This is what straight men listen to, huh?
Superunknown is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, through A&M Records. It is the band's second album with bassist Ben Shepherd, and features new producer Michael Beinhorn. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger (1991). Superunknown captured the heaviness of the band's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences. Superunknown was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 310,000 copies in its opening week. The album also topped the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand charts. Five singles were released from the album: "The Day I Tried to Live", "My Wave", "Fell on Black Days", "Spoonman", and "Black Hole Sun", the latter two of which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity. In 1995, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The album has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA in the United States. In April 2019, Superunknown was ranked No. 9 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" list.
This is what straight men listen to, huh?
Some albums are great because they meant a lot at a specific point in your life. Some albums are just great. This one is both.
Chris Cornell had such a voice.
Disclaimer: Can't be objective about this one. This is literally the first record I ever purchased. I just finished the new Chris Cornell biography Total Fucking Godhead... I'm a bit of a fan of this band. What a classic album! Love the sort of dark, evil psychadelia of this record. Huge riffs, Matt "Fucking" Cameron on drums with bizarre time signatures, and one of the all-time greatest rock voices... it just doesn't get much better. On my all time favorites.
S U P E R O V E R R A T E D
Chris Cornell is one of the greatest rock singers ever. This album has some of the best riffs of all time (Spoonman, Fell on Black Days). It's filled with metaphors about loneliness and depression (Black Hole Sun, Day I Tried to Live, Like Suicide). The album is filled with great, memorable choruses that have the staying power and melody of pop, without sacrificing the heaviness of the subject matter and genre of grunge. In my opinion, it's a top 4 grunge album with Nevermind, Dirt, and Ten.
I went into this thinking I liked Soundgarden more than I actually do. Quite boring to be honest. 3.33 average per track,
Lol, I don't know why everybody likes this album so much
Absolutely essential grunge album. It will rock the fuck out of your soul from the first track to the last. Chris Cornell was an unparalleled talent and killer vocalist, a tremendous credit to the genre. This album is a stone cold masterpiece.
I love Spoonman and Black Hole Sun, but otherwise this album is another example of mostly bland 90's mainstream rock. I just hate the 90's aesthetic, the chugga chugga guitars, the stereotypical singing style. That isn't to say it is bad, it just isn't something I want to listen to.
The 90's sucked and so do you.
After Chris Cornell passed, my mom bought every Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog cd and it was the only music she would listen to, in the car and at home, for like two years. I moved out during that time
Psych and prog infused grunge; this album was so formative to my musical tastes when I first discovered it back in freshman year of high school. I may not go back to Soundgarden as often as I did back in those days, and there is definitely some valid criticism here (particularly about it being a long and exhausting listen for one sitting) but this album could never be anything but a 5 for me.
Knew the band name, couldn't have named a song they had made which is how I learnt they made Blackhole Sun. Otherwise, my standard complaint of this being way too fucking long. Could have cut 30 minutes from this and made a solid album since it gets really boring after a while.
Soundgarden was my favorite of the grunge bands because of Chris Cornell (RIP) and his ridiculous vocals. Hits hard all around. Love it.
Some good tunes on this album. However, I think a lot of the songs sound the same.
Okay, this is badass. Grimy and heavy and with a distinctive feel. This is great workout or writing music.
This album is full of jams. Sometimes I think I like Badmotorfinger better, but goddamn, this album fucking rules
Just phenomenal. Still so very good. R.I.P. Chris Cornell.
top tier grunge album
Before listening: If anyone asked me whether I like Soundgarden I would say yes. If they asked me how many songs I actually know, I would say, "Um, Blackhole Sun?". I think out of all the big 90s alt bands, I know Soundgarden and Alice in Chains the least. I was much more of an Audioslave fan in the early 00s than I ever was of Soundgarden. I'm looking forward to this album, although I must say that at the time of writing, I'm not really in a 90s mood. Nevertheless, here we go! After listening: I liked it, there was a lot of good songs here. But oh my God, so much filler. Songs were too long and there were too many of them. Chris Cornell's voice though ... There's a reason people rank him as one of the best vocalists of the era. Overall, still very good.
Is it perfect? Nah. Does it have Black Hole Sun and Spoonman on it? Yesh. Five stars. SPOOOOONMAAAANNNN
Initial Critique - Chris Cornell is a vocal god. A masterclass in 90's rock. Despite listening to many of the songs on the album as singles, had never listened to it as an album.
Nothing but bangers, a lot of distortion, reminding me of the roots of what rock is today.
