Skin Yard Songs Ranked

Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience but was an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, and Green River. The band was formed in January 1985 by Daniel House and Jack Endino, who were subsequently joined by Ben McMillan and Matt Cameron. Skin Yard played its first official concert in June 1985, opening for the U-Men. In 1986, Skin Yard contributed two songs to the now-legendary Deep Six compilation. This album, in addition to featuring the first commercial recordings of The Melvins, Soundgarden, Malfunkshun, and Skin Yard, was the first to showcase the early grunge sound. That same year, Skin Yard released their self-titled debut album and their first single, “Bleed”. Here are all of Skin Yard’s songs ranked.

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10. Hallowed Ground (Hallowed Ground, 1988)

“I’m not a grunge fan, but this is pretty listenable. It balances the harder edge of the genre with the more light and melodic side better than a lot of the later bands would. Not enough to convert me though. The opening two tracks are a bit of a tease for which the rest of the album doesn’t deliver.”

9. Out of the Attic (Skin Yard, 1987)

“It is not a perfect album. Some of the lyrics tent to be a bit dull and tackle generic issues (boredom of a modern routine, isolation, etc.) and some songs are admittedly weaker than others, specially in the CD re-release. However, it is a fantastic representation of psychosis under the rock format and a truly restriction-free effort, standing as one of the (if not the) most purely artistic thing that spawned from grunge.”

8. PsychoRiflePowerHypnotized (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991)

“In my opinion it’s not as great as Inside the Eye, but it’s more than worth owning. Two songs in, you realize that Jack Endino is not only a fantastic producer but an amazing guitarist – it’s a shame that he won’t be remembered as a great rock guitarist because his playing is both original in sound and stunning in technical ability. Buy this if you’re into Soundgarden or Alice in Chains, because this is on par with the former and actually surprisingly better than the latter.”

7. River Throat (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991)

“It rocks hard, and stands apart from the crowd at the time. Compositionally, it doesn’t necessarily have the depth of concept or virtuosity of some other bands or projects, though, but that’s part of the point of this particular style.”

See more: Skin Yard Albums Ranked

6. Words on Bone (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991)

“If what you want is something that is an audio assault on the eardrums that still has some melodicism, Skin Yard works. And beyond that, it has Barrett. Early Barrett, but still Barrett.”

5. Skins in My Closet (Skin Yard, 1987)

“On a deeper level I think this song tries to address the issue everyone has with their identity. We all have these personas or ‘skins’ which we appear as to the people around us, whilst neglecting the person we actually are. Perhaps this is the reason for the sinister tone in the song, as the narrator views himself as evil, but to everyone else he appears as just a regular person.”

4. Burn a Hole (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991)

“When I get a sweet tooth for Skin Yard, this is the album I tend to reach for. It is a bit more dark and moody than their other efforts but as a result has the most atmosphere and emotional hook. Jack’s guitar work is often memorizing – I have never heard anyone else weave a sound quite like him.”

See more: Bush Songs Ranked

3. Stranger (Hallowed Ground, 1988)

“It’s one of those that you can listen to over and over again and never get sick of. I listen to this song every morning when I wake up to get me up and ready to greet the day now, and I never grow tired of hearing it.”

2. Reptile (Skin Yard, 1987)

“This is song that will be sung for the rest of eternity. The great fans will never forget, but this is how everyone else will remember Skin Yard. It’s an awesome song. The riff and the lyrics are amazing”

1. 1000 Smiling Knuckles (1000 Smiling Knuckles, 1991)

“Fantastic album from an unknown grunge band, featuring the famous Sub Pop producer, Jack Edino, and a member each from Gruntruck, Screaming Trees, and Soundgarden. The production on this album sounds a bit old, almost like early Mudhoney recordings, but usually, it doesn’t tamper with the quality all that much. This is a rebellious-sounding album, as most punky-grunge is. Great album, good for getting some angst out.”