Гранж известен также как саунд Сиэтла, подстиль в альтернативном роке, развившийся из панк-рока и хэви-метала в середине 1980-х. Гранжу свойственны «грязное» гитарное звучание, обилие дисторшна, контрастная динамика с чередованием «громко-тихо», мрачные тексты на тему отчуждения, одиночества, апатии и свободолюбия. Grunge is also known as the Seattle sound, a subfield of alternative rock that evolved from punk rock and heavy metal in the mid-1980s. Grunge is characterized by a "dirty" guitar sound, an abundance of distortion, contrasting dynamics with alternating "loud and quiet", gloomy lyrics on the theme of alienation, loneliness, apathy and love of freedom. Grunge music has a so-called "ugly" aesthetic, which is expressed in the saturation of melodies, distorted and gloomy lyrics. This is a contrast to the "sleek" elegant sound of mainstream rock of that time, and also because grunge musicians wanted to reflect the "ugliness" surrounding them and display "hidden corners and depravity."