During a recent YouTube conversation with Rick Beato, Nuno Bettencourt argued that Brian May’s influence on the grunge sound was greater than Tony Iommi’s.
During the live conversation, the guitarist discussed an often-overlooked facet of rock history. While discussing Queen’s ‘A Night at the Opera,’ he cited ‘Death on Two Legs‘ as a watershed moment in the formation of grunge. He explains:
“For me, the loudest Brian May solo is on the ‘A Night at the Opera’ record. There’s a bunch of stuff early on, but ‘A Night at the Opera’ record, notably ‘Death on Two Legs,’ a song, comes in, and he’s playing the riff; that’s like the first time, I guess. I heard that…I feel like the entire Seattle Alice In Chains sound was born when he went [imitating May’s playing], and I was like, “Wait a second. He’s turned it down. “What is going on here?”
Reevaluating The Grunge Godfather
The discussion then went to the widely held assumption that Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi was the godfather of grunge. Nuno Bettencourt politely disagreed, citing May’s inventive guitar tuning and playing style as undervalued inspirations in the genre. The musician commented:
“People often refer to Tony Iommi as the godfather of grunge or anything, but I’m sorry. That’s in a safe location. In a deeper sense, even with King’s X and some of the song things, that D-tune stuff, Brian, I believe, was doing that, and nobody talked about it. Listen to ‘Death on Two Legs’ or other songs, or even when he did ‘Fat Bottomed Girls.'”
Black Sabbath’s Indirect Influence And Brian May’s Grunge Connection
It is claimed that Black Sabbath’s ‘Master of Reality’ was one of the albums that helped shape the grunge sound. This album’s influence reverberated throughout the genre, spawning the heavy, blues-infused sounds of important acts. Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins once credited the album with originating grunge, emphasizing its worldwide impact.
Brian May, reflecting on his experiences in Seattle during the birth of the grunge movement, expressed appreciation for the genre and its musicians, particularly Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. May’s experiences in Seattle left him loving the city’s dynamic community and artistic expressions, including graffiti reminiscent of the psychedelic era.
Watch Nuno’s full interview with Beato below.
