The Seattle sound of the early '90s is often hailed as one of the last great eras of rock. Gritty guitar riffs ruled the radio, and garage bands popped up almost overnight. Alice In Chains was at the forefront of this wave, challenging the notion that grunge was incompatible with metal or lacked standout solos.
In a recent interview with Rick Beato, Cantrell shared his thoughts on what it was like to rise within the iconic grunge scene and reflected on how Washington was buzzing with bands, many of them drawing inspiration from local rock legends (via Ultimate Guitar): "Sure, 'cause it happened already. It was an interesting time. There was so much great music. Music was already changing in the late '80s. There was a heavier, more aggressive element to it, not just in our town, but across the globe. It felt like the change was even bigger, and there just seemed to be an inordinate amount of people the same age that were receptive and liked all of this stuff, and then had the crazy idea, like, 'Man, I'd like to do that too, let's get a band together.'"
He described the scene that stretched across the state: "I mean, the Seattle, and the whole area from Olympia, to Aberdeen, and Spanaway, where I was, all the way over to Bellevue and up around the U District — it was just littered with bands. We were all two, three years apart in age, at most, and we also had a pretty rich history already — we had Queensrÿche [formed in Bellevue], who had some big success. And Heart, of course, and Hendrix — those are the three big ones that preceded our class, if you will, but it was a pretty vibrant scene."
Cantrell also touched on Seattle’s geographic isolation as a possible reason the grunge scene was able to grow organically: "Also, it's kind of out of the way. I think that's a big part of maybe why we had time to gestate and develop into what we developed into, without any meddling from anybody. Nobody gave a shit about the Northwest, and until we made 'em give a shit about it."
He praised the region’s indie college radio stations for playing fresh, alternative music, which fostered a sense of belonging among young musicians: "We had some good college radio stations too, really cool, indie college stations in town that played great stuff. So, you felt like you were part of something; like something was happening, and you were actually part of it. And that's a pretty cool feeling for a young fella."
While the grunge scene’s journey was different for each band, Cantrell emphasized how their successes were interlinked, with every milestone building the movement into something greater. Reflecting on this progression, he highlighted Mother Love Bone’s crucial role: "You can't look at it in that microcosm, because Soundgarden records and their videos, and Mother Love Bone, which was a really important band, and Mudhoney, and Green River before that — they're all little stepping stones. And even though we weren't working together, we were all helping each other with all the success that we kept having individually, and also as a group collectively, even though it wasn't planned that way. So, each of our successes gave rise to a bigger thing, until it just gained critical mass, and Pearl Jam and Nirvana happened."
