Reviews (page 6 of 13)
it's peak
Actually some pretty good rock. 7/10
Soundgarden was instrumental in introducing a new “modern metal” sound that broke away from the traditional heavy metal of the late 80’s and early 90’s. This album represents that new metal sound perfectly.
"Let Me Drown" is a pretty bad ass way to open an album up... admittedly, the grunge genre is not my cup of tea... usually... i think Nirvana were ok, and i never liked Pearl Jam at all... Soundgarden on the other hand... seems to have a lot more of the older influences that it takes to get my fancy... The title track is a highlight... if you like Led Zeppelin you will appreciate this band... they have some of that moxie... Chris Cornell, RIP, handling the vocals with a wide range... of notes and emotional rage... a lot of the songs on this album pre-date bands that would do this kind of sound... Alice in Chains springs to mind... all the players in the band are mofos at their instruments... i must admit... the pounding of John Bonham... the everywhere guitar stylings... like Jimmy Page, etc... "Black Hole Sun" is the big hit of the record... unfortunately, for me, it sounds the most like a Pearl Jam song... lol... but it also has elements of early Elton John in the vocals... "Spoonman" is like a Zep song... "Limo Wreck" is like a full out rock operea in six minutes, reminding me a bit of "Dazed and Confused"... punk, hard rock, and other merriments ensue... to grunge fans this MUST be one of the top albums to you... and you would give it five stars... for me, a curmudgeonly older fellow, i'll play nice... and give them FOUR... Five for when they sound like Zeppelin... deduct one for the ones that sound like Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains... ; ))"
Aged superbly -nice to revisit
Great grunge album that reminds me of working in a restaurant kitchen.
Oon luullu et en pitäis just soundgardenista yms enkä oo koskaa kuunnellu mitää albumia tai kuullu vaa muutaman biisin ja sillee mitä sattunu mutta Toihan oli bängeri!!
Dad- 6 Mom- 8 Mike- NA Lori- 7.5 Michael- 8 Miles- 8 Cole- NA Avg- 7.5
Kinda cool, never heard the whole thing. Super immersive, and impeccable Chris Cornell voicings
Great album! Grunge but not Nirvana. Will listen again.
a bit heavier than my usual listening but it was good while driving
Great grunge introduction, though it gets outshone by their later works.
good album a great rock reference
Soundgarden's breakthrough album. Having cut my teeth on Badmotorfinger, I originally found this to be too polished and commercial to really enjoy, but my feelings have softened over the years. Incredible album and highly influential in 90s rock.
Black Hole Sun is such a good song.
So I have a cute little backstory with this album. When I was a kid my mom was super into garage sailing, and every summer we would drive down a lot of the same neighborhoods and streets. There was this house that I would get excited about cause they must’ve had a son who was just alittle older than me and I ALWAYS found the coolest things at their sales. I got expensive skate shoes my parents wouldn’t have bought if they were store prices, I got skateboards, and video games from this house. And one magical day they had a big stack of cds, and the only one I can vividly remember getting was “Superunknown”. This album blew me away. It was heavy and dark but not overly depressed by like a lot of grunge tends to be. And Chris’s voice is once in a lifetime. But that’s also a small thing that hasn’t aged well, which is that his songs about suicide are not enjoyable. They have become overtly depressing. But that’s also just a recent take. Had you asked me a few days after I bought this cd as a kid I would’ve told you it’s one of the best ever. So even though I know the kid in me wants to give this album a perfect score, I just can’t cause that last track (and frankly some of the other lyrics throughout the album) are so depressing and sad that it has tainted the album slightly. But it’s still Soundgarden’s biggest radio success cause this album is a no skip album full of some of their biggest hits. Definitely give this album a chance.
El jardín sonoro besó a la psicodelia y terminaron escupiéndole la cara. Superunknown, para los pretenciosos, es el peak del grunge de los '90. El género ya no sabía qué tipo diferente de depresión diagnosticarse para seguir evolucionando. Todos los sonidos ya habían sido usados, Nirvana ya quería descansar, y los chicos ya habían llegado a ese punto de la moda circular donde lo que donaste te vuelve. Soundgarden lanza este disco y demuestra que riffs de guitarra pesados mezclados con psicodelia, y una canción colada de lo que después será Audioslave, pueden ser la banda sonora de tu próxima recaída emocional. Odiá si querés odiar, llorá si querés llorar, o rezá si te gusta estar arrodillada o acostada, pero no te metas en la ola del grunge si no estás dispuesta a sentarte en su pozo y entender su emocionalidad. Porque esta experiencia sonora es sentarte al lado de la cama de tu primo adolescente mientras te explica por qué la está pasando mal. Tenés que escucharlo, entenderlo y penetrar la ficción de que lo que le pasa es trascendental para el género. Los chicos de Soundgarden se organizaron, escucharon bien a Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath y al metal setentoso, y levantaron la vara de sus proyectos anteriores. Podaron el jardín trayendo cosas que están buenas. Pero la felicidad duró poco, porque ¿cuánto podés ser un rockero irreverente con dos premios Grammy encima? La rosa más linda del jardín sonoro es "Spoonman": compases irregulares y sonidos de cucharas en la producción. El inicio con "Let Me Drown" es una gran elección, así como el cierre poético de "Like Suicide". "Black Hole Sun" es un pedazo de canción, pero parece pertenecer a otro proyecto—Audioslave—porque acá queda descolocada, como un treintañero introvertido en una matiné. Es un proyecto sólido, pero que no escupa para arriba, que va a terminar empapado... y no precisamente por andar llorando. Como la depresión de tu primo adolescente (y el grunge noventero): se va a pasar. Es solo una etapa. Parte de la vida. Para que tu jardín sonoro se llene de otros sonidos.
Haven’t listened to this album in years. It’s heavier and sludgier than I remember. Chris Cornell’s voice always stands out but on this album surprisingly I didn’t grow tired of it. A few of the guitar riffs could have been lifted off a Tool album.
