10 Best Grunge Guitarists

Out of all the grunge bands coming to the forefront in the early ‘90s, Alice in Chains was the one band whose sound actually felt tortured. From the off-kilter vocal harmonies to the brooding atmosphere of the instrumentation, every song had a weird mood that never felt quite at home. Though Layne Staley often gets cited as the band’s shining light, Jerry Cantrell is the reason why the band spread out like they did.

For as much of a snobby attitude many alternative fans had about music taste, Cantrell is very much a by-product of all his different musical heroes. A song like “Them Bones” is clearly a rager that is more metallic than usual, but the way in which he constructed melodic lines like on “Rooster” or “No Excuses” feels like it could have been ripped out of the golden age of pop, albeit if it were coming from Hell.

This incredible gift for melody is what made it easy for the band to fluctuate between typical hard rock material and acoustic cuts like on the EP Jar of Flies. In addition to being a great guitar player, Cantrell’s backing vocals also worked in tandem with his lead work to provide some of the best counter melodies to Staley’s screams. Jerry Cantrell might not have played anything too flashy, but he is one of the premier examples of a guitarist who knows how to serve the song.