Wolf Hoffmann Explains Why He Thought Heavy Metal Was Dead In The ’90s
Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann reflected on grunge music’s rise in the 1990s and revealed his fear of the end of heavy metal music.
The rise of grunge in the 1990s can be attributed to several factors. One of the most significant was the popularity of the Seattle music scene, which was home to many of the genre’s most prominent bands, including Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. This scene was fueled by a network of independent record labels, music venues, and fanzines, which helped to spread the word about grunge music and create a sense of community among fans.
Another factor in the rise of grunge was its appeal to disaffected youth. The music spoke to a generation of young people who were disillusioned with the mainstream culture of the time and who identified with the genre’s themes of alienation, anger, and social isolation. Grunge music also offered an alternative to the highly-produced, formulaic music that dominated the airwaves in the early 1990s.
During his recent appearance on Headbangers Latinoamerica, Hoffmann looked back on grunge’s rise and being popular with beating other genres. Revealing the genre’s effect on heavy metal, Hoffmann admitted they felt lost, with their tour and album sales plummeting.
“Nobody knew where the music would turn and nobody knew where the music direction, what people wanted to hear,” he says. “I know we didn’t feel comfortable with grunge and alternative; that wasn’t really our thing.”
Hoffmann then mentioned their struggle to adjust to the situation. Explaining why he thought heavy metal was dead, Hoffmann said grunge music was the reason.
“We tried to adjust a little bit to the times,” he continued. “And, basically, all these metal bands that I’m familiar with… they all struggled. Nobody quite knew what kind of songs to release. We all didn’t think heavy metal was ever gonna come back or would survive. Personally, I thought ‘heavy metal is dead.’ In the ’90s, I thought, ‘Okay, it’s over.’ I thought we had a nice time in the ’80s, and it was great, but I thought ‘heavy metal will never come back.'”
Concluding his words, Hoffmann expressed his surprise on grunge’s disappearing in years.
“But to my big surprise, it’s back stronger than ever, and it’s still here. And the opposite happened; grunge has disappeared, basically. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
During our exclusive interview with Wolf Hoffmann, the guitarist discussed the secret behind creating heavy metal riffs.
“Oh, I don’t think there’s a secret necessarily,” he said. “But I can tell you that I sit there a lot of times, working on things, and riffs always come easy to me. I don’t know why, but they always have. With riffs, it’s always been something where I can sit down, and in five minutes, I can have a riff that’s probably a decent riff.
“But then, from there, it’s still a long way from a finished song because that riff has got to have proper vocal ideas that go with it. And along with those things, then, you’ve got to have a theme for the song.”
