L7

USA, 1985–now

Los Angeles band formed in 1985, pioneers of the grunge/punk crossover and the Rock for Choice movement. Bricks Are Heavy ('Pretend We're Dead') delivered heavy, sardonic, Sabbath-tinged punk, a defining all-woman force in '90s alternative rock.

MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced L7 and 0 artists L7 influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced L7?

• AC/DC — Sparks on the split in the band: 'I liked catchier pop, surf, Ramones type of stuff. Suzi liked more heavy stuff, kind of blues based — she brought the Sabbath.' AC/DC and Hawkwind were the rest of what Gardner wanted to play.
• Hawkwind — Named in the same list — the drone and the sludge under the punk speed.
• Motörhead — Where the band actually sits, more than with the grunge they were filed under: the unhinged punk-metal end rather than the introspective one.
• Ramones — The Ramones' buzzsaw punk is a direct template for L7's fast, hook-driven attack.
• Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath's heavy riffing gives L7's punk its sludgy, metallic low end.