Top 10 Heaviest Nirvana Songs

In the very late 80s and early 90s, there was an explosive new genre that was birthed from the city of Seattle in Washington. It took elements of heavy metal, hardcore punk and hard rock and meshed them all together to create the powerful, sludgy, distorted sound of grunge. One of the pioneers of this style was the immaculate, Nirvana. 

While incredible bands like Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden all had screeching vocals and rusty heavy guitar, none of them were as raw or vicious as Nirvana were, especially with lead singer, Kurt Cobain's on and off stage antics. All grunge bands have had their fair share of heavy material but right now I'm going to focus on the vicious sound of Nirvana by listing what I consider to be their top 10 heaviest songs. I'll be brief in what I say and let the songs speak for themselves. 

Honourable Mention: Mrs. Butterworth - With The Lights Out

I'm only going to limit my honourable mentions to one here. This is definitely one of their most raw rehearsal demos for sure, but I'm not including it in the list because it has about 90 or so seconds of shite-talk in the middle of it. I get that it's a popular statement in punk but it takes me out of the song personally. It's still class but it's unfortunately not going to make the main list!

10. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nevermind

No doubt all the music snobs are scoffing up their latest brioche bun in smug disgust that I would pick such a mainstream song for such a list, now that it's popular to hate the song cause it's so over played and doesn't reflect the band properly... me hole it doesn't. Despite it's drained radio play, it's easily one of their most accessible and heavy songs. Any rock or metal bar I've been to goes insane (in the good sense) when it comes on. It's loud, hard and angst ridden; just like the band is. It demonstrates both their slow, droning style and their fast angry style while giving a taste of the genuine talent behind it all. 

9. School - Bleach

A potential favourite song of mine from their glorious catalogue. School is one of the best songs on their mindblowing debut album, Bleach. I could nearly include the whole album as it's own list because as a full album, they haven't released anything as visceral since. The song is just 3 very short sentences repeated over and over in different intervals, but it's accompanied by one of their most satisfying riffs. An absolute belter. 

8. Milk It - In Utero

This is one of the slower songs on the list but that doesn't stop it from being blisteringly heavy. Each chorus is built up with a nice bass driven verse before launching into a tirade of venomous screams. It's amazing Kurt was still able to talk after recording these albums...

7. If You Must - With The Lights Out

The second of the slower songs on the list but even heavier than the above. With a build up like a demented fairground ride, it kicks into more raw, agonising screams that pierce your ear drums like a heavenly knife. Dale Crover, the drummer of Melvins and close friend of Cobain, provided his notable drumming skills to this song, which gives it the feel of a lost Melvins demo with Kurt singing in place of Buzz Osborne. Also a slight hint of the main riff from Metallica's Call of Ktulu.

6. Mr. Mustache - Bleach

Diving headfirst back into the rusty speed of Bleach with another scream-fest. In hindsight I think I could have just made a list of Kurt Cobain's best screams... but they fit sorta hand in hand with the heaviness of the tunes so it all comes full circle. Always enjoyed the fade in for this song, sounds like you're walking down a corridor approaching a classroom where it's being played and it's just building louder and louder. But yeah, dat scream. 

5. Territorial Pissings - Nevermind

To me this is one of their more punk influenced songs, from the vocal style to the guitar breakdown halfway through, it just screams (quite literally) hardcore punk. It's used terrifically in the opening credits for the great Kurt Cobain documentary, Cobain: Montage of Heck, it was a studio recording that gradually faded the music so you could hear the sheer rage in his voice, which throughout the song, crackles like an adolescent teen which just adds to the atmosphere. 

4. Floyd The Barber - Bleach

It's not often you have songs about the cast of a popular 60s sitcom like The Andy Griffith show, raping and slaughtered a teenager strapped into a barbers chair, so these fine young lads decided to make it available to your willing ears with this lovingly crafted piece of vile brilliance. The guitar tones here (and the next few tracks...) are just pure evil. Lyrically it's possibly their closest step in the direction of heavy metal.

3. Breed - Nevermind

If you ever wanted to experience a train driving full speed into your ear drum, than this is your chance. One of their most tightly composed songs on their most tightly composed album, Breed opens up like machine gun fire through your speakers with Dave Grohl's masterful, lighting fast drumming. I'm pretty sure it's scientifically impossible not to headbang to this one.

2. Anorexorcist - With The Lights Out

Now for the song that actually encouraged me to write this list. It was only released as a live demo and it's fairly rough in it's quality, but the tone of the guitar and heft of the riff is no question one of the heaviest things Nirvana has ever done. I had to really make sure it was them I was listening to. The vocals are a dead giveaway with Kurt's signature incoherence. I don't quite know what he's saying, but you can tell it's something to be angry about.

1. Tourette's - In Utero

Finally we reach the end of this earthquake of heavy grunge music. I'm finishing up with a song that would have possibly been no. 2 if this style of singing was in Anorexorcist. Teasing the beginning of the fantastic track, You Know You're Right, Tourette's is 95 seconds of musical and lyrical violence of the highest order. Littered with Kurt's most blood curdling screams like he's trapped in a brazen bull and what is like a tornado of roaring guitars, heavy bass and the fiercest drums. This is Nirvana in it's rawest form. 


On top of providing the world with some of the best in bone-crunchingly heavy music, they've also got a load of more mellow and rock centred music, all of it is amazing. They were such a capable band in that they could transition from upbeat to violently sinister to somewhat relaxing all over the course of one album. They're a truly unique sound in grunge and it's with good reason they're considered one of the best of the genre.