I like dark music. Obvious, to anyone who knows me. But I’ve come to realize it doesn’t particularly matter what genre the dark music is, if it suits my mood, I’ll probably like it. Grunge can be quite dark. Hence my grunge kick as of late. I grew up with this genre in the 1990s via rock radio stations, but I never really explored the less mainstream elements. I have been giving myself a crash course on early grunge from 1980s, before Nirvana released Nevermind and the corporations got ahold of the genre and squeezed it dry, declaring it “dead” once they tired of it and decided to guide their fickle flock to different pastures, namely to nu-metal (another undead genre I also still like). Early grunge was like a cross between punk and metal, sometimes sounding nearly indistinguishable from the heavier examples of early post-punk, deathrock and goth rock, at least to my untrained ears. And I’ve been listening to modern grunge; for some reason when the media declared grunge dead, everyone believed them, in the US at least, and the genre was no more. But internationally, it still exists, in far flung regions like South America, Japan and Eastern Europe, very different places from its native Seattle. It’s underground music now, and that’s what’s best for the genre, really. It’s inherently an anti-establishment genre, and it’s no wonder Kurt Cobain got depressed when his music became commercialized. It ran counter to the very spirit of the genre.
Anyway, this is why (and I’ve said this many times on the blog before) anyone who says that all new music sucks is a close-minded fool. No matter what the genre is, be it grunge, nu metal, disco, swing, hair metal, new wave, whatever supposedly “extinct” genre you can think of, I can guarantee someone, somewhere in the world, is still making that type of music. You just have to find it. A musical genre never truly dies.
But don’t worry, I’ve still been listening to plenty of newly-released goth music too. I’m still subscribed to all the YouTube channels that post new goth music. The grunge thing is probably just a phase I’m going through, like my synthwave and 1930s Big Band jazz phases, while goth is a constant, and has been since 2005.
Diavol Strain ~ Inferno
Green River ~ New God
I’m going back to 1984 with this pick. This song was to grunge what “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” was to goth. Green River was one of the seminal acts of the early grunge scene before the genre even had a name. As I’ve said earlier it reminds me of punk music, and it has a similar dark sound to it as early deathrock, to me reminiscent of early Christian Death. But it developed independently from that scene. I like the funny little asides in the song, sung from the point of view of a God that wants your soul. “I gave it to you in the first place, I just want it back, you understand. Oh come on, give it to me. It’s a painless operation. It’s like removing your tonsils.” It sounds goth to me even though it’s not. Maybe I’m just bad at genres. Hits all the same beats for me though as early post-punk.
You can actually find the album it’s from on Bandcamp.
https://greenriver.bandcamp.com/album/1984-demos
Rusty Nail ~ Deborah
Of course, a big reason I was drawn to this song is because Deborah is my wife’s name. Rusty Nail was a 21st century grunge band from Russia, and they released ten demos under the name between 2008 to 2010. They changed their name to Venus Veins with the release of their first and only album in 2012, where they changed their sound a bit too. But I prefer the more raw sound of their demos as Rusty Nail. Very reminiscent of Nirvana’s early work.
Vincas ~ Until it Rains Red
The Athens, Georgia post-punk band that brought us “Let Me In” has a lot of other great music too. This song in particular is incredibly heavy and badass, with a metal feel to it. The heavy reverbs on the drums with the electric guitar will have you headbanging. It’s the first track off their May 2020 release Phantasma.
https://vincas.bandcamp.com/album/phantasma
Skin Yard ~ The Birds
Antiflvx ~ Fade
Death Loves Veronica ~ Fuck Like Me
I know the title of the song is spelled “F*ck Like Me”, but I don’t believe in censorship. Death Loves Veronica actually just had a new album out on April 5th. This track isn’t off it, but I haven’t gotten to her new album just yet. But do check it out if you find yourself liking this track. I know artists would probably rather have their newest work promoted, so there, I did my part. Now this track is off Deception, a two track little single released in August 2021. I’ve been hooked on it lately, a few months too late but, eh, it’s never too late to spotlight someone’s work if they’re still going.
Espermachine ~ Love Me, Hold Me, Kill Me
https://espermachinemusic.bandcamp.com/album/3rd
Circa Never ~ I Feel
Circa Never is a modern grunge band that released some demos in 2015 and 2016 before promptly falling off the face of the Earth, unfortunately. They had a lot of potential. The best bands are always the ones that release one album or single or just demos and then vanish. The singer sounds uncannily like Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. In fact they sound more like 90s Alice in Chains than 2010s Alice in Chains does with their new singer. Their sound is exactly the sort of thing I’ve been trying to dig up. Alas, they never released a full album.
You can see their stuff on Bandcamp, they have some songs I wasn’t even able to find on YouTube.
https://circanever.bandcamp.com/album/the-demo
NNHMN ~ Omen
Here’s something so brand new the album it’s on hasn’t even been released yet. Non Human is still going strong this month. This track is off their next album, For the Comfort of Your Exstazy, due out next month. Omen is an antiwar song about the nature of evil, using the metaphor of a dragon to symbolize the power people give to their leaders through nationalistic pride, making war possible. Something that’s always relevant, sadly.
https://nnhmn.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-comfort-of-your-exstazy
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