10 Amazing '90s Bands That Everyone Forgot About

Most of the Seattle scene wasn't all that snobby about who was in what band. These musicians were all friends outside of their bands, and it wasn't unusual to have someone leave one legendary act and then find themselves playing in an equally legendary one just a few months later. That meant a lot of future supergroups getting formed, but bringing Mad Season together felt like more of a cathartic experience for everyone involved.

Coming together after Layne Staley was trying to clean up his act after battling heroin addiction, he took a break from Alice in Chains and formed Mad Season with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready in tow. While it was clear that this was just a side project from the beginning, their only album Above is a lot better than it has any right to be, with McCready's bluesy licks fitting in perfectly with Layne's gritty vocal delivery.

Also featuring the talents of Mark Lanegan from the Screaming Trees, this whole record feels like a support group among musicians, trying to keep each other on the straight and narrow. It may be the same voice singing the songs, but it's hard to even see Layne bringing these songs to an Alice project. Alice drew from the darker side of life, and this is the moment where Layne was starting to see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. That light ended up burning out way too quickly, but it was so sweet while it lasted.