Van Halen’s established brand kept them going strong, at least for that album cycle. In this new environment, only a few hard rock bands from the ’80s could still thrive. Metallica had been an MTV staple in the late ’80s with their high concept video for “One”, but with a new album that merged their trademark heaviness with radio-friendly catchiness, the band essentially blew away the lingering vestiges of hair metal. The song is loads fiercer than “Poundcake” due to its thundering drums and irresistible riff. However, its music video, featuring numerous scantily clad women and the band performing on a stage with thousands of bright lights in an otherwise empty space, definitely feels like a relic of the hair metal era.Ĭontrast that with Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman”, released at the end of July 1991. That track has some kick, particularly with Eddie Van Halen occasionally playing his guitar with a power drill. Van Halen, who were never really a hair metal band, started the summer off with “Poundcake”, the lead single from their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. By the summer of 1991, North American audiences were starting to get tired of the dominant rock/hair metal of the 1980s. With Pearl Jam’s third studio LP, Vitalogy, turning 25 on November 22, the milestone anniversary felt like an opportune time to go back, review the band’s catalogue with an analytical ear, and determine where this acclaimed album stands when stacked up against the rest of the band’s output.Pearl Jam were the right band at the right time, or, rather, one of several right bands at the right time. And they aren’t done yet: Earlier this year, the grunge granddaddies revealed the collaborative writing sessions for Pearl Jam’s next opus were well underway. In terms of impact, it could be argued that Pearl Jam were the most influential of grunge’s four unwilling forefathers ( Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden), and that their vast contributions to rock have inspired-and continue to inspire-countless artists. After all, the glorious Northwestern metropolis served as ground zero for the siring of grunge-a movement that ushered in a vast shift in musical tastes, by bands whose songs still define an entire generation of rock fans.

During the mid- to late 1980s and early ’90s, it seemed as though all of the most innovative bands had some sort of a connection to the Seattle area.

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