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The year 1996 was a truly pivotal year in the progression of heavy music.<\/p>\n
It was a year in which we saw the last vestiges of grunge dominance as Pearl Jam<\/a> had started to shift away from grunge, Soundgarden<\/a>\u00a0released the last album of their first era and Alice in Chains<\/a>‘ Unplugged<\/em> special would be the last we’d see of them for quite some time.<\/p>\n That led to a more significant shift going on in rock and metal, one in which the more melodic alt-rock sounds were still thriving, but the nearly-decade long downturn on metal acts started to lift. It was a period where many music listeners were ready for something fresh and a variety of sounds and styles were being presented in hopes of finding our next music revolution.<\/p>\n The year of 1996 was one of the more fruitful years of the ’90s<\/a>, providing an abundance of new acts vying for attention. We were introduced to post-grunge future hitmakers Nickelback<\/a> and Tonic<\/a> in 1996. The Wallflowers were locking up hit singles and Grammy attention, while Tracy Bonham<\/a>‘s made a chart-topping start with one of the decade’s better debut singles.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Do You Remember These Forgotten 1996 Rock Radio Hits?<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n It was a year in which Zakk Wylde<\/a> broke free for his first solo record and Arch Enemy<\/a> would kick off their first iteration after Michael Amott<\/a> split from Carcass<\/a> three years earlier. And a group of cellists named Apocalyptica<\/a> changed the way we thought about Metallica’s music.<\/p>\n So let’s travel back 30 years to see which emerging bands from 1996 are still going strong today and which were only around for a short time.<\/p>\n Let’s look back at 1996’s emerging bands and see who’s still thriving and who was just enjoying a moment in time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Below, check out our 15 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996.<\/em><\/p>\n It was one of the last great years of more melodic alternative rock before alternative stations radio flipped to heavier programming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhatever Happened to Rock + Metal’s Class of 1996?<\/h2>\n
15 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996<\/h2>\n