Some songs can get repetitive
the thing i kept coming back to was 70s metal, particularly black sabbath. idk if its a strange comparison, but in addition to some iommi-esque riffage, theres just a kind of elemental darkness that defines the whole vibe of this thing, like being up to ur neck in some kind of supernatural tar. ive heard grunge on the whole described as an introversion of punk...not the only such case i suppose, but certainly an often human-level exploration of what it means to live through the world punk takes a critical birds eye view of. that makes some sense applied to this record, but much like metal, the impression is often less human level and more Cosmic and Primal...perhaps the predictably sorta bloated cd-era tracklist even aids in this impression, certainly because while it could be trimmed and better paced ig there is nothing on here even close to bad. an album to drown to, as it makes clear up front
klasik
Love love love - in my regular rotation
Noen bangers, men mye vas. Sjuk stemme, og mange fete riff trekker kraftig opp.
8/10 hehehe
A classic of the genre, but not limited by grunge
Amazing record. A must!
Very good rock music
This was a really good surprise. I like grunge, I like his voice. Some songs' lyrics were weird but I still HAVE TO listen to this one again
This is a great record! I liked it a lot.
Countless bangers here, amazing guitar sound, a bunch of amazing hits here like Black Hole Sun, one of the best albums in grunge
Thin White Duke but more louder and fuzzier. 8/10
What a solid and cool album this is! My issue with it is that its lenght makes it impossible to enjoy it as much as I would if it were shorter. By the end of the album, I was pretty tired and it affected my experience. The instrumental aspect is amazing and it harmonizes with Cornell's voice perfectly. As someone who only knew two or three tracks by Soundgarden, I was really surprised at the quality demonstrated in here. Great work from the Grunge era, but it's unfortunetly below Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. -- Que álbum sólido e legal! Meu problema com ele é que a duração torna impossível apreciá-lo tanto quanto eu faria se fosse mais curto. No final do álbum, eu estava bem cansado e isso afetou minha experiência. O aspecto instrumental é incrível e harmoniza perfeitamente com a voz de Cornell. Como alguém que só conhecia duas ou três faixas do Soundgarden, fiquei realmente surpreso com a qualidade demonstrada aqui. Ótimo trabalho da era Grunge, mas infelizmente está abaixo do [Álbum 126] do Nirvana e do [Álbum 134] do Pearl Jam. --- 8,5/10
Echt zo'n plaat die mijn vader vroeger plat draaide en daarom onmogelijk los is te koppelen van jeugdsentiment, maar dat hoort er ook gewoon bij. Mooie gateway album geweest naar zwaardere muziekstijlen. Chris Cornell (R.I.P.) klinkt op deze plaat het beste wat hij ooit zal doen en ook instrumenteel is dit toch wel het hoogtepunt van Soundgarden. Binnen het genre zullen bands als Alice in Chains, The Smashing Pumpkins & Nirvana altijd een streepje voor hebben op Soundgarden, omdat die bands in het algemeen een sterkere discografie hebben en hun invloeden nog steeds te horen zijn, maar de highs van Superunknown doen absoluut niet onder voor het beste werk van die bands. Ik vind het geven van 5 sterren voor dit album net iets te ver gaan, maar het is absoluut 4 sterren met een asterisk.
Tough crowd, eh? Just because an album is beloved (maybe even a little too beloved) doesn't mean you have to give it 2 stars to balance out all the 5-stars. This music has a lot going for it in terms of sheer musicianship and songwriting. Nice vocals. Headstrong, emotive, and heavily influenced by 70s/80s metal-rock. The singer's best vocals are probably in the megahit Black Hole Sun, though they're pretty consistent throughout the album. In various songs you can also hear Soundgarden's intense grunge sound. Fell On Black Days and The Day I Tried To Live are textbook grunge tracks, mirroring works from the other members of the Big Four (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains). The guitar solo at the end of the title track is great – chaotic, rocking, rampaging, wild. Until that point, the song kind of lacks anything "grounding" or memorable, but the solo definitely sells it. In fact, very few tracks here have what I believe to be the most important determinant of a "good" song: a hook (of any kind). Black Hole Sun has it in the chorus - almost like the track was made to be a hit. Most of the others sound fantastic but lack any hook, riff, or something similar to really sell it. Fun back-and-forth between various instruments and riffs in the song My Wave. Melody-wise, there isn't all that much - but everything else is spot-on. The bass at around 4:20 starts to play independently of the guitar and you get to hear that tasty bass wah-wah. Spoonman is similarly a formidable track for its bassline, with additionally excellent percussion and vocals to bolster it. There's no filler at all, and I could see myself giving this a 5 on a good day. 4/5 Key tracks: Fell On Black Days, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman
solid album. moody, kind of aggressive, fun to listen to. definitely on the metal side of grunge but still enjoyable to me, although i'm not huge into metal or grunge.
Knew Blackhole Sun and Spoonman. The rest of the album is similar. Album is pretty heavy and aggressive.
Already love this one 8/10
Surely one of the beat grunge albums out there. A bit too long, like a lot of albums at that time, but almost every songs are good, Chris has a great voice and it’s packed with cool riffs. I hear some Sabbath influence on some of these songs
I was surprised by how many great songs can be found on that one... I enjoyed it despised it being a little too long winded. I love the few subtle psychedelic and doomy moments during the album.
Love a few songs just not the whole album
Big fan of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell RIP. Great record.
I've owned this one for a long while, and every time I listen to it I wonder why I don't listen to it more often. These guys master setting up an infectious riff and then building on it, layer after layer, the emotional intensity of the vocals and the tight interplay builds the tension throughout, giving the riff enough space to breath and surge until its all released. This is hard rock done about as "professionally" as it can be done without losing the attitude that makes it Rock.
Very nice blast from the past. Several certified bangers here, and it would be impossible to talk about the music in the decade without this band and album coming up in the first 5 min if not sooner. It’s not as deep as I expected, but still lots of great licks here.
