Gruntruck

Singer/guitarist Ben McMillan began his career as the frontman for seminal Seattle grunge band Skin Yard, which cranked out four albums during his six-year tenure, and included future- producer and alternative rock linchpin Jack Endino (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, et al.) on guitar. In 1990, he drafted ex-Skin Yard drummer Norman Scott, guitarist Tom Niemeyer, and bassist Tim Paul to form Gruntruck. The band's sound treaded much of the same post-punk/metal hybrid which was then common to the Seattle scene, and their counterpoint guitars and minor chords were especially reminiscent of Soundgarden. As such, signing with straight-ahead metal label Roadrunner may have been a strategic mistake, as both 1991's Inside Yours and 1992's Push seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the alternative explosion, and the band split soon after.