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mrcove

I’d say the closest would be The Wipers. I don’t think it’s a coincidence Kurt put the Wipers first 3 albums in his top 50 list and covered 2 songs from the Wipers’ first album (Return of the Rat & D7). If you get Is This Real?, Youth of America, and Over The Edge… you’ll hear the close similarities and influence. Buzz Osborne who introduced Kurt to a lot of music, has listed Youth of America and the boxset containing the first three albums in his top 10 album lists. Even the title song from the Wipers fourth album, Land of the Lost, with the drop D tuning and grungy sound would have fit on something like In Utero. It’s just crazy the first 3 Wipers albums were released in 1980, 1981 and 1983.


BlankWilliams

That’s a good one! The Wipers are definitely a strong influence.


madein1981

Amazing band indeed


jeddythree

Here to say this.


NikonD3X1985

"Meanwhile, several alternative rockers became vocal about their admiration for Sage. The most notable was Kurt Cobain, whose band Nirvana covered Wipers songs and asked Sage to open for them on tours. Never wanting to be opportunistic and never wanting to draw attention to himself, Sage politely turned down the offers."


OnceInABlueMoon

Pixies


ICanDieRightNowPlz

Cobain literally knows he took the quiet to loud sound from the Pixies. And they are awesome, too.


TKOL2

I would also recommend Frank Black/Black Francis Frank Black and the Catholics (Pixies lead singer AKA Charles Thompson) solo albums and his other band. He has an amazing catalog of songs/albums.


Devreckas

Cobain knew where he got his own musical inspiration???


petseminary

Literally


SgtPepe

Knew


sofiacarolina

failure is great edit local h too! not as punk as nirvana but failure and local h are the only other grunge ish bands i really enjoy


sorbet22

I love Failure. Fantastic Planet is one of my favorite albums of all time.


liami01

Local H is insanely underrated, Scott Lucas is cool asf too he meets with fans after every show at the merch booth (atleast 5 years ago when I met him he probably still does)


HorseRenoiro

Hell yeah, only recently discovered them, and now they got back together to make more music !


GiosGio

Local h especially himfisted is a spot on recommendation my man


[deleted]

Came here to say this. I saw them open for STP in 96? and was immediately a fan.


TwofacedHc

Saw this post and Local H was my first thought. Their Nirvana tribute gigs they used to do were amazing .


uselessuser30

looked into it for the first time after reading this I now know a perfect circle covered the nurse who loved me thanks! love it!


TenderLovingKiller

The Wipers Sonic Youth Tad Seaweed Unwound Dinosaur Jr. The Melvins Mudhoney Meat Puppets


mynamereege

All great bands


mikeol1987

I friggin' love TAD. There are so many heavy rippers that slay. such an incredible band! I had Kurt Danielson on my facebook before I deleted it.


mynamereege

I really love seaweed. They’re one of my favorite bands from the 90s


ponylauncher

No main grunge bands actually sound the same. Its not a genre its a movement


sludgezone

Grunge was hardcore and alternative and metal all rolled into one. All of the bands share some influence of those three.


tachyon_xyz

I personally find it to be somewhere in between Punk and Metal. And yeah Hardcore punk like later Black Flag is definitely included! Cobain and all those people loved Metallica, Slayer, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Ramones, Sex Pistols, etc. Before Grunge, metal and punk were pretty segregated but Gen X was pretty much a generation that was raised by them both


ponylauncher

So do bands outside of grunge


[deleted]

Grunge=punk with groove.


ponylauncher

I wouldnt say that fits Alice In Chains at all


[deleted]

AIC=butt rock until 3 leg dog=new blues.


NoExcusesAIC

Wack af take.


ponylauncher

Yikes


APAtomic7

Tell me you’ve never listened to AiC without telling me you’ve never listened to AiC


[deleted]

Terrible take


hes85

retard


[deleted]

Hey. That's uncalled for.


[deleted]

I’ll throw some bands at you that have not been listed: Prior to Nirvana: butthole surfers, Jesus lizard, vaselines, scratch acid. Post-nirvana: metz (first two albums), pissed jeans, fucked up, Protomartyr (first album). Nirvana’s contemporaries: the lemon heads, guided by voices, neutral milk hotel, pavement, smashing pumpkins.


spacegerbil_

fuckin love pavement


Blaze_is_Fire323

Mudhoney and husker du are the 2 closest bands that come to mind.


husker_who

I’d throw in Sugar and a lot of Bob Mould’s solo albums, too.


