The Best Modern Grunge Bands, According to Reddit Users

If you're a grunge fan looking for newer artists to listen to, below are some of the best modern grunge bands, according to Reddit users.

One of the best parts about music is that it really is timeless — it doesn't matter if it's what's currently popular or not, you can listen to it whenever you please. But there've been different fads throughout rock and metal history, and grunge was at its peak during the early '90s.

A lot of the groups that became popular, including Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Mudhoney all got their start in the mid-to-late '80s. The style of rock, which originated in the Pacific Northwest, really took the spotlight in late 1991 and early 1992 when a couple of albums (particularly Nirvana's Nevermind) came out and climbed the charts.

By the mid-'90s, after flannel had its time on the runway and Kurt Cobain died, a lot of the bands started to slow down, and some broke up. Korn was becoming the next big thing, and nu-metal started to take the spotlight from grunge and alternative rock.

The era was short-lived, but those bands are still being discovered today by a new generation of younger fans who wish they'd been around for it. And many of those who were around for it miss it. So keep reading to learn about some newer bands that may have been considered grunge in the '90s, according to fans on Reddit.

You can also check out suggestions for the best modern nu-metal bands here.

Dead Sara

The comment with the most upvotes named Dead Sara, who formed around 2005. Though that doesn't necessarily make them a new band, their eponymous debut album was released in 2012, so they only became more widely known in the 2010s.

"First two albums are incredible. Check out 'Weatherman to start' with," the author of the comment suggested.

The replies to the comment are listed below.

• Cool song! Thank you!
• Saw her live at a music festival. So good
• Saw them open for Slash a couple years ago. Great stuff!

Dead Sara's sophomore album Pleasure to Meet You came out in 2015 and charted at No. 7 on Billboard's U.S. Hard Rock chart and No. 33 on U.S. Top Rock.

Dead Sara, 'Weatherman'

Superheaven

The next most-upvoted comment named the group Superheaven, who used to go by Daylight. They're from an area in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia, and formed in 2008. They have two albums in their discography — 2013's Jar and 2015's Ours Is Chrome.

Two individuals supported the Superheaven comment.

• Came here to say this, mildly surprised to see it has so much support.
• I side with post hardcore/alternative rock on Superheaven

However, one person called them "bad grunge" and argued that they "overuse the same sound."

Superheaven took a break sometime in 2017, but reunited in 2022 and played Sick New World festival in 2023.

Superheaven, 'Youngest Daughter'

Teenage Wrist

Teenage Wrist were mentioned a couple of times throughout the Reddit discussion. One comment simply named them, and the other reader also named the duo Softcult and the group Hello Mary.

"Softcult, Hello Mary, Teenage Wrist also stop saying grunge doesn't exist anymore," the person wrote. "Grunge was a movement and movements never die. Everything goes and comes back, it's a cycle. It just takes one person to make it happen. I'd love for grunge to come back: the music, the 'fashion,' the slacker films. It makes a lot of sense for Gen Z because we are all depressed and angry at the world."

READ MORE: Where Did the Word 'Grunge' Come From?

Teenage Wrist formed in Los Angeles in 2014 and have three albums out — 2018's Chrome Neon Jesus, 2021's Earth Is a Black Hole and 2023's Still Love. Thus, they are the newest of the groups we've mentioned here.

Teenage Wrist, 'Sunshine'

Arguments Against the Idea of 'Modern Grunge'

While some Reddit users suggested bands to listen to that have a similar sound and aesthetic to that of the Seattle grunge bands in the '90s, others argued that there is no such thing as a "modern grunge band." Read their remarks below.

• Grunge is a historical scene and not a genre. There may be bands that were influenced by grunge, but the modern grunge bands are the surviving bands that they always were: Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Melvins, etc.
• What? Grunge as a movement ceased to exist mid 90s now is post grunge.
• That falls into the category of nostalgia trips. There is nothing wrong with that. But grunge was not really a genre so much as it was a convenient term to categorize a bunch of (extremely good) fairly disparate bands that originated around a specific geographical region at a time when there was a vacuum in American rock music. There are plenty of bands that are inspired by those bands, but I would tread well clear of the cynical clones.