What a heavy hitter. For me, this is the peak album of the early 90s grunge era. It's got the heavy guitars. It's got the dark lyrics. Soundgarden really was at their peak right here. Matt kills the drum parts. Ben nails the driving bass lines. Kim lays down some real slick guitar riffs. Chris just gives it all on the vocals and holds down the rhythm.
A record I still own and I'm so not going to approach this objectively, haha. How could I, as I had scribbled a part of the "Fell On Black Days" lyrics on my bedroom wall? This was the shit then, it's still an equally important blip in music history now. I may not enjoy all 70 minutes of it, today, in one sitting but I can't bring myself to let this detract any .points from 5 stars.
The album in which the Grunge took so much of a presence that some consider this to not even be Alt-Metal & Grunge but only Grunge even when a huge majority of the songs show to be some sort of Alt-Metal. Still, Grunge is the main genre of the album and should therefore be the main focus point. Soundgarden had easily the best studio Grunge album. Sadly, or luckily (depending on how you view it), Nirvana had their legendary MTV Unplugged album released the same year. But the achievements that this album brought to the table make this an essential album even 30 years later. The album opens on 'Let Me Drown', a perfect example of the heavy and Stoner Rock inspired metal sound the band is so good at creating. It starts with loud and catchy layered guitar riffs and an incredible vocal delivery. The song just makes you want to headbang. It's an energetic and sonically perfect intro into the album. The next song 'My Wave' is much less Metal, even if it's still a very heavy song. Interestingly is this a much more psychedelic sound and I think the guitar pedal effects that is sometimes sprinkled throughout makes this really interesting. The chorus also works really well, it's just that I think that the song streches a bit too much near the end. It should've been cut to 4 minutes max as the last minute doesn't really add more to the song. 'Fell on Black Days' is one of the best known songs here and it most resembles the Grunge sound most people are familiar with through Nirvana. It's a really good songs but it doesn't really reach the edge that I loved so much with the opener. Compared to most of the album, this seems much more conventional and basic and I personally am not greatly interested with most of what the song does. With 'Mailman' they get back to the heavier sound and there is a lot of heavy and "sludgey" guitar on here. In return the song comes out much more interesting and formed than its predecessor but unlike that, this is feels a little stretched towards the end of it and there isn't much of a catchy "something" that makes the song stick. The title track 'Superunknown' follows with a very Hard Rock and Blues Rock inspired instrumentation that really drives the song and works much better as a point of focus. The vocals are killer and the chorus is simply epic. I absolutely see why this was chosen as the song to name the album after as it does summarize the album pretty neatly. 'Head Down' removes a lot of the heaviness and replaces it with a more psychedelic approach that works within the context of the time. The dreamy vocals and the washy guitars make this a noisy and dense but lovely and dreamy song that flows within itself. Even if I mainly prefer the more metal sounding songs on the album, this is easily one of the best they ever put out. The song that everyone knows, 'Black Hole Sun', shows an even more Neo-Psychdelia rooted sound than before and like before it works perfectly. It starts with the legendary and dreamy guitars and the melodic and surprisingly clear vocals that seamlessly blend into the chorus that is even better. Even if it's a basic opinion, this is the best song on the album or at least in the Top 3. The whole song works and feels much less streched than most songs here. I absolutely adore every second from the guitar solo, the slightly changed chorus in the second half, the background vocals and the general structure. The albums second half starts with 'Spoonman', a song that is much more complex in comparison to most of stuff you find on here. It has multiple, seemingly random, additions thrown in that make this together with the abstract lyrics a very weird but great listen. 'Limo Wreck' sounds like a very early Doom Metal song with the thick, slow and atmospheric guitar riff that goes the whole way through the song. It's dark, unsetteling and really feels like something Black Sabbath could've cooked up if they had Grunge back then. But the song suffers a little bit from a lack of focus near the end. With 'The Day I Tried to Live' was the albums lead single and is therefore another pretty well known song. And although I prefer it over 'Fell on Black Days', I have similar criticisms towards it. It doesn't interest me for the most part and feels too basic and average. Of course it has some great moments but they are not worthy. It's a good song but just nothing more. The short and not even 2 minute long 'Kickstand' is one of the few instances of a Punk sound that gets through. And although Punk isn't what they are used to do, it is a very solid song and is actually really interesting and does not feel like an Interlude at all. 