There’s a long-standing idea that ’90s grunge killed the ’80s metal scene. That is true, to an extent. It definitely had a profound impact on hair metal, no doubt.I think there’s a case to be made, however, that thrash metal, groove metal, death metal, grind, etc., were not negatively impacted by the rise of grunge. Frankly, grunge owes a debt to most of those genres, and many grunge musicians were transparent about that in the way they played and wrote songs.How about we take a look at a few grunge songs that did a really good job of bridging the gap between themselves and heavy metal?“4th of July” by SoundgardenThe thing about Soundgarden’s “4th of July” is that it’s mercilessly heavy. It opens with this doom metal riff that rumbles the ground beneath your feet. The drums stomp along while Chris Cornell does this sing/scream-sing harmony with himself that is so f***ing cool.This one might not sink its teeth into thrash fans, but if you’re into death metal or anything doomy, you need to be jamming “4th of July”.“wargasm” by L7When it comes to sheer attitude, no ’90s grunge band was more metal than L7. They did not give a s*** what anyone thought, and they were not trying to impress anyone. But I’ll be damned if that didn’t make them even more impressive.The band’s third album, Bricks Are Heavy, dropped in 1992. On it is the song “Wargasm”, which has this Motörhead-esque riff with some really punky drums and vocals. There’s no way this tune wouldn’t have metal fans nodding their head.“Rain When I Die” by Alice in ChainsI have never been shy about my love for Alice in Chains. As a young metalhead, discovering them was a major bridge into grunge for me. One of the first songs that really stood out was “Rain When I Die”.The safe assumption is that it was the gnarly bass intro, or the “wah wah” guitar riff, that hooked me. But there’s no denying that Layne Staley’s epic vocals on the chorus are a huge part of what makes it work so well on a metal level. I mean, he is just belting that out with power like a cross between Ozzy Osbourne and Tom Araya. This one absolutely deserves a spot on your 90s metal playlist.“Honey Bucket” by MelvinsThe Melvins are simultaneously one of the best grunge bands ever, and also not really a “grunge” band. At least, not in the sense of how grunge evolved into the mainstream in the ’90s. They paved the way for grunge in the ’80s, and then they’ve just kept making that same really good music for the rest of their career.Going back to 1992, the band released a killer record, Houdini, featuring the song “Honey Bucket”. Now, the Melvins have A LOT of really great, really heavy songs (an argument could be made for “Revolve”). But this one just takes the cake.It’s got a thrashy guitar riff and a heavy bassline that make it almost feel like a Master of Puppets-era Metallica tune. In a world of heavy grunge tracks that speak to metalheads, this is one of the loudest.The post 4 Songs From the ‘90s That Bridged the Gap Between Metal and Grunge appeared first on VICE.