Impossible to think of the 90s without this album or band. Admittedly I did not give this album a fair listen when it was released, most likely due to the over and over and overplaying of Black Hole Sun. I mean that song was everywhere. Upon revisiting, I found the album pretty darn awesome. Great musicianship, interesting tunings, and even more incredible lead vocal delivery. As a drummer, I especially dig the odd time signatures throughout. Their ability to play an effed up time sig all while still maintaining groove is pretty hard to do. The biggest negative I have is overall length. Shave 3-4 songs and this probably becomes a 5er.
Pretty much a master class of the genre, led by probably the most talented/versatile front man of his class. Also happens to include one of the more iconic songs of the decade. This album is pretty loaded, but for sure goes long with 15 tracks (almost all of which could be 20-30% shorter).
Good lord black hole sun was massive! I’ve seen that music video so many times and freaks me out just thinking about it and those creepy smiles. Black days, my wave, spoon man are all great. Never listened to the full album so found a few more I liked. Man Chris is great. RIP
Flashback to 10-year old me seeing the music video for Black Hole Sun on MTV over and over and over and over again... I've struggled to listen to that song all the way through ever since. There's obvi some great stuff here, but the album feels a bit overstuffed. Didn't stop me from favoriting four tracks, and that doesn't include the aforementioned Black Hole Sun. That said, this is too big and important an album for me to go with anything less than a 4 bomb. 4/5
Black hole sun still rocks
I enjoyed it quite a decent amount however its really not the music I prefer from them. Audioslave does a lot of these themes a lot better in my opinion. The strongest tracks for me are the slower ones like black hole sun
Let Me Down 3.8 My Wave 4 Fell on Black Days 4.3 Mailman 4.2 Superunknown 4 Head Down 3.8 Black Hole Sun 4 Spoonman 4.4 Limo Wreck 4 The Day I Tried to Live 4.1 Kickstand 3.6 Fresh Tendrils 4 4th of July 4 Half 3.4 Like Suicide 3.7 Score: 3.953333333
Not quite as great as Louder Than Love of Badmotorfinger, but still a really good album.
I will keep this short as I tend to go on and on about 90s music. In 1994 I loved this album as well as the previous two albums by Soundgarden. Used to listen to the cassettes over and over back in the day. I felt the band was becoming very commercialized with this one, and very much so after. I did not listen or collect after Superunknown. In 1994 this was a 5 star album for me. I still hold some love for it, but now it's a solid 4 star album.
Great grunge album, a bit too long tho
I really enjoyed this, maybe could cut a couple songs
Tuff
Niet helemaal mijn stijl. Maar zeker een goed album
Great songs. Can’t explain it but somehow it never quite comes together. Still damn good.
I remember the first time I saw the Black Hole Sun video. I think I was in high school, and I loved how surreal it all was. Later, I got a hold of this album and, for whatever reason, felt like it was rubbish. I remember saying to people at the time that I’d yet to find a grunge band that I enjoyed outside of Nirvana. However, listening again today, I’m truly at a loss for what I didn’t enjoy all those years ago. This is a really nice sounding album from front to back, and I’d even go as far as to say that Black Hole Sun is far from the best track here. I’ll be the first to admit when I’m wrong, and I was very wrong about this album. The music, the vocals, the everything all sound so good.
Standard grunge rock
Listened on Wednesday June 4, 2025 1. "Let Me Drown" 3:51 2. "My Wave" 5:12 3. "Fell on Black Days" 4:42 4. "Mailman" 4:25 5. "Superunknown" 5:06 6. "Head Down" 6:08 7. "Black Hole Sun" 5:18 8. "Spoonman" 4:06 9. "Limo Wreck" 5:47 10. "The Day I Tried to Live" 5:19 ***** 11. "Kickstand" 1:34 12. "Fresh Tendrils" 4:16 13. "4th of July" 5:08 14. "Half" 2:14 15. "Like Suicide" 7:01 Total length: 70:13
This album was everywhere. The sound still holds up. Chris Cornell’s voice is amazing. I will be listening only to the non radio hits as I’ve heard those enough. The stuff I don’t know on this album is great so far. Love the opening on fresh tendrils. “Half” is a must listen.
Not as good as Badmotorfinger but still solid
El primer CD que tuve en mi vida. Para mí algo generacional y que sólo ahora empiezo a escuchar con objetividad. Es una maravilla musical.
Really good groovy songs near the end of the album
There are some straight classics here like Fell On Black Days, Black Hole Sun, and Spoonman. They really hold up a really strong 1st half of the album. The 2nd half (last 7 tracks specifically) gets away from the hard rock and more into the sludge/grunge rock. Not everything worked for me and it made the album really drag out. 4th of July was one song in particular that I was into, but not much else. I might be a basic bitch for just liking the hard rock radio hits, but I think if they cut 5 or so songs from this album and made things tighter I might've been into the 2nd half stuff more. I would say this is still a 4, but maybe on the lower end then it should've been. I'll still come back and listen to this one for sure.
Despite seeing this album from my youngest days in my mom's CD catalog, I'm not sure I've ever listened to this one straight through. This album has several of my favorites from my youth though: Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, and Fell On Black Days. I'll be honest this was not a careful listen, but I enjoyed it start to finish. Some high quality grungy alt-rock. I really enjoyed a number of songs outside of the radio hits already described. The sludgier tracks worked for me: Mailman, Limo Wreck, 4th of July. Also enjoyed more poppy Superunknown built around a solid guitar riff. Only song that I really didn't vibe with here was Kickstand. Not that it was bad, I just didn't think it fit among the rest. Delightfully crusty with some solid work from Cornell in the front -- he is certainly one of the better front men to come out of the grunge movement. Solid to high 4 / 5.
Chris Cornell with the wildest voice range I have ever heard. This album is a nice upbeat grunge album and I am very happy it came up because I have never listened to it fully. Great change up in genres too. Great songs all around, especially Fell on Black Days.
Never listened to much Soundgarden outside of the hits, but I do love Chris Cornell's voice from Audioslave. Damn this is duuuuurty and sludgy all the way through and I am into it. Easy 4 and will be jamming to this for the foreseeable future.
