10 Underrated Hard Rock Songs Of The '90s
4. Meatplow - Stone Temple Pilots
At the start of their career, Stone Temple Pilots had somewhat of an uphill battle to fight. Though the band's debut record Core was a nice slice of alternative rock, they had to face a bit of a backlash from the hardcore grunge fans who felt they were piggybacking off of groups like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Starting off their next album Purple, STP proved that they had staying power that extended beyond Seattle's coattails.
With a definite swagger in its step, the main riff and verses of "Meatplow" are a lot more in line with the tropes of classic rock rather than the dejected songs that the grunge copycats were aping. As opposed to the more straightforward riffing on the previous record, this opening track combined slide guitar, grunge sensibilities, and just the slightest traces of genres like glam rock to create a weird sonic monstrosity that hit like a sledgehammer.
Some fans may have been a little disappointed that the sound had changed, but with this one song, STP had started to find their path for what they become later down the road. After listening to this, STP wasn't ripoff grunge anymore...they were alternative rock evolving into its next form.