Happy 20th Anniversary In Utero!

When it comes to following up a hit record, few bands have ever been burdened with the pressure and scrutiny Nirvana were in the wake of the culture-altering success of Nevermind. Transcending the mere nature of selling a ton of records, Nevermind was hailed as a quintessential part of every teen's existence as it rocketed the band to not just stars, but rather official spokespersons of an entire generation.

It's a heavy responsibility to be tagged as the go-to for millions of disaffected adolescents, and it's one that ultimately crushed the band (and, more specifically, its troubled frontman) under the weight of expectation. In Utero, the group's swansong, was a kicking and screaming resistance to the bright lights and microscopes alike; faced with the prospect of a massive and insatiable legion of fans (many of them bandwagoners with department store flannel) and a label hungry for lightning to strike twice, Nirvana made a record designed for maximum letdown for all but the true of heart.

In Utero is, as I've often stated in the past, one of rock history's ugliest and difficult records. Aside from a handful of slight concessions to DGC's pleas for radio fodder, it's a gnarled mess of broken tones and pummeling rhythms. It's no surprise reaction was lukewarm; history paints the album as a masterpiece, but it wasn't received quite so warmly while Cobain was still alive. This doesn't make it a lesser album than Nevermind by any stretch; in fact, though it may not be as important from a societal standpoint, In Utero is the better record as a statement.

It's easy to diminish its impact today, as we've seen so many bands try their hand at the "screaming against fame" shtick in a way that's not genuine, it can feel like a contrived move. For Nirvana in 1993 In Utero was a move that, though ultimately not enough to save the life of Kurt Cobain, was absolutely vital to the survival of Nirvana.