A slow, dull start, followed some excellent tracks. There are some amazing tracks that you can really feel the band had faith in, and then the rest of the album is interspersed with some very generic music, which is still competent but just very uninteresting
Great album, not my favorite Soundgarden album, so I'm saving that full score for badmotorfinger
Pretty cool grunge
solid vibes, similar genre but if i had a cd or vinyl of this i would absolutely put it on. lots of the songs i wanted to learn how to play, sounds fun a couple classics but i really liked my wave and 4th of july as well
Probably should have already listened to this before now, but I kind of already had the picture. Its really good, I feel like Soundgarden can capture a quite wide range of different emotions/feelings, by still very much sounding like themselves. Black hole sun for example is very conventional, yet incredibly unconventional at the same time, while capturing a very specific feeling, Its not just that one which feels like that. Guitars are great, I love how huge they sound, with the double-tracked panned chords. The weird effects like rotary speakers and wahs give it real character. Vocals are prefect for what they're trying to do, the slightly strained yelling works in some places more than others, but it is generally good, he's also got a really good regular singing voice, which can add a lot of depth when the different singing styles are combined. Downsides are than some songs are just ok. Favourite songs: let me drown, fell on black days, head down, black hole sun, limo wreck, the day I tried to live, 4th of July, like suicide Overall around 8/10 (very close to 9)
Solid grunge. Some great tracks. I feel that as a Seattlite I can't give it less than a 4.
If you want to know what it sounds like when a band hits their absolute peak, just put on Superunknown. While the rest of the 90s Seattle scene was busy being moody and lo-fi, Soundgarden decided to turn into a high-powered, psychedelic machine. This isn't just a grunge record; it’s a massive, 70-minute fever dream that manages to be incredibly heavy while still sounding like it belongs in a different dimension. The first thing that hits you is how ridiculously tight the band is. Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd are basically the MVPs here, locking into these weird, "mathy" time signatures that should be hard to listen to, but they make them groove like crazy. Then you’ve got Kim Thayil layering on these thick, trippy guitar riffs that feel like they’re melting your speakers. It’s surgical, it’s loud, and it sounds like every single note was placed with a purpose. But let’s be real: we’re all here for Chris Cornell. His vocals on this album are just otherworldly. He had this "string-like" quality to his voice. it was incredibly flexible, stretching from a low, haunting croon to that legendary, sky-high screech without ever losing its grit. In songs like "The Day I Tried to Live," he sounds like he’s pouring his entire soul through the microphone. It’s the kind of vocal performance that makes you realize why he’s consistently ranked as one of the best rock singers of all time. The only reason I’m giving it a 4 instead of a 5 is that it’s a lot to take in. It’s 15 tracks long, and by the time you get to the end, it can feel a little exhausting because every song is so dense and intense. Some of the weirder experimental tracks in the middle might not be for everyone, but even those have a cool, dark energy to them. Honestly, even with the bloat it’s still a masterpiece of technical rock that hasn't aged a day.
hey if everyone made grunge like they did in this album... i think i'd like it a bit more. BLACK HOLE SUNNNNN. WON'T YOU COME (?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!)
A staple of grunge
Amazing album. Not a perfect one (the album finishes on a lesser note), but still a great time listening to it.
What a sick band. I think what struck me most about this album is how 70s metal inspired it is. It really sounds like Sabbath in a lot of songs. It has that heavy blues tone with the guitars and bass, which feels really unique for a lot of the music coming out of the grunge era. I guess Pearl Jam does that a bit but in the realm of grunge, this feels more inspired by sludge metal and blues than punk or hardcore. The blues elements are really strong, especially in the vocals. Its kind of crazy full circle, because of a lot of country artists (and even bad country artists) kind of do this grungy bluesy vocal style. Its like blues > rock > grunge > country > blues. Black Hole sun will always be one of my favorites!
bordering a 5. idk. EITHER 4 OR 5 BUT IDK WHICH ONE TO RATE IT ON HERE BUT ITS A 4.5 FUCK THIS PLS ADD HALF STARS
Good album, it rocks and you have to give it that. Cracking guitar riffs that are a bit metal and a bit grunge, but there are also some more atmospheric moment, it has some variety. And Chris Cornell is just one of the great rock vocalists. Incredible. The hits such as Spoonman and Black Hole Sun still sound amazing I feel like the album loses a bit of steam in the last few tracks, I guess this is a symptom of trying to fill out a CD. Love the solo of the last track but I was ready for it to end by then. Still, a good 4
I love some Chris Cornell. This album has a few bangers, and I can't wait for an audioslave or STP album.
4/5
Dope
Soundgarden, yeah!
Really great album!
Already one of my faves, didn't disappoint on a re-listen. Forgot how many bangers were on this one - Fell On Black Days, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, The Day I Tried to Live. Was surprised by Limo Wreck's catchy guitar riff
Never been a huge fan of Soundgarden, but I can appreciate their music. Feel like they deserve a higher rating.
Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to! 70 minutes of grunge/hard rock seemed like it would get old fast, but the songwriting on here kept me going the whole way through - and of course, "Black Hole Sun" is an all-time great.
I had only ever previously heard Black Hole Sun, which is an all timer. Really solid overall album. Chris Cornell’s voice was sometimes overpowering, but at the same time, I love it. Some really great guitar riffs (specifically Spoonman, which was a fantastic song), and Like Suicide, which was a great way to close out the album. I didn’t like it *as* much on second listen as I did on the first. But I’m still giving it a 4 because it had some really good songs.
A more complex grunge album, excellent writing and riffs. One star dropped for preference.
This album is so legendary. I grew up on this album, loved this album still do. I'd say one of the better albums out of the grunge genre.
Standouts : like suicide, 4th of July , limo wreck, head down , black hole sun. Last favourite : Fresh Tendrils Thoughts on full listen : - enjoyed this album much more when It went down hard rock or psychedelic rock route - strong, and consistent album through out not much about any of the songs I can fault - black hole sun Is iconic and so is he music video - wish we got more full songs in the style of the song 'half' -
Great album containing banger like "Fell On Black Days", "Spoonman" and above all "Black Hole Sun". An absolute standard in grunge! Unfortunately some weaker numbers here and then ("Limo Wreck", "4th Of July", "She Likes Surprises"...) blow it up to over 70 minutes.
