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Soundgarden’s Rise, Fall, and Re-Emergence

Soundgarden

As one of the premiere alt-rock groups of the ‘90s, Soundgarden infused a love for heavy metal and blues into their voracious and full-bodied rock sound, packed with arena-ready guitars and belching vocals. Their guitar-driven repertoire ranged in tone from raucous blues to swirling psychedelia, with their aggressive structural conciseness reminding of classic punk records. As you need more than one hand to count the number of genres in the past few sentences, it goes to show how Soundgarden’s eclectic stylistic grasp was a significant contributor to their longtime success throughout the ‘90s, and their eventual comeback recently. Led by the wailing vocals of enigmatic Chris Cornell, Soundgarden was initially thought to be the guiding force of grunge-rock, even before Nirvana. When Soundgarden signed to rising Seattle label Sub Pop in 1987, and released the superb single “Hunting Down”, they amassed a cult following and many in the biz expected them to guide a new movement in rock. While they weren’t quite Nirvana in terms of groundbreaking success, their career showed patience and exceptional growth. Their hardcore fan following is easy to see, as is why they’re swooning over their comeback album, 2012’s King Animal.

Soundgarden didn’t break through to the masses until 1994’s Superunknown, a 70-minute epic led by famous single “Black Hole Sun”. It’s an apt display of the band’s full embracing of psychedelia, which enabled more complex arrangements and dependence on Cornell’s extraordinary vocal talents. His melodic knack made vocal hooks plentiful throughout, and psychedelic components of production encouraged lengthy creative trips. It resulted in the band’s first #1 album. When Cornell and roommate/bassist Hiro Yamamoto formed Soundgarden in the mid ‘80s, their mutual love for a number of styles made their first few EPs and LPs excited but relatively unfocused. Critics described it as The Stooges meet Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and tracks on 1988’s Ultramega OK like “Smokestack Lightning” also showed a surprising adeptness for dark and crunchy metal riffs. The metal influences made some sections sound dated, but for the most part it was an impressive entry to rock super-stardom and radio-friendly accessibility – despite the occasional inaccessible bumps. Their actual super-stardom did not happen until nearly a decade after Soundgarden’s formation, but noting releases like Ultramega OK and 1991’s hard-rocking Badmotorfinger is essential to understand how Soundgarden’s evolution resulted in the classic that is Superunknown, and one of the most graceful comebacks in 2012 with King Animal.

After Soundgarden split rather messily after 1996’s Down on the Upside, Cornell began working on other very successful projects. Most notably, his work with Audioslave – consisting additionally of former Rage Against the Machine members – was comparable in recognition to Soundgarden. Still, Soundgarden’s mutual love for vintage rock sounds and their undying chemistry made a reunion seem imminent. After over a decade-long wait, their return with King Animal is just what fans have been asking for. With excitement building around their 2010 tour, the band hit the studio and emerged with an album that harkens back to their glory days. Well, the swirling psychedelia and crunchy guitars of the past are here, but with more refined production typical of a more experienced and confident group, accustomed to their success by now. Kim Thayil’s guitars remain just as hypnotizing as ever, and Cornell’s captivating wail is fitted perfectly over tracks that are effervescent and arena-ready in their anthemic overdrives. There are plenty of rock groups who reached their prime in the ‘90s, and attempted a reunion to middling results. Soundgarden are an exception though, not that it should be too much of a surprise considering all the members’ successes during the band’s hiatus. Whether or not they’ll ever top the likes of Superunknown is still a valid question, but fans know one thing for sure: Soundgarden are back, and judging by the sounds of King Animal they seem capable of anything yet again.

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