Rock: A brief history Pt.6

With the end of the 80's and the beginning of the 90's, a whole new wave of artists emerged as well as the expansion of alternative rock. In Chicago, industrial rock was beginning to take a foot hold with two of the more noticeable rock bands of the decade, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry.

Hard rock was still ruler in the aftermath of the grunge movement and bands such as Korn, Stone Temple Pilots and Tool were all adding to the rock movement of the 1990's. Grunge was still a defining genre of rock in the 90's however, and groups such as Nirvana defined the early 1990's with their music. By the end of the decade, Britain was being overrun by Brit-pop, which spawned bands such as the Verve, Oasis, and Radiohead.

Los Angeles may have seen the peak of heavy metal in the 1990's with super star groups such as Metallica, Jane's Addiction, and Guns N' Roses all packing in arenas for thousands of screaming fans. The success of Van Halen and Guns N' Roses in the early part of the decade led to the sustained success of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, U2, and Metallica. This wave of heavy metal soon saw a split into a multitude of sub genres; grind metal, death metal, doom metal and funk rock were showcasing bands across the West Coast with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine in Los Angeles and Primus and Faith No More in San Fransisco. During this time, it was heavy metal phenomenon Marilyn Manson that put life back into the genre.

Although pop-punk was born in Los Angeles, it saw its peak elsewhere, with Green Day in San Fransisco and Pegboy in Chicago. This genre also saw the success of groups such as The Offspring, Weezer and Blink-182. This slew of pop-punk bands would soon begin to merge with emotional rock and eventually lead to the emo movement of the new millennium.

Another genre of music that saw a huge movement in the 1990's was ska. After having brewed underground during most of the 80's, bands such as Rancid, The Might Might Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, and Sublime began to discover huge followings. Emerging from this type of music came a more pop-ska genre that gained a bit more attention with groups like No Doubt and Smash Mouth. Hardcore followers of ska were still held satisfied with Less Than Jake and Catch-22 gaining popularity on the underground scene.