Solid.
It's rare that I immediately like a metal album so quickly. Will listen to this many times
I knew the singles and I knew Chris Cornell from pop culture and Casino Royale, but I had never really given Soundgarden much attention in full before today — loved this! The weird bass-strumming, off-tuned, meticulously articulated reckless abandon is something hard to encapsulate but it’s all here. I dig Nirvana, etc., but this album was quite possibly the first time “grunge” has fully clicked for me as a genre. Don’t tell anyone!
I found some of the sounds slightly boring - slightly too poppy maybe. However some huge tunes in Black hole sun and other. RIP Chris Cornell
Damn this is a great album. Perfect 90s alternative.
4.5
I listened to the "20th Anniversary Edition" on Spotify. Maybe not quite what I would listen to normally. I've never been into grunge, but there is no denying that Chris Cornell has a great and distinctive voice. He puts a lot emotion to the lyrics that he's singing. The themes are quite dark. For me I see as an album about self-exploration and self-discovery of especially the more darker sides of yourself. Besides "Black Hole Sun" (which is obviously a classic) it's the first time hearing the songs on the album. I really didn't like "Kickstand" and "Half". Those could easily have been left out. 8/10 Favs: - Black Hole Sun - Fell on Black Days - Limo Wreck - The Day I Tried to Live
Classic very nice album. Some perfect all time listening songs but sometimes monoton.
One of the best of the '90s. Exceptional vocals and songwriting. Truly a classic.
Despite the yelling, surprisingly chill for an album cover with a frenzied batboy.
In retrospect this was a really good album but not Soundgarden’s best. Still, they had several of their biggest hits and at least 10 of the 15 tracks here are certified bangers. It’s a little over cooked as an album, missing some of that edge that made them the most metal of all the grunge bands. But Chris Cornell is incredible and I can’t give this less than a 4.
Better than I thought!
I've always thought Soundgarden was "just okay". They have a few songs I like. 30 years later I think I have new appreciation for their music (especially the guitar work). I like it more with every listen! Cornell's vocals are powerful & poetic. Spoonman has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I figured it was either about heroin or a guy playing the spoons. Probably not some kind of spoon guy in a cape saving people from having to eat soup with a fork. Yes, it's about a guy who plays the spoons. https://loudwire.com/what-soundgarden-spoonman-about/
I love days like this when the album is one that I know well and have a strong relationship with. Superunknown is a powerhouse record of the 90’s grunge scene that has aged REALLY well. I recall thinking then that it was a generally depressing record even by grunge standards but now, in light of what has happened, it feels like a more detailed look into Chris Cornell’s troubled mind. He was one hell of a songwriter, talented beyond belief and along with Kurt Cobain, central figure to the entire scene. These songs groove hard, have desperate emotive pleas for understanding, and they most importantly rock in a classic, thunderous 90’s by way of the 70’s way. There’s not a single bad song on here. I wouldn’t have rated this as high as other albums from the time 30 years ago, but listening now I realize how much I miss BIG rock records like this being released on a regular basis.
Cool accessible grungy 90s surf rock album. If a bit long.
Big, groovy, fuzzy, catchy and hard hitting. Loads of soul. Filthy guitars. What a voice. Favourite tracks: Let Me Drown, Fell On Black Days, Mailman, Black Hole Sun (of course), Spoonman, Kickstand, 4th of July
4.2 3x
Chris Cornell and grunge. What a combo.
Best early 90s grunge type album I've heard. Black hole sun and spoon man especially good.
Great album with a decent song variety and length. 8.5/10
a pure sonic orgasm 8/10 fave: superunknown
Once you get past Chris Cornell's voice, the album is actually much more musically interesting than most of the grunge era.
i'm kinda sad i still liked black hole sun the best. good album though
Very much as predicted, nothing superunknown about this one. Louder rather than grungier. Ok album to me, but nothing superexciting. Black Hole Sun and Spoonman are two excellent and fairly unique rock songs, but most of the rest of the album is quite generic. Fave Tracks: Head Down, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, 4th of July 3.7/5
Classic 90
Grossartiges Grungealbum. Immer noch hörenswert!
Another where the good songs are great, and the mediocre are very much so.
84/100. Superunknown by Soundgarden is a dark and emotionally intense album, tackling themes of isolation, depression, and addiction. Blending heavy metal and grunge, the record delivers a powerful mix of heavy riffs, haunting melodies, and raw emotion. Overall, it’s a great record.
Of all the various post-Nevermind releases coming out of the Seattle scene (think In Utero, Vitalogy, Dirt), this might be the best.
I’m not a big grunge guy, but Soundgraden leans more towards the grunge I do like. Chris Cornell was such a great frontman and really elevated this band with his voice. I was only really familiar with Black Hole Sun before going into this album (the video of which used to terrify me as a kid), but there’s some great stuff to be found here. Runs too long like all 90s rock albums.
I can really appreciate this as a blend of the old punk sound and the 90s rock sound of the time. Very unique, really nice change of pace.
-okay, so this is one of these albums where I can’t pinpoint WHY I like it so much, but I just do -all the songs flow really well and make me feel like I could run ten miles. i truly have nothing bad to say about this, I’d love to listen to it again soon -also today is the album’s birthday apparently! waow -Favorites are Let Me Drown, Superunknown, and Black Hole Sun
ja fein, direkt vom ersten Ton an hörbar
This has the problem with a lot of other albums, in that when the big hit song comes on it completely takes me out of the album purely based on the notoriety of the song (and also Black Hole Sun being like twice as good as any other song on this). Still, it's very good.
Chris Cornell is incredible. Great record
Muddy and melodic. Heavy and hypnotic. And vocals so fire it's almost idiotic.