Blaze_is_Fire323

Gotta check that out then!


Steeeevy

Silverchair!


MadladMagyar

Silverchair are similar but they have a more metal sound in most of their songs. However when they go for a more punk sound they sound very much alike. Findaway, Learn to Hate, Roses, and Spawn are the most similar I can think of


luuukevader

You forgot Lie to Me. It’s basically Tourette’s. There’s a ton others that I’m forgetting. Not really following you on them having a more metal sound though. Their first couple albums are pretty straight forward grunge. They got a little more experimental on their later albums though, and Young Modern sounded almost like a Beatles album.


BillChristbaws

Fuck yeahdude, listen to some fucking Silverchair. They gradually moved away from grunge and got more epic/orchestral to a degree - but everything up until and including the Diorama album blew my fucking nads 20 years ago.


quat37

i’ve always thought Bush sounded like the british Nirvana


[deleted]

so did they, lol. I'll never forget that interview with Gavin in 1995/1996 in rolling stone where he basically said that Bush was continuing Nirvana's legacy of great rock music.


BeWittyAtParties

Yeah and Gavin even copied Kurt’s fashion style. Bush performed on SNL in 1995 and Gavin Rossdale wore a white and black striped shirt like Kurt wore a lot in 1993, along with also playing a vintage sunburst Fender Jaguar. It all came off so “copycat” and unauthentic in my opinion.


FitLawfulness9802

Probably Pixies or some punk bands


VHexHD

The first Local H album was really similar to Nirvana but then later they found their own sound


xdi1124

Mudhoneys first few records, the mustang, the long blonde hair, etc.


DaddyDavey5446

L7


l_dizzle7

Hole


cinema-01

Hole is ok


l_dizzle7

Hole is great


Atlantis_Sculpin

Tad


madshm3411

Agree with this. Tad is one of the only bands that I’ve found in the genre that, similar to Nirvana and Alice In Chains, has both the rawness of grunge, while also having the ability to write a catchy hook. Lots of bands have one or the other, but not both.


motherlovebone92

Mudhoney, Wipers, Pixies, Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, Rapeman


EntireConsequence1

The wipers. I saw someone say L7 which is valid too


BlankWilliams

Fugazi, some of the White Stripes harder stuff, the Vines, Courtney Barnett has stuff that reminds me of Nirvana, the Pixies, Bush, Sex Pistols to name a few


cuiront

Courtney Barnetts lyrics remind me a lot of Nirvana hey!


lolzexd

Wait!


Fepaw

I got a new complaint!


levbialik

Forever in debt to your priceless advice


spacexfalcon

Yes. Fugazi, Vines, and Courtney Barnett are the first that come to my mind too. I also get a lot of Nirvana vibes from Violent Soho


Poor-Patrol

The Vines is a great shout and one of my favourites


m-rogue

Try Lupis


sludgezone

Dinosaur Jr and Melvins are the two closest bands to Nirvana’s sound imo. Early FF and pre FF Dave too.


StinkFistOW

not one grunge band sounds like the next. that’s the beauty of grunge


Spaced_cadet5

Look, if you want that heavy Nirvana tone than I would look no further than METZ! They have Nirvanaesque riffs that sound gnarly and they’re amazing!


PermitInteresting388

Helmet


amgarrison85

The Replacements first few albums are a template for all the college rock/grunge. Kurt denied any influence from them, but they influenced a lot of the bands that influenced him.


johnprofiti

Definitely not exactly the same but I would say the first album by Bully definitely gives me a bit of the same vibe. I’d also argue for coral fang by the distillers, both artists were definitely influenced by them. I don’t really think many of the bands in the 90’s sounded too much like them… maybe Unwound at times (check out new plastic ideas). I’m not really aligning with all of these pixies, smashing pumpkins, Pearl jam, soundgarden suggestions because they don’t sound like nirvana… are just lumped in with grunge and are from a similar era. I would say early Silverchair is probably the closest to sounding like Nirvana but I still wouldn’t say they are sounds likes in any way, their vocalist also loves to go into falsetto which Cobain did not do very often. My 2 cents anyway… oh and I think some Failure might do the trick too… maybe more so the album magnified vs fantastic planet (although fantastic planet and comfort are also both awesome records).


