The 5 Best Closing Songs on Grunge Albums

Pearl Jam, 'Release'

Album: Ten (1991)

Pearl Jam's groundbreaking debut album ends with a lengthy, mesmerizing ballad called "Release." Not only does it serve as the perfect way to wind down from the intensity of some of the album's previous tracks, but the atmospheric instrumentation at the end of the song mirrors that of the beginning of the album's opening track "Once."

Thus, "Once" essentially picks things up where "Release" left off, creating a seamless loop that allows the album to play over and over again as if there's no true beginning or end.

Alice in Chains, 'Would?'

Album: Dirt (1992)

Alice in Chains' decision to include "Would?" on Dirt was nearly a last-minute one. The track was originally written and recorded for the Singles soundtrack and Jerry Cantrell didn't intend to put it on the band's sophomore album. Had they left it off, Dirt would've concluded with the Layne Staley-penned "Angry Chair."

Most fans will probably agree that they made the right decision in including it. It's one of the strongest tracks from the entire grunge era, driven by an eerie bass line and even more chilling vocals.

But what makes it such a fitting closer is the subject matter. Cantrell wrote it as a haunting tribute to late Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood, one of the key figures of Seattle's early grunge scene. Ending Dirt with "Would?" gives the album a sense of closure, not only musically but historically, as one of Seattle's most important bands pays tribute to one of the scene's members who helped pave the way for them.

Stone Temple Pilots, 'Where the River Goes'

Album: Core (1992)

Leaving listeners with a thought-provoking epic seemed to be the way to go back during grunge's peak. Stone Temple Pilots followed suit, boldly wrapping up their debut album Core by featuring their longest-recorded song to date at the very end of the track list: "Where the River Goes," which clocks in at exactly eight-and-a-half minutes.

It's a sludgy, slow-burning song that chugs away as Scott Weiland drawls a series of lyrical hypotheticals and metaphors about the uncertainties of life. During the last few minutes, the track picks up slightly in pitch and Weiland shifts into a crooning, Jim Morrison-like vocal style that makes the outro reminiscent of The Doors' epic "The End."

It's the perfect conclusion to an album that helped establish STP as one of the '90s' most intriguing bands.

Nirvana, 'All Apologies'

Album: In Utero (1993)

Nevermind and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" usually get the spotlight when discussing Nirvana, so it felt good this time around to be able to confidently give the crown to a song off In Utero. "All Apologies" is a mostly mellow, mid-tempo track complemented by cello that Kurt Cobain himself described as "peaceful, happy, comfort — just happy happiness," according to the biography Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana.

"Happy happiness" is a bit of a stark contrast to much of Nirvana's catalog, especially the songs that precede it on In Utero. That's what makes it stand out as such a strong closer: after an album filled with abrasion, darkness and emotional vulnerability, "All Apologies" offers a sense of warmth and calmness.

The brutal irony of it, though, is that it's the final song on the final Nirvana album before Cobain's death in April of 1994.

Soundgarden, 'Like Suicide'

Album: Superunknown (1994)

Soundgarden closed their landmark album Superunknown with the hypnotic "Like Suicide," written about a bird that Chris Cornell heard fly into a window at his house. He found it badly injured on the ground outside and made the solemn decision to end its suffering with a brick.

And yet, "Like Suicide" is proof of how skilled Cornell was at turning some of life's bleakest moments into something grandiose and captivating. From its tribal-like percussive opening, the track builds in magnitude over seven minutes, taking listeners on a trippy journey through suffering, death and ultimately, peace. It gives a sense of hope and closure at the end of a record that covers a variety of facets of the human experience — especially the dark ones.