3 Iconic Grunge Bands With New Lead Singers

It’s no secret that the history of grunge music is marred by tragedy. Sadly, there was something about the genre, where it originated from, and who was drawn to it, that led to the untimely deaths of so many great artists—and particularly the passing of so many great frontmen. But the show must go on, right?

After all, a group doesn’t necessarily have to call it quits just because something awful happens. And that’s exactly what happened when it came to the futures of these iconic grunge bands. Here, we wanted to examine a sort of changing of the guard within some of those groups. Indeed, these are three grunge bands with new lead singers.

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains may be the best grunge band of all time. The most quintessential grunge group. Dark, depressive, and explosive. At its peak, Alice in Chains was defined by its co-frontmen, Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. But on April 5, 2002, Staley died of a drug overdose, and the group as the world knew it was no more.

So, what to do? Well, Cantrell and the gang soldiered on and recruited a new lead singer, the Washington, D.C.-born vocalist William DuVall, who has been singing with AIC since about 2006. His powerful, sweeping voice works great in the grunge outfit and has allowed the group to continue on for nearly two additional decades and counting.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden, which just days ago was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has also been playing live more and more recently. And the band, which is going by the moniker Nudedradgons these days, has introduced a new lead singer, Seattle vocalist Shaina Shepherd (read more about her here).

With an electric, elastic voice, Shepherd is filling in admirably in the spot vacated by the late former Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell, who passed away by suicide in 2017. We can’t wait to see more from Soundgarden or Nudedragons or whatever moniker they choose to go by next.

Nirvana

Recently, pop star Post Malone has seemingly made a bid for the role of frontman for the grunge group Nirvana. While the trio may never re-form the band permanently, they sure made a splash during the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary concert recently with Post doing his best Kurt Cobain impression, singing songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

For Malone, who goes between rap, pop, country, and rock, the fit works. He can play grunge as well as just about anyone on the scene today.