Top 10 Metal Bands Who Stopped Grunge

To me, Pantera was always the most grunge metal band of all the bands that played metal. First of all, their balls-out approach to metal was to metal what the alternative and fuzzy guitars were to commercial rock. Second, Pantera dressed simply like the grunge bands did, so no big hair, plus plaid shirts, worn-out clothes, very humble in the same sense grunge was.

Lyrics were intelligent, like grunge bands' lyrics were, and weren't the typical metal type lyrics (sex, swords, wizards, and witches, or other fantasy themes). The sound of the band and production was close and in your face, more similar to true grunge. Also, the scales and riffs of Pantera were more bluesy and dark, closer to really amped-up rock and blues on steroids as opposed to classic metal harmonizing minor scale melodic bands like Iron Maiden, Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, In Flames, etc., play.

So yeah, Pantera rode the grunge wave just in Metal music. Definitely didn't stop it, lol. They were just really original so they were able to stay relevant after the genre's popularity subsided, even though they were never considered part of the genre either.

Though the same would go for Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, who would have comfortably been able to keep their audiences had they in fact stayed active as bands. Nirvana lost Cobain in '94, Alice and Soundgarden broke up in '97, and Pearl Jam were boycotting any mainstream outlets, be that Ticketmaster or MTV. So grunge wasn't actually stopped by anyone, the top bands either stopped working, existing, or deliberately avoided the spotlight in the case of PJ. Dumb poll. But yeah, Pantera is the best metal band so here's my vote.

Every album they released in the '90s reached number 1 on the charts. That is very impressive.

Since they were so reclusive, they kept fans wondering who they were, always wanting more music from them.

Tool is very Grunge-like in some songs, particularly. I fail to see how they stopped Grunge at all.

They gained mainstream success with their first 2 EPs and stayed relevant throughout the '90s.

With their "rebel against the government" style, they attracted a wide variety of fans. They also pioneered a vast majority of rap-metal styles and influenced bands like Korn, Deftones, and Limp Bizkit.

They were part of the first and final pushes against Grunge. Megadeth made one of several significant contributions with hits like Rust in Peace, A Tout Le Monde, and Symphony of Destruction.

Korn was possibly the biggest force in diminishing the relevance of Grunge. Once they introduced Nu-metal to the scene, it was a whole new ball game, and Grunge became irrelevant.

Pantera wasn't the only Groove Metal band during the '90s. Rob Zombie created this band with his girlfriend at the time. They broke up in '98 due to personal differences, and Zombie has his own larger-than-life solo project now.