Kurt was found dead on April 8th 1994 in his greenhouse with a bullet to his head. Autopsy reports concluded Kurt died on the 5th. Kurt, who had battled drug addiction, other health issues, depression, and the pressures of being a rock star, death was ruled a suicide.
Although some fans believe he was murdered the chances are very slim because Kurt had previously attempted suicide in Rome about a month before and he had also discussed his suicidal urges in interviews and in song lyrics..
It should also be noted that most insurance companies do not pay for suicides. Cobain, like fellow rock stars Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin was 27.The sound of Nirvana brought a revolutionary change to rock music and brought it back to the raw basics. 
Nirvana, like most grunge bands was influenced by both punk rock and heavy metal. Nirvana helped bring grunge into the mainstream along with bands like Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. 
The primary influences of Nirvana included The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Wipers, and Meat Puppets. Kurt Cobains cynical sense of humor and angry, yet gentile and artistic personality made him an unwilling spokesman for angst teens of generation X.
Perhaps more even tragic is Layne Staley of Alice In Chains, who was found dead two weeks after his estimated death on April 20th 2002. 
Staley was surrounded by drug paraphernalia and had battled with drug addiction for years. His death was estimated to be on the 5th. According to friends and family Layne had isolated himself due to his drug addiction to the point where one would throw rocks at his door and he still wouldn’t open it. The death of his former girlfriend Demri, 
who also died of drug related causes, in 1996 had hurt Layne beyond words. Laynes body was not discovered until an unidentified person placed a call with 911 to say "She hadn't heard from him in about two weeks”. After 1997 Layne hid from the spotlight probably due to his drug addiction. When he was found the 6 foot tall Staley weighted only 86 pounds because of malnourishment. In Layne’s last interview held in 2002 he said“"This fucking drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive," he said. "I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this shit. It's a very difficult thing to explain.”
He also said that the pain from drug addiction is unbearable and that "I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It's too late. I never wanted [the public's] thumbs' up about this fucking drug use.”
However it should be noted that the lady who interviewed him is actually full of bullshit so she may have twisted the words around. I know this because Layne’s family and friends all said her book was full of bullshit. Even if she made it up it is still known that Layne urged fans NOT to use heroin and said in a rolling stone interview that“I didn't want my fans to think that heroin was cool. But then I've had fans come up to me and give me the thumbs up, telling me they're high. That's exactly what I didn't want to happen."”
Alice in Chains provided a more metal influenced grunge sound then Nirvana. And while lumped into the grunge scene Alice In Chains considered themselves a metal band. Their most successful album Dirt had heavy guitar riffs but lyrics touching on very personal matters. Layne’s powerful voice made Alice In Chains’ music heavy yet beautiful. Layne was described by his friends as a caring and funny person.
Both artists provided an influential voice in what became grunge and the music of the early 90s.
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