Soundgarden - Superunknown

Artist - Soundgarden
Album - Superunknown
Released - March 8, 1994
Genre - Grunge
Reviewed By - The Starchild

Many expected seminal grunge band Soundgarden (Alongside with Mudhoney) to be the band which will break down the barriers and take Seattle grunge to mainstream, and they always seemed to be on verge of crossing into mainstream, especially with the excellent Badmotorfinger, but Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten managed to beat them to the punch. What Soundgarden, despite of being one of the pioneers of grunge always lacked was a hit single to cross them into mainstream and they finally got it with Superunknown as "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" became huge hits and ultimately crossed them into mainstream.

Superunknown, is a highly ambitious, sprawling epic crossing well over 60 minutes. And the band despite of issuing a series of good, solid records in past, this time outdid themselves as with Superunknown, alongside with their Led Zeppelin and Sabbath-esque brand of music they indulged into psychedelia in full fledge and experimented with pop, thus giving grunge sound a psychedelic-pop touch and pushing their sonic template even furthur. Also their early punk influences are completely kicked out. Soundgarden with this record progressed and turned into what none of their fellow Seattle bands were, which makes this record a standout record in grunge history.

Most of the lyrical content of album deals with depression, death, suicide and has a overall a dark theme from a lyrical standpoint of view. Chris Cornell's fantastic vocals is what leads the songs as songs are built upon them and despite of leading, they jell well with the bands music and don't overshadow stunning display by Thayil/Cameron/Shepherd. Especially the stunning solos by Thayil on tracks like Superunknown and Black Hole Sun etc. are highly memorable. Another interesting song is Spoonman (Which also became a huge hit and got big airplay cause of a creative music video.) featuring a famous street artist from Seattle called "Artis The Spoonman" who provides some unconventional percussion work alongside with Cameron's impressive drumming in song itself.

The band here is like an ever changing creature as they shift in psyche-pop mixed into grunge haze for some tracks while quickly morphs into pretty much a stoner rock outfit on The Melvins-esque track "4th Of July". Whilst Cornell's vocal melodies are instantly recognizable, rest of the band is laid beneath layers and layers of sonic attack by them and the subtlities are revealed upon more and more listens, (E.g. - Drumming on title track, Thayil's guitarwork on lesser famous tracks like Mailman etc. Even today, I find something fresh in every listen of this record.) and the sheer sonic beauty of that is immensly pleasurable. There are couple of cuts which might sound a bit boring but if one takes a look at the ambitious nature of record and the growth that band shows, it's forgivable.

An amazing record which shows Soundgarden at the peak of their creativity and shows the genius of the band. If you thought grunge was all about Nirvana and Pearl Jam, you might want to check out one of the bands which started it all at their finest. Highly recommended listening.

Rating - 5/5

Tracklisting -

1. Let Me Drown
2. My Wave
3. Fell On Black Days
4. Mailman
5. Superunknown
6. Head Down
7. Black Hole Sun
8. Spoonman
9. Limo Wreck
10. The Day I Tried To Live
11. Kickstand
12. Fresh Tendrils
13. 4th Of July
14. Half
15. Like Suicide
16. She Likes Surprises