The Screaming Trees: One of the Greatest Unsung Bands in Alternative Music
Seth Mullins
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They had all the requisite ingredients for greatness: impassioned guitar work, a unique sound that blended the best elements of psychedelia and west coast punk rock, honest and insightful lyrics, and a singer whose voice cut to the deep places of the heart. Somehow, though, all these elements never 
translated into widespread success for the Screaming Trees. Even while other alternative bands were able to ride on the crest of the wave created by Nirvana's Nevermind, the Trees slogged through a career marked by disappointing album sales and long periods of inactivity that could be attributed to a dearth of creativity, tensions between band members, or both.
The much-hyped Seattle scene that they were a vital part of in the '90's had its big Achilles heel: heroin. It claimed Andrew Wood early on in the movement; it killed Layne Staley, played a part in Kurt Cobain's suicide, and it took a toll on Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. Certainly, Lanegan's inconsistency - his inability to work on new songs for stretches of time, or his tendency to walk offstage a half-hour into a performance - could be attributed at least in part to his lifestyle; and it wasn't healthy for the momentum that he and the rest of the band were trying to build. Then again, what makes artists great is often closely linked to what eats them alive, and there is no doubt that if Mark Lanegan sometimes jeopardized the Trees' fortunes, he also bestowed upon their music some lasting greatness. Perhaps we would be selfish to want to have the yin without the yang.
The much-hyped Seattle scene that they were a vital part of in the '90's had its big Achilles heel: heroin. It claimed Andrew Wood early on in the movement; it killed Layne Staley, played a part in Kurt Cobain's suicide, and it took a toll on Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. Certainly, Lanegan's inconsistency - his inability to work on new songs for stretches of time, or his tendency to walk offstage a half-hour into a performance - could be attributed at least in part to his lifestyle; and it wasn't healthy for the momentum that he and the rest of the band were trying to build. Then again, what makes artists great is often closely linked to what eats them alive, and there is no doubt that if Mark Lanegan sometimes jeopardized the Trees' fortunes, he also bestowed upon their music some lasting greatness. Perhaps we would be selfish to want to have the yin without the yang.