⭐⭐⭐⭐– 4[.4] of 5 stars. One of the defining albums of 90's grunge music. Taking influence from lots of prog rock bands, along the guitar tone experimentation on a lot of the tracks, makes this album both an interesting, but, familiar listen, a little bit ahead musically than the rest of their grunge counterparts. It goes pretty hard throughout its run time, but also slows down when it needs to. The middle section especially has a lot of amazing hits. I loved the title track, along with the one-two punch of "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" right in the centre of the album, and the slow-burning, but, heavy feeling of "Limo Wreck." Overall, a great grunge listen. Favourites: Superunkown⭐, Limo Wreck, Like Suicide, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman.
I love you chris cornell Update. I didnt know he was dead
I already listened to this record in my own time and I think its very good but there's definitely tracks I like more than others.
Closer to rock than most of the other grunge I've listened to, enjoyed it. 4
Just a dark dirty album, but gets better each listen.
It only gets a 4 because of Black Hole Sun + Spoonman, otherwise it’d be a 3
They were never one of my favorites but I was finally able to get into 4th of July, mailman, limo wreck after years of listening to this. Spoonman is still their best song tjoufh
Amazing. Excellent vibes
Kinda sad I only knew Black Hole Sun after listening to this cause I very much enjoyed it, and it's the sort of thing I would've really liked in my younger grungier days. One for the repeat list (which is few and far between from this list)
raw af
Cornell, what a fucking beast he was.
I love grunge, and Superunknown is no exception. Such great hooks and amazing and timeless songs. The song "Superunknown" has to be one of my favorite grunge songs of all time. That being said, the album is pretty bloated at 70 mins with several tracks towards the second half being less than memorable. Still though, a great listen all around! 3.7/5 -> 4/5
Not a band I was familiar with previously. I only knew Black Hole Sun That opening track was a tune! It's a shame the whole album wasn't the same standard. There were parts where it dragged a little bit and got boring When the songs were good, they were GOOD. So feels unfair to rate it too low 4 ⭐️
In the movie Juno, I thought it was really funny when Jennifer Garner's character tells Jason Bateman's character he essentially looked stupid for wearing his Soundgarden t-shirt. I had been thinking the same thing throughout the whole movie up to that point. In a similar fashion, I was expecting to dismiss this album and move on. But honestly, despite its length and a few songs feeling a bit silly for whatever reason, this album kind of rips.
i can’t lie i did actually like this
Really great album. Especially loved black hole sun. Very moody rock. Great listen!
One of the better/best grunge albums I’ve heard. Could’ve been a 5 if it cut like 20-30 minutes off the runtime.
Chris Cornell’s voice!
I've never listened to Soundgarden before, besides possibly Guitar Hero / Rock Band games I've forgotten about. "Let Me Drown" rocked. "My Wave" also rocks. The whole album blended together a little after the opener. It is a familiar grungy rock sound from the late 80s/90s. I like it, it rocks pretty good. It's not my go-to music selection but I can get down with it. 7/10
For whatever reason I listened to a lot of grunge in the 90s, but I'm not sure I ever owned a Soundgarden album. Was there a Soundgarden/Nirvana rivalry? Because if so, I was definitely on team Nirvana. But I have come to appreciate them over time and really enjoyed listening to this album. I mean, it does have one of the top 5 seminal songs of the 90s on it. And I don't mean "Spoonman."
Classic feel from a classic 90s record. Has more groove then I thought it would
Good album.
Someone called it "straight guy" music and I almost didn't wanna give it a chance. I'm glad I did. I wound up saving about 4 new tracks off the album (I already had Blackhole Sun and Spoonman) Really really endemic of the times I grew up. It gives a good selection of a lot of the popular sounds and techniques at the time.
It's almost hard not to see half the songs in this album as cliche, Superunknown is an album that was so influential it now almost sounds like a parody of itself. I liked pretty much all of it, although it is an album of six minute songs that feel like they drag on a few minutes too long. Black Hole Sun is a classic, but on this listen I think I enjoyed Superunknown and Spoonman more. Solid album, great vocals, a little too much filler. 4/5
Great album
Just a classic. Quite nostalgic too cause Spoonman was always the go to on rock band
Great vibes on this one
I enjoyed this group and so many more in the grunge era. The music was hard but intelligent. It rocked but was accessible. Chris Cornell had an incredible voice. This particular album put them on the map with their classic songs of Fell On Black Days, Spoonman, and Black Hole Sun. Great album that I still really enjoy it.
It's very nineties. Slightly Nirvana, slightly Offspring. Nicely grungy rock. I actually quite like it, has nice highs and lows. Most of the songs blur together, but they're pretty likeable background noise. I only vaguely know 'Black Hole Sun' but it's definitely one of the more noticeable.
A perennial fave
The album art did not entice me at all. Unfortunately, I did judge the book by the cover and am now regretting it. This rules. I don't love the harmony/backup singer, but I do think he plays part in ensuring the music is varied enough. It might end up feeling really same-y without some vocal variation. This is a hella good album. It sits on the border of being a 4- or 5-star album for me. Like, it's very, very good, but it's not really great, imo. I'll definitely be saving it for another listen, especially for the first half of the album. Favorite Song(s): Fell on Black Days, Mailman, Black Hole Sun
Wish I was more into this when I was younger.
Nice
Yes. Epic Grunge Album. I Like It. :) 3.50-3.75/5
This took a while to get going. Two same-ish tracks to start off and I was starting to lose interest, then it got much, much. better. I'm not quite there yet but I can easily see myself thinking this is "good" after a few listens, so 4/5.