'Fresh Tendrils' keeps a small amount of the Punk energy from before but turns it into a more Metal sounding track again. And unlike before, this doesn't work really well. It is still a good song but it feels very unfocused and unsure about itself. To my ears the song is either uninteresting or a little bit annoying. A really underrated song is '4th of July'. It is easily the most Doom Metal the album gets. It is heavy and dark and the slight hints of Psychedelia make this an even more atmospheric and anxious listen. A perfect blend of all genres they are capable of using. The short 'Half' that is another left-turn with the introduction of Raga-Rock (Indian Classical music inspired Rock) and hints of experimental parts. And although that might sound like it would derail the whole album, I think it works pretty good right before closing the album. And the album closes with the dark and depressive 'Like Suicide'. The title pretty much says what the song is about and it gets the anxious and suicidal feeling very intensely across and closes the album with another perfect song even if it is the longest one but this time it definitely needed that length. favourites: Black Hole Sun, Head Down, Like Suicide, Let Me Drown, Superunknown, 4th of July least favourites: Fresh Tendrils, Mailman, Fell on Black Days, The Day I Tried to Live Rating: light 9 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes
Chris Cornell = Automatic 5. It's fair to say that seeing Temple of the Dog play at the kickoff show November 4th, 2016 in Phila. not many months before his tragic and untimely death was probably the best show I've ever seen-- and I've seen some good f******g shows. What a damned legend. This album rocks. Watch the Phila. show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OJAhB5Cark
My review of Grace by Jeff Buckley referenced how 1994 was the most incredible year for music (Portishead, Weezer, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Beastie Boys, Green Day, Live, Tori Amos, Cranberries, the list goes on) and Superunknown is part of what made 1994 incredible. Chris Cornell is one of the best male rock vocalists of all time, his range is ridiculous, and his voice is just raw power. Soundgarden may not be my favorite of the projects of Chris Cornell since I prefer Audioslave to the more heavy metal sound of Soundgarden, but his voice is nothing short of 5 stars every time.
Not sure how to describe this album and ive known it for most of my life. Very human of an album. Its a perfect mix of the grunge sound, hard rock ballads, psych sludge sound, heavy stoner riffs, and really catchy choruses. Chris Cornells voice is unreal with how talented it is.
Easy, easy 5. Up there with some of my most listened to albums of all time and a shining example of top tier grunge. Love it
Chris Cornell is probably my favorite rock singer after Freddie Mercury, so talented and so much range. I just happened to listen to his collection this weekend, not knowing this album was upcoming (I was behind and stuck trying to decide on Sonic Youth so turned to Cornell). I know most call this album their magnum opus but I always wondered if it was really that good...despite the fact that Spoonman, My Wave, and The Day I Tried to Live are some of my all-time favorite alternative songs (the chords & guitar progressions & drumwork on all three...brilliant). I really got into music in college, mostly listened to radio and didn't own many albums in high school so I didn't own this. Even now I don't own it, even though I profess to be a late Soundgarden fan. I saw Jeremy's review and I feel the exact same way about Black Hole Sun. Maybe that's why I have these hesitations, like some of it is overplayed and overhyped. Nah. I have listened to it a fair number of times since college, but finally listening to it really intently here, it's awesome. Like my favorites, the other songs have awesome guitar work, humming basslines, solid percussion, Cornell's vocals (of course), and profound lyrics. Even the non-hits are great (e.g., Let Me Drown, Mailman, Fresh Tendrils, 4th of July). Shame on me for ever thinking this was less than amazing.
Having relistened to this album after having last listened to it over 20 years ago, it's incredible how current it still sounds. I remembered how heavy it felt back then, and I was afraid it would lose its magic in the current landscape of today's music. This is not the case.
Timeless classic.
RIP Chris Cornell - in his softer moments sounds a lot like Josh Homme, whose voice I adore. "Mailman" could be QOTSA song. Soundgarden have such a distinctive sound, different from what was going on in the 90s, it's not metal it's not grunge, it's not stoner rock. Really enjoy "Head Down" - sweet singing Obvs "Black Hold Sun" is an absolute classic. "Spoonman" driving rhythm is so great High 4 / 5
What a bomb album. Chris Cornell is the main star here with his incredible vocal performances, but the rest of the band does a commendable job creating that heavy, grunge-y sound throughout. Everyone knows 'Black Hole Sun' and 'Spoonman', but there's so much here to enjoy - 'Head Down', 'Superunknown', 'Fell on Black Days', 'Let Me Drown'. Yeah, really terrific. I would give it 4.5, but I'll round up to 5.
