heavy drums and the cool attitude the vocals ooze.
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Dying Habit – Directions
Dying Habit are a brooding hard rock band with a heavy sound, eminent from the very beginning as the crashing riffs appear. The chorus has a slightly more melodic sound, but Directions still remains incredibly heavy, featuring groovy riffs and a huge drum style that suits the genre well. The vocals are a little distant in the mix, but this actually helps to add more of an atmosphere to the song, working surprisingly well with the dark vibes of the tune.
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Agenda 109 – Off Limits
Agenda 109 are one of the most grungy bands on this list, rounding it out nicely. Off Limits has a raw production style, suiting the music well, sounding awesome in its heaviness. The verses feature a discordant guitar line alongside some tribal sounding drums, with the low vocals following the bass and guitars perfectly. Off Limits’ chorus raises things up, sounding a little more melodic, although still retaining that razor sharp rock edge we’ve come to know and love from the grunge genre.
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