The Sonics are often-cited contenders for the title of "the first punk/grunge band", due to their wild and unconventional style. The band also have a clearly marked influence on American punk bands such as The Dead Boys in their brash, masculine style and posturing, and on the nineties grunge bands (who originated in the same area), especially Mudhoney, who adopted some of the darker themes from Sonics music, and a lot of their techniques on over-driving and distorting electric guitars. Their reach stretched beyond the U.S.; influential Manchester post-punk group The Fall covered "Strychnine" during a session for the late John Peel's programme in 1993 and they repeatedly performed the song live around this time. As well as all these, there have been whole generations of garage rock revival bands (such as The Thingz) who make no bones of plagiarizing The Sonics and their ilk. The early 21st century saw the arrival of another garage rock band that lists the Sonics as a major influence, Eagles of Death Metal. New Zealand power-punk band Cut Off Your Hands have covered "The Witch" several times in concert.
LCD Soundsystem's seminal release "Losing My Edge" (2002) features a long list of important 20th century musical bands. The litany ends with singer James Murphy repeating 'The Sonics' four times, emphasizing how important the band was.
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