Well, I’m guessing there’s no way now we’re getting Loud Love or (still my personal fave) Badmotorfinger, but I fuckin’ love this band. Great voice over an even better rhythm section. I could probably listen to an entire record of just Kim farting around with a wah wah pedal and be a happy camper. So I’m a little biased over here. This album though has always felt like a bit of a weird mix of tunes, (even when you just compare the singles) but I think it was the first thing I ever bought on CD and I really, really love the production. This shit sings through headphones. Soundgarden was at their best, imo, when they were trudging through the chugs and then just randomly would shift into some weird tinkly melody that somehow made the whole tune come together. This record has a bunch of those moments: “Mailman,” “Head Down,” “4th of July,” etc. But yeah… at the end of the day, it’s the “Black Hole Sun” record. There are worse legacies.
I really dig this. I like how it was heavy, but also clear what they wanted to get across and not overcrowded. Great songs, black hole sun is a classic obvi
Several solid songs. RIP Chris Cornell
Like the Pumpkins' album I saw earlier, this one was a staple for anyone in school when I was. It's a classic, and the songs are amazing. Kim Thayil's guitar sound is unique, and Chris Cornell's voice is unmistakable.
There's been a weird influx of latinx music in the past week after not getting any previous to that. Overall it was pretty cool, though I really hated the parade song (perhaps because I don't really enjoy actual parades either). Some of the other songs were a bit cloying as well. This works really good as a kids album, but I don't think that's how it was intended. It's fine, but I don't ever see myself coming back to it 3/5
love this album, have listened to it countless times
One of the best grunge albums, full of emotions and big riffs. Chris Cornell is as impressive as ever, showing of his vocal abilities. The riffs are grand and range from punk/rock to doom/sludge. Lyrical themes are powerful, dark and perfectly convey the emotions of the 90s.
The angst was there, the guitar solos were so there, I just couldn’t quite give it a 5.
This was a terrific time. I love Chris Cornell's voice and the entire fabric of this album is woven through with his singing like gold thread through a tapestry. The whole thing is a touch long, which is why I was ready to move onto different sounds once it wrapped up.
I wasnt into it at first but from Head Down and onwards it was amazing. It made me think of how well this album would go together with the joining together of hands, not in marriage, but solely for the purpose of sating the fleshly desires of the soul. Indulging in lustful hedonism for no purpose other than to drown in pleasure for but a few moments, together. tldr: I want to fuck to this album
☝️☝️☝️ ⚠️Whiteboy on the mic⚠️ Exciting rethinking of rock ideas of both their past and present with inspired playing (particularly the drumming). Could’ve been shorter though
I would say I definitely liked this more than anything else I have heard labelled as grunge by this list. Either the genre is growing on me, I'm getting more of an ear for it, or this album is just better. I'm still not in love with the sound though. Certain songs will strike me (in this case "Let me Drown", "Fell on Black Days", "Black Hole Sun", and "Spoonman") but I seem to not like whole albums so far. I would even say I would prefer to not listen to all the songs I really liked in a row. Part of a bigger playlist with other styles on it put on shuffle, I think each of those would be a refreshing change of pace. However as a whole this definitely felt like a 3* to me.
No. 213/1001 Let Me Drown 3/5 My Wave 4/5 Fell On Black Days 4/5 Mailman 2/5 Superunknown 3/5 Head Down 3/5 Black Hole Sun 4/5 Spoonman 3/5 Limo Wreck 3/5 The Day I Tried To Live 3/5 Kickstand 3/5 Fresh Tendrils 3/5 4th Of July 3/5 Half 3/5 Like Suicide 4/5 Average: 3,27 Pretty good grunge record.
drags on too long
A couple solid tracks and overall I like this group but after a while I'm like "when will it end?"
The production feels kind of compressed. The influence of Led Zeppelin is here, which in turn goes back to some delta blues sound. Black Hole Sun stands out from the rest of the songs. The album as a whole feels a bit underwhelming. The potential was there, just needed better producing.
Mid
It's taken me a while to revisit all this 90's grunge and give it a proper listen, because growing up in the 90's these songs were all over the radio and I was so sick of hearing Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, etc. that I actively avoided them for two decades. I'm glad to finally spend time with this Soundgarden record. I liked a lot about it, from Chris Cornell's vocals to Kim Thayil's guitar work. This album is considered a cornerstone of the grunge movement for obvious reasons. Two main complaints: 1) It's way too long of an album. With so little variety in the tracklist until towards the end, it feels bloated and a few of the songs blend together. There's no reason this thing should be over an hour long. 2) (And this is a deep dark secret I've harbored since I was a kid hearing this band all over the radio in the 90s) "Black Hole Sun" is such a boring ass song. It's tedious, it's repetitive, it's plodding...I think "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has more lyrics. I hated hearing it on the radio when I was 10 and I hated hearing it as an adult. That being said, good album, worth a listen.