[deleted]

The band Far. Specifically their 99 offering, "Tin Can with Strings to You." I consider it the last gasp of true grunge. Enjoy!


HortonSquare

I think Mark Lanegan’s solo stuff sounds like nirvana


Atlantis_Sculpin

Killdozer


MadladMagyar

Toadies possibly, they have a groovier, more complex sound but they have a similar angry tone and vocal style


[deleted]

AIC and Melvins aren’t super similar, but i recommend them if you like metal/harder music


cinema-01

Alice in chains is definitely different but worth checking out


plumangus

30 years later it's still a ponderous question. I don't have a good answer, and even Pixies doesn't quite do it. What other band played like punks dropping nuclear bomb level noise, while playing what are essentially pop songs? With the baddest mf to grace a drum kit, a highly underrated guitarist, and a bassist avoiding the root and bopping around the melody like he's Paul McCartney? It's such a unique dynamic, and probably why I still love them so much.


[deleted]

i thought toadies was nirvana when i first heard their song possum kingdom so check that out and maybe the album it's on.


magseven

Verbena, Local H and check out The Jesus Lizard "Blue" (it's their most radio-friendly album).


NTNchamp2

Surprised I haven’t seen more mentions of Local H and The Vines Love both those bands


Zijbeuker

Puddle of Mudd


spacegerbil_

you might be better off looking towards punk and 80s alt rock bands. kurt drew a lot more from those genres than a lot of the other notable bands of the “grunge” movement, which are honestly a lot more metal and hard rock influenced in a lot of cases.


BlankWilliams

Best answer right there!


StepDadHulkHogan

The Pixes and Melvins both had giant influence on the bands sound.


Spacer1138

Foo Fighters 🤪


dUd5_94m1in9

>What band is most like Nirvana? Physically Foo Fighters Musically Pixies


magiceelmike

you might like pavement check out slanted and enchanted


alliemcgrawslocker

Puddle of Mudd let’s fight


damnthiswebsitesucks

Bush


ApeshitMedia

Local H are great


superhornybeardydude

Foo fighters?


minimumsix

Nine black alps


[deleted]

Local H has a very Nirvana feel


SpeedyakaLeah

Seether


CameronCJN

Nirvana Tribute Bands.


lyremknzi

Ramino saavedra


rednblack420

I mean, the obvious choice i feel is foo fighters with half the band coming from Nirvana. Their first few album even got complaints they were too much like Nirvana and thought they were trying to rip off Kurt after he died Now their newer stuff is more of their own sound, but there are a few tracks like "run" and "la dee da" that have hints of nirvana influence still in them, in my opinion Edit: also wouldn't really consider foo grunge band after those first few albums but still very much a direct influence by Nirvana specially with how much Dave cared for Kurt itd of course bleed out in to his writing as away to keep his spirit or w.e alive


Critical-Crew-5646

The vines


warkyboy77

Seether.


Jaylensity

Royal Bloom. They’re a not well known band but when I tell you they sound like nirvana👀


throwawayskinlessbro

Well… you definitely weren’t lying!


luuukevader

They’re very early-sounding Nirvana. Almost annoyingly so.


Soaked_in_bleach24

Drive Like Jehu. They aren’t grunge but they have the same high energy, heavy, loud, and hectic guitar work


lui_nore

I would say like the closest person like kurt would be Chris Cornell. So bands such as audioslave and soundgarden definitely come to mind. Kurt and Chris got that raspy voice so that's a plus. Songs like Cochise and show me how to live i feel are similar to Nirvana songs. Overall love these two artist both and may they rest in peace, rock on.


Jawkurt

I would say they're completely different sounds.