Crazy kickass heavy grunge. Black hole sun is obviously an all timer, but the rest of the album doesn't dissapoint. It's gritty and powerful, great vocals and heavy guitar that punches
Essential listening for anyone interested int he rock genre. Chris Cornell may be one of the best singers ever. Kim Thayil is one of the most underrated guitar players. "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" may have become the biggest hits, but the entire album is filled with excellent tracks from the driving "Let Me Drown", "Fell on Black Days", "The Day I Tried to Live", and the haunting "4th of July", which may actually be my favorite Soundgarden song ever R.I.P. Chris Cornell
84% Best: Let Me Drown; Fell On Black Days; Mailman; Black Hole Sun; Spoonman; The Day I Tried To Live; 4th Of July Must-Hear? Sure
Fav: Black Hole Sun Least Fav: Let Me Drown
Klassiker. Svinbra.
it is decent 8/10
i think this album has a lot of filler but the songs that aren’t? fucking incredible fav songs: fell on black days, the day i tried to live, black hole sun, let me drown
An excellent album. Maybe one too many singles, and some missed songs in between, but tons of layers and opportunities to display brilliance.
Great album, hits are good but overall not quite as good as Badmotorfinger.
Soundgarden's impact on Grunge and greater alt rock in the 90s is often understated in the towering shadow of Nirvana's cultural powerhouse. Truth is, the sounds you hear in Superunknown are stylistic cornerstones that may not have changed the greater culture outside of music, but are still present in the rock music coming out today.
Ganske bra album, skjønner det har populæriteten det har men det var ikke helt for meg, noen veldig greie sanger som jeg føler alle kan like, men det gjør de ofte litt generiske til ørene mine så selv etter flere listens er det vanskelig å plukke sangene fra hverandre også plutselig er vi i den lange delen av the end
This straight white dude enjoyed this album. Chris Cornell's voice is just wow!
Hey this is pretty good. It’s too long. It also kinda lacks a bite I’m looking for? Like the production almost feels too nice. I want some more sludge and ugly. This feels A LOT like the precursor to what would become Foo Fighters which makes sense. I dunno Spoonman and Blackhole Sun are still all time greats.
Who knew I’d be vibing so hard to this stuff
Wicked album! Everything was sick. Vocals, guitar, drums. 9 out of 10
Nice album
I listened to Black Hole Sun with enthusiasm back then. I always remember how it was played in a store in Los Angeles during a trip. I also bought the album and enjoyed listening to it. I also liked Spoonman. I now find the album a bit tiring, even though Black Hole Sun is still one of my favorites. 4/5
They done good.
Favorite Track: Black Hole Sun
Could be edited down a bit, but great album nonetheless.
Pretty solid grunge record with dark psychedelic elements to it. Though the length is a little too long in my opinion, or at least, there were some songs that didn’t hold up to most of the others; Thus, I could’ve done without them. But they were nothing egregious. Overall, the album has a heavy and distinctive feel to it, which I can dig. Good stuff. Favorite track: The Day I Tried To Live
4 out of 5. Almost a five. Despite knowing this band, some of their singles, and Chris Cornell, Superunknown was the first full album of theirs I've listened to. Loved the energy here.
This one straight rocked. The last song was unbelievable too wow
it's a 4.5, it rocked tho. black hole sun is just an incredible song. gotta be in my top 100 songs oat
Same sound from audioslave.. then I realise it’s the same singer. I really like the shouting/screaming vocals as the pitch remains constant and voice doesn’t break. Overall great album.
Classic Grunge
Chris röst är fantastisk och det här är en bra skiva rakt igenom, men skulle enligt mig behövas ett par låtar till i samma klass som Black hole sun och Fell on black days för att kunna bli högsta betyg. Nu blir det lite för långt, lite för mycket utfyllnad och lite för repetitivt. Fortfarande riktigt bra dock. Stark fyra.
Chris Cornell was the lead in spirit as well as voice; what a masterful performance! The guitar work is also stellar, and really set the tone for a lot of harder rock that came after (e.g. Foo Fighters). Unsurprisingly, Black Hole Sun is my favorite track. 4⭐️
Ok. Ok ok ok. This was great BUT, and I hate to say this, but it suffers a little from it length. Their sound is so well-defined here, and it's clear that the band knew their strengths, played to them, and turned that shit up to 11. But that's also part of where my issue lies - nearly every track feels like it's so high energy and so high stakes that it does become a little repetitive and boring after a while. Like, "Oh man another heavy guitar riff and another searing vocal from Chris Cornell..." Again, I thought this was great. But I just think that the high energy of each song, combined with the lengths that some of these tracks go to, just makes for an exhausting album. The lyrics, artistry, and technical skill are undeniable. But I just could've used a little less length and little more variety in mood. Four stars. Standout Tracks: Let Me Down, My Wave, Superunknown, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Kickstand, Like Suicide
Black Hole Sun and The Day I Tried To Live are some of the best songs out there but the album has a little bit too much filler otherwise
Classic albumn that stands the test of time.
Classic
Great vocals and good 90s rock.
To use the lingo of the kids, this is a banger. From start to finish, driving and intense guitars, bass and drums with a great voice rising over the top. My complaint is the overly clean production over the distorted instruments. Feels like click tracks and vocoders stripped the soul and optimizing for radio accessibility. I never saw them live, but would bet they weren't this clean as they rose up and built their following.
Grungey alternative rock. I love this stuff. Black Hole Sun followed up by Spoonman is just fantastic. The album was a little too lengthy and the sound half dragged a bit.
What a voice. RIP.
weird but good
This is a great album. Admittedly my musical tastes have changed so it's not really like what I'm going to grab to just put on and listen to, but I used to listen to this album a ton. Great musicianship, and it was such a solid sound at the time.
Solid band. Solid album. RIP Chris Cornell.
RIP Chris Cornell. One of the OG Grunge defining albums. Killer vocals and heavy bass/drums that don't let up the entire album.
I'm not typically a fan of 90s harder rock, but this is just great across the board.
Soundgarden was always kind of an afterthought in the grunge discussion behind Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I think I like them more than Nirvana though. Chris Cornell has a rock star voice. They sound like Stone Temple Pilots on some songs. I never got into Soundgarden, I liked Pearl Jam the best out of the grunge bands, but this album is good. Black Hole Sun is probably why I never got into them...it was the hit and I don't really like it that much. The Day I Tried To Live is the best song on the album. Chris Cornell has a throwback rock star voice, there's a Robert Plant like quality to the way he sings, not that their voices are similar. There's something to their delivery that is similar or the way they approach the songs. There are some weaker songs on the album, but this is better than I was anticipating and a new found appreciation for Chris Cornell.