There are things I enjoy about this record. But it became a monotonous chore to get through. At 30 minutes, I would probably like it quite a bit more.
Right, here we go, day 1! Solid start to the journey, avoiding some of the more controversial albums on the list that will go down better once I’m settled into the routine. Having heard a few individual songs from this record before, I was relieved when I saw it as album 1 and dived in with a fair amount of anticipation. And for the most part was not disappointed. The highs here are high, “Black Hole Sun” and “Let Me Drown” being in my top 2. I just feel that it went on a bit too long with a run time of 70 minutes, maybe cutting a few of the tracks would have been beneficial. That being said, I can see why it’s regarded as one of the defining albums of its genre and would be one I’d like to return to in the future. Overall, I’ll go with 3.5, but that might increase over time. Looking forward to what the next 3 and a bit years will bring!
The best song on this album is definitely “Black Hole Sun” and they knew it while recording this. 5/10
Overlong and mediocre. The style wasn’t terrible, but it got repetitive and a little grating. Not something I’d listen to in its entirety again. 2.5 rounded up.
HEY DUDES, DO YOU LIKE HARD MUSIC THAT ALSO MAKES YOU GET HARD Wikipedia lists this as Grunge but this is 100% Butt Rock for me. I only know "Black Hole Sun" which was everywhere at the time and still has a lasting legacy but... overall this is the music of my middle/high school days. Feels like I'm way past this. But, it's competent at what it's doing and I don't begrudge anyone who likes it. I think it's mostly down the vocals, just too monotone.
The foundation of grunge, though you can hear the other influences so clearly. I’m not a big fan of grunge and all these songs sound the same to me — muscle and testosterone. Good hooks, but they’re all hook, with no space to reflect and contemplate between the riffs. Still, Soundgarden influenced pop rock for a decade, which is impressive and probably led to something interesting. As an album, it’s just too 2-dimensional. It’s a 2.
This sounds like what some dude would blast at full volume in his Impala after he just gay bashed a kid outside a bar in the mid 90s.
Glorified singles band 2
There were some songs that I didn't hate.
My cat - when she hasn't been fed for five minutes!
Not for me, but I bet Nickelback loved this record.
This sounds like a garbage nickleback
Won’t waste a second listening to this again. Despised it and everything it stood for back in the 90s. Snap out of it! Oh me oh my…whoas me 😖
Hated this from the get-go. Plodding grunge with few melodies, I can see how this might be intriguing live in a big arena, but listening to it was painful. Even “Black Hole Sun” which I always turn up and sing along to when it comes on in the car wasn’t as fun in the context of the whole album. I hate Pearl Jam as well, except for “Jeremy”.
Awful, awful music. I only persisted with this for Black Hole Sun - hardly the cheeriest of tunes. I'm proud of my musical prejudices. Ultimately I know I am right. You always need some Roll with your Rock. No soul, no ta.
One of my favorites!
Shocked to see the hate for this one, but I shouldn't be surprised. Soundgarden were massive in the 90s, and rightly so. Musically great and Chris' vocals are top. This is a great album with some classics.
This is simply my favorite album of all time. Out of all the of the grunge bands, it was Soundgarden that really took hold of me when I was younger and I think this is their real peak, though I like all of their work. Soundgarden have always been the most talented of the big time 90's grunge bands, musically anyway. You can hear it in the odd time signatures this album starts with; My Way alone is already in 5/4 with odd breaks in between, Fell On Black Days is in 7/4, and later on you get to the really wacky shit like Limo Wreck being in 15/8. That's not even mentioning the tuning. If I remember right, 4th Of July is in CGDG or something equally low and strange. To someone who really enjoys the technicalities of music, all this stuff just makes for a wonderful listening experience, and it's not so obtuse that it's "math metal" and becomes unlistenable to most people. The performances or up to the task as well. Chris Cornell was always one of the rock singers with the most range and he has it all over this album. His voice is not only vocally wide ranging but the emotion he conveys with it is all over. From anger (obviously) to despair, to just a good time, he can hit it all. Thayil, Shepard, and Cameron are all immensely talented in their own rights and they write some really spectacular parts. I don't think the bass work on this album is quite as good is it is on the follow up, Down on the Upside, but the guitar solos and drums on this album are the best Soundgarden ever did. Thayil's solos in particular always make me smile. The production is excellent, the mastering is excellent, the artwork is excellent, etc, etc. It's just so good. Bury me with this album.