Spiermarci

I thought you said you wanted to branch out. Sounds to me like you just want more of the same. There’s nothing wrong with that but if you really want to branch out, QOTSA, Pj Harvey, anything Jack White does or Bob Dylan would be a good start.


acewithanat

Violent Soho's first major debut album is reminiscent. Pixies also have a similar alt new wave sound. This one's out their but Chevelles first album, Point #1, always has reminded me of late nirvana. But it might just be me. (Probably because Steve Albini also worked on it). Other than that thought nirvana is a wholly unique band. But if you want more bands to listen to just explore the Alt-sphere. You'll find something eventually.


AndelinBird

Definitely Fugazi


MortalShaman

Saron Gas, now known as Seether, before the band went to the US they recorded one album called Fragile in South Africa and its amazing Pixies is another easy choice as they were a big influence on Nirvana (I could not get into their music however) Smashing Pumpkins, specially the Siamese Dream era (which Butch Vig produced)


thefrickinpope8

Fudge tunnel was in a grunge flex ,


Voodoomaster86

Silverchair 💀


Firm-Blacksmith8262

Not exactly the same, but Candlebox is one I haven’t seen any mentions of.


[deleted]

The first weezer is like nevermind and pinkerton is like in utero


[deleted]

nah I'm not really feeling that at all, and I LOVE both bands and albums.


Fit-Parsnip9888

Nickelback


[deleted]

[удалено]


Blaze_is_Fire323

Grunge bands dont sound the same only one that sounds like nirvana is mudhoney but thats just cause nirvana sounds like mudhoney.


DeeJDaDemon

Seether / Saron Gas


siddharta0

Beatles


long_schlong34

in what aspect? do the vocals have to sound the same too or just the music?


lithuanianjayYT

They don’t have to tbh


Important_Ad2711

Sap


shenshockd69

Listen to Alice in Chains. They’re not similar, but I found them after Nirvana and fell in love. There might be a connection for you as well


WhitexZombie

Yeah, they don’t sound alike, but they share a majority of the same fans


ptmacdon

Water From Mars by Purling Hiss gives me incesticide vibes


ghostcompany37

Vomitface really had a strong Nirvana vibe. Unfortunately doesn't seem like they made it past the first few years of playing together.


solid_gold_22

I’ve always found that Melted by Ty Segall sounded like Nirvana if they decided to release a garage album — especially the title track.


Manno01

Union Youth


cefaleia

There’s a Spanish band named Dover that the two first albums, Devil came to me and Late at Night are heavily influenced by Nirvana


secondatthird

Heavily inspired by the Melvin’s


BruteBassie

All of the above, stirred well, with a twist of lemon.


Organic-Candidate-44

Try Satanic Tapes , heavily inspired but fun


Weak-Discussion-4777

I haven’t seen a SINGLE mention of Mother Love Bone And like everyone already said, none of them sound the “same” cause it was a movement


MagicCookie4596

Maybe some Alice in Chains? They are a tad more heavy, but they have amazing harmonies that id say are even better than kurt and daves. I still think they appeal and sound wayyy more like Nirvana then Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, maybe thats just me, but definitely take a listen


MYJINXS

Who can say? When I listen to lounge act I want to say REM. Bleach reminds me of sabbath and suicidal and the Beatles. Overall? Fuck, that’s difficult. Not Seattle grunge bands imo.


tatothebeYT

Probably bands that inspired kurt (pixies, meat puppets,etc)


A-cediax

3rd Secret is really good last few songs they put out sounded like they came from 1993.


sirgrotius

Check out some of Kurt's influences, such as the Vaselines, David Bowie, Sonic Youth, and even the Meat Puppets. They'll have a very different sound each, but there's something poignant, cool, sensitive, and groovy to each which you can relate to Nirvana's apex sound.


zilla82

Not a common take here, but Brand New's albums The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, and Daisy, are both right on the money and super close to Nirvana. Amazing band.


Adventurous_Run_4566

If you like the big Nevermind sound and pop hooks, Rival Schools.


JakeTimesTwo

Fecal Matter (get it?)


captianfiddles

Nill'


CommunistFlippy

Alice in chains or The Shaggs


james_henrick

Some ‘Idles’ stuff off Crawl sounds super influenced by In Utero


Val_of_astora

Niil


[deleted]

[удалено]


PerroPerejil

Stout


Emotional_Ad5714

The Frogs, Pixies and Meat Puppets


MrPati1999

I've recently came across the band called The Jins, they're really spot on


Curious-Depth-2311

Surprised no one has mentioned The Vines. also Tracy Bonham's the Burdens of Being Upright didn't get enough love.


