Unbeknownst to most Nirvana fans, its drummer David Grohl was also a singer/guitarist/songwriter who wrote numerous songs during his tenure with the band. After Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, Grohl decided to head out on his own and formed the Foo Figh…

The Stone Temple Pilots are the result of a chance meeting between Scott Weiland (b. 27 October 1967, Santa Cruz, California, USA; vocals) and Robert DeLeo (b. 2 February 1966, New Jersey, USA; bass) at one of Black Flag's final shows in Los Angeles.…

Although Nirvana and Pearl Jam may have been the most commercially successful bands of the 1990s Seattle movement, Soundgarden was every bit as important and influential. Part Black Sabbath/part Ramones, Soundgarden helped unite both punks and metalh…

Alice in Chains represented the darkest side of 1990s grunge rock. Taking a page or two from such previous doom-rock purveyors as Black Sabbath and the Melvins, the band lyrically depicted the hell of drug addiction (and other hardcore topics) perhap…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into th…

Unbeknownst to most Nirvana fans, drummer David Grohl was also a singer/guitarist/songwriter who wrote numerous songs on his own during his tenure with the band. After Kurt Cobain's death in 1994, Grohl decided to head out on his own and formed the F…

The members of Live began playing together as teenagers in their native York, PA, under various band names. After singer Ed Kowalczyk arrived, they were on the fast track to stardom. The moody alternative-rock sound of their 1991 debut album made som…

Inspiring legions of imitators (especially among the rap-metal crowd), the Red Hot Chili Peppers combined biting rock guitar with funk rhythms and rap-influenced vocals for a thunderous, party-hearty sound. While the California band was popular on th…

Before The Smashing Pumpkins, alternative rock had yet to touch upon the grandiose arena rock of the 1970s. Leader/singer/guitarist/songwriter Billy Corgan composed songs that were somehow part Boston, Cure, Queen, and Jane's Addiction. The Pumpkins …

While the 1980s Los Angeles rock scene will forever be associated with pretty-boy glam metal, it also spawned Guns N' Roses, one of the most in-your-face, streetwise, and controversial bands of the era. Axl Rose & company's roots lay in The Stones, A…

While a select few hard rock bands incorporated rap into their sound (Anthrax, Faith No More, etc.), it was Rage Against The Machine that perfected and popularized the rap-metal genre in the 1990s. Unlike the aforementioned bands, the Los Angeles-bas…

In the midst of the early 1990s grunge boom, Counting Crows emerged as an alternative to the heavy, alienated sounds of the Kurt Cobain crowd. The California band harked back to the classic '60s folk-rock sounds of the Band, Bob Dylan, and Van Morris…

Following in the footsteps their idols The Beatles, Oasis became a phenomenon in their home country in the 1990s. Taking the Fabs' template as a model, they added a thick wall of Pete Townshend-influenced guitars and stood at the vanguard of the mid-…

This contemporary rock act is a phenomenon: no UK act with such an indifferent reception in their homeland has experienced such success elsewhere. Formed in west London, England, their initial success in the USA was thanks to college radio, which pic…

In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." They're generally lumped in with the Britpop crowd, but, like Travis, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic pop …

Like Velvet Revolver (but with a more political bent), Audioslave appeared in the mid-2000s as a post-grunge supergroup pounding out stripped-down heavy rock. The band is spearheaded by Chris Cornell, whose wailing vocals formerly graced archetypal '…

Coming out of the grass-roots Gilman St. punk scene of the early-1990s Bay Area, Green Day exploded into the mainstream with their third album, 1994's DOOKIE. The trio's punk energy and pop hooks, influenced by first-generation punks like the Buzzcoc…

This quintet from Calabasas, CA, who started playing together in 1991, hit the road hard in support of Korn, Limp Bizkit, 311, and many others, before hitting it big. The Incubus sound is a mixture of melodic alternative rock, heavy, synth-colored ro…

Before Nine Inch Nails, electronic-based rock was often considered devoid of feeling and danger. Leader Trent Reznor merged synths with tortured vocals/lyrics, distorted guitar, and repetitive, slamming rhythms into an unpredictable amalgam, helping …