Heavily nostalgia tinted but Soundgarden was ALWAYS around. Blackhole sun is one of the first music video's I remember. Chris Cornell has one of my favorite voices of all time, (rest in peace funky spiderman). And the album is hit after hit after hit. In the early 90's battles between Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Sound Garden will always come out on top to me.
I'm a fan of Soundgarden and the grungy sound of the '90s. Love the atmosphere, the guitars, the voice, the lyrics. Not much to add. This is a 9.3 out of 10 for me.
Making psychedelic grunge metal as poppy as possible, this album is a favorite of my mid-twenties, and I still love it today.
Another 5 star classic, and one of the Mount Rushmore of grunge albums. Admittedly, I spent more time with Pearl Jam and Nirvana through my teens but there’s no denying the quality here. Chris Cornell’s vocals can’t be praised enough. I never saw Soundgarden live but I was fortunate enough to see Audioslave.
Iconic
RIP Chris Cornell, one of the four major grunge kings
Klasika meho dospivani
What a wonderful album. Quintessential grunge. The overall feel of the album is fantastic. It's got such a dark tone, musically speaking, but the roundness of the tone knocks the edge off it, prevents it from sounding harsh.
Frickin awesome!
Solid and interesting
Arguably one of the greatest voices of grunge, if not the greatest. Absolutely loved "Fell on Black Days". 9/10
Soundgarden are in my top ten favorite bands. It’s raw, loud, emotional, heavy. Pure rock and roll that would put hair on your chest
THIS IS PEAK
One of my all time faves, and arguably the best grunge album (fight me). I was always a bigger Pearl Jam fan, but these days I always find myself revisiting Superunknown more than any PJ or Nirvana album. I just love the heavy, sludgy, psychedelic guitar sound, mingled with Chris Cornell's incredible voice. He was one of the best ever, such a sad loss for humanity. I can see the argument that it's maybe a bit too long, but that's just the way with 90s albums isn't it? There's only 2 or 3 tracks I could see dropping...maybe Limo Wreck, Kickstand and Half. Everything thing else on here is essential though IMO.
As a teenager of the 90s I was hugely influenced by the Seattle Sound! I never got the chance to see Chris Cornell live, for me he is the greatest alternative/grunge vocalist!
🗯 My ears began to change in 1991. By 1994, they were ready for this grunge masterpiece. Superunknown is where Chris Cornell became a vox god and Matt Cameron proved himself one of the all-time drum heroes. It’s not just heavy — it’s strange, ambitious, and sprawling, the record that lifted Soundgarden above the pack and cemented their place as one of the era’s true giants. I first met it through ‘Black Hole Sun’ on rage — weird, unsettling, and strangely alluring to a young Benny. That song became inescapable, but it still glows as the centrepiece here: a pop single wrapped in a dreamlike, psychedelic shadow. And the rest of the album? Just as strong. Spoonman is jagged and muscular, Fell on Black Days is pure existential ache, The Day I Tried to Live is stadium doubt disguised as defiance, and 4th of July is molten doom psychedelia. Cornell’s voice could do it all — banshee wails, soulful croons, whispers that still cut. Cameron’s drumming is restless and precise, jazz brain powering thunder. Together they made a record that feels alive, urgent, and 30 years later, untouchable. Verdict: Essential (a crown jewel of grunge that transcends the tag) For fans of: Alice in Chains, Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, screaming into the cosmos with a wah pedal
For me, one of the best Rock albums ever recorded. As simple as that
A lock as one of my desert island albums.
Perfect blend of grunge, psychedelia and metal.
Awesome music.
Reminds me of dad
Grunge classic
Classic. Songs that stick in the head.
5-
Brilliant album from start to finish with its odd guitar tunings, blending of grunge/psychedelics, and above all Chris Cornell's vocals.
There aren’t 1001 albums you need to hear before you die, not really, but this is one of the few that actually lives up to the claim that you need to hear it before you die.
Listened in October 2024. Much better than I remembered. I would cut out a few songs from the second half, but this is much more vital and energised than I recognised on a first listen. One of the peaks of grunge.
CERTIFIED ALL-TIME FACEMELTER!!🔥🔥🔥