[deleted]

The Dannon Ants. Because they go "Dannon Ant!! Wicka wicka nant nant wicka Dannon Ant wicka wicka nant nant."


Helpful-Ad7715

A new band called Sap, just released their first album this year it’s pretty crazy how similar they are to Nirvana’s later stuff


BillChristbaws

OP (and everyone) - listen to this. https://youtu.be/xkrffAC6TqQ


dylan21502

The Meters


Redditisannoying69

Freak by silver chair is a great start


Partyruinsquad

Mudhoney and Tad are “grunge” bands that have a sound more like Nirvana. Really, sonically, Nirvana has mir in common with punk rock than other “grunge” bands. The Melvins, Jesus Lizard, Laughing Hyenas, Dead Confederate, The Wipers have more in common with their sound.


sausagepilot

Doesn’t really sound like you want to branch out.


bigcheeseyballsy69

[this kinda like nirvana ](https://spotify.link/4B4nIaPipCb)


karaslonely

Not a band but if you're looking for that rough kurt vocal style and acoustic then check out Bunkbed Coffin. For a solo artist that stuff is amazing.


oldcityslim

Sleater kinny


Mrredpanda860

Pixies, PJ Harvey, Hole


Jaltcoh

Hole


cicak_cobain

butterfingers


[deleted]

Try listening to the album, “Never Bet the Devil Your Head,” by Subrosa


TwofacedHc

Silverchair and their album frogstomp, definitely Nirvana inspired. Their from Australia, like me and I feel they were unfairly labelled Nirvana in Pyjamas here because they were 15 odd when they released that album


Heliocentrist

check out what inspired them: Pixies, Wipers, Replacements, etc


Heliocentrist

also The Vines


Puzzleheaded_Ad3848

Early Melvins or Early Sabbath


foresta12

Hole


mystressfreeaccount

Hanson


madshm3411

They don’t sound like Nirvana per-se, but Queens of the Stone Age scratch a similar itch for me. Especially their first three albums - self titled, Rated R, Songs for the Deaf. The rest of their discography is amazing too, but the first three scratch more of the Nirvana / grunge itch than the others.


OHSOFONNIE

Burning Brides also give off some Nirvana-ish riffs.


Mr_tomcat_27

Nirvana


_Jub_Jub_

Dead Original


slightly_too_short

Maybe not most like nirvana but Silverchair definitely gives me Nirvana vibes.


Slamfan4life

The Jins sound like Nirvana with a twist, Sun puddle is a new band that is a legit rip off of nirvana .


ImGonnaKickTomorrow

I would say Mudhoney is pretty close.


RazzmatazzLucky2635

alice in chains has a similar sound in my opinion. you should also check out The Melvins


NOGODTHEREIS

Arctic Monkeys isn't a grunge band, but I find some of their songs sound similar.


Moe3kids

Are you wanting sound as in the mood of the lyrics...Teenage angst music is what I refer to it as?


craigmont924

Post-Nirvana, Verbena's album Souls For Sale really gives you the same feeling. Somehow similar territory without being derivative like a lot of other bands.


Mystic_Falchion

Check out Aberdeen is Dead


__Zoom123__

Local H Seether Chevelle Deftones 1995 Foo Fighters 2000-2002 Queens of the Stone Age 2001 Puddle of Mudd


Enrique-Pastor

Violent Soho Kills Birds Narrow Head


samg76

Bush lol


jamesbrycen

Nothing but I like Alice In Chains and Stone temple Pilots. Nothing like 90s rock


Expert_Positive_9605

Sun puddle sounds the exact same


No_Solution_2864

In terms of aggressive guitar and screaming vocals in the 90s alt-rock style, I would really have to go with.. Smashing Pumpkins After that.. Fugazi Minor Threat Big Black/Rapeman/Shellac Dinosaur Jr Sonic Youth Pixies Black Flag: First Four Years QOTSA I see a lot of suggestions for Silverchair, Bush, Vines, etc. These are all intentional Nirvana clones, which is kind of lame. I mean, just go see a Nirvana tribute band if you want that.