51 Rarely Seen Backstage Photos of Grunge Bands in the 90s

It was the Seattle sound that became a national movement—a cacophony of distorted rock and screaming feedback that came to define an entire generation of American youth. Their shared angst, greasy hair, and metaphorical middle fingers to the man all imbued into raw, holy noise. (Plus a hell of a lot of flannel.) Led by yowlers like Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, and, of course, the almighty Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, it was a genre as much as it was a lifestyle. But as quickly as it began, it ended, dying alongside Cobain on April 5, 1994. Here, these rarely 52 photos capture—we had to—that teen spirit.