I've heard this before. Interesting listen. I recognize Soundgarden for the technical talent, and Cornell does have a great rock and roll voice. But I've just never enjoyed Soundgarden as much as others do. Rating it a 4 star for its impact and quality but I probably won't listen to this again anytime soon.
One of the better grungy rock albums of the 90's
I do really like Soundgarden, I love me some weird time signatures and great riffs, full albums always feel a bit stretched out though. There are a few 5/5 certified bangers on here but the middling rest of the pack drag it down slightly.
I like it well enough to listen again
Min ungdom. Jag har växt från som men black hole sun kommer alltid vara en anthem
really good 90s grunge. the latter half drags a little bit for me, but this is super solid overall.
Superunknown exudes cool, doesn't it? It's just enough ahead of the early 90s grunge scene to not be an utterly boring copy of what preceded it but also pushes the boundaries into what the latter half of the 90s would sound like in this and adjacent genres. It's huge, it's dark, it's full of emotion from one of the best singers ever, it's a strong 4 that misses a 5 because a) it's a little bit too long and b) therefore it has a bit too much filler in it, but it's quality.
This is the best album we've had in a while - it's a level up in sophistication from the grunge that it came from, the sound is well put together and the guy can actually sing (which is a big step up from a lot of the stuff from that era!). It's definitely too long - almost all the songs are 5 minutes plus, which is a bit much, and could've done with losing four or five of them. But I think it still squeaks a 4 for me.
Couple of big tunes
loved
Black Hole Sun is legendary.
Good album but boy is it long
Great grunge album so diverse and not a bad song on it. A worthy memory. RIP Chris Cornell
Kind of a bloated album. For 70 minutes you would hope there would be enough to distinguish what's there and keep the music a bit more fresh but there's a few tracks that just felt redundant compared to better and similar tracks on the album. Chris Cornell's excellent vocals on the standout tracks really carry the more middling songs, it feels generous to give this a 4 but would also feel like a disservice to give a 3.
The thing I most appreciate in a hard rock/metal album is actually having a groove, which this album has in spades. The instrumentation here I fantastic, groovy riffs and driving drum beats. Chris Cornell’s vocals are pretty great I just wish he’d sing about something less depressing. I wonder whatever happened to that guy. The downside to this album is that it’s extremely long. I checked in around Spoonman thinking the album must be over and Spotify just started an artist radio for Soundgarden or Audioslave. Nope, album is only halfway done. Could probably slice a few tracks off this and it would be a flat improvement even though I wouldn’t say any of them are particularly bad except Fourth of July.
Fake ass dad rock enjoyers will say they love the stuff and then when REAL gen x Dad rock walks in they'll rate it poorly 7/10 Fav tracks - Let Me Drown, Superunknown, Head Down, Limo Wreck, The Day I Tried to Live, Kickstand, 4th of July, Half, Least Fav - Fell on Black days
fantastic album-Cornell's lyrics and voice blend so well with driving guitar, drums, and bass lines. his lyrics are understandable, and expressive. great variety of sounds within the album. only flaw is Spoonman-it just doesn't fit on album (yes, I'm biased-didn't like it when it came out & still don't now). My Wave & Kickstand are excellent tracks. 4.5 stars
GOOD
Soundgarden kind of passed me by but listening to it now there's an integrity to their sound. Chris Cornell was a great singer. Such power.
4.5
Solid solid metal rock work , def rocked with it
Am…am I grunge??
Wow. Chris Cornell is awesome. Never listened to this album all the way through and 100% understand why it is on this list now. A fantastic grunge album that tackles so many different genres and has amazing theming throughout the whole album. Every track was spectacular. 9/10
[Artist42165], a band led by [Artist4953]'s guitarist in the 90's, are allegedly named after the tendency of heavy metal musicians who don't scream or growl to go "whuaaaough" really high like Robert Plant. i call it "whoa momma imma love you" voice, but the following fact doesn't change: i gave up on [Album3800] because of Chris Cornell's tendency to do this. why is it so well used here, then? you could probably attribute it to real life psychopath and occasional producer Michael Bienhorn's slick, anal retentive production essentially swallowing Chris. on any given track, he's more often fighting than singing. it makes the wails excusable -- of course he's gotta hoot n' holler, have you [i]heard[/i] the guitars? poor guy's drowning. special mention goes to how the songs are constructed as complex as you could get them by complete mistake. how do you accidentally write a song in 15/8? you've gotta be either naturally talented or just extremely lucky to do that. something tells me Soundgarden are both. one concession: Tom Scharpling is right. "Spoonman" is really dumb. good, but dumb. i think a lot of grunge could be understood by this criteria.
Well this one certainly hits with a fist, soul crushing lyrics and all. Cornell’s vocals are excellent, but what’s somehow extra special is that they’re never the main show here. Not every track is standout, but more than enough are deeply devastating in a way that very few works can even hope to compare to.
Listen to it in the background. I like soundgarden. I did not change my life.
I wasn't the biggest Soundgarden fan back in the day -- I knew and enjoyed the singles, and owned a copy of their "A Sides" compilation. This was my first full album listen. I must say I'm surprised at the quality of the entire album. It's very long like many albums of the era, but it's pretty great from beginning to end.
#350. I've never listened to an entire Soundgarden album before, and I didn't realize I already had heard that much of it before. I guess that just goes to show how much power and influence radio djs have over your musical knowledge and experience. I dig it, but not so much that I'd want to buy the album. 4/5: great
4 - Pretty good for hard rock, I might come back if I’m ever VERY angry
I honestly don't remember this one being this good. Maybe I was too Nirvana centric at the time, but this one 1) absolutely holds up and 2) has some HUGE highlights. Really liked My Wave and Fell on Black Days. 4.5/5
This is over an hour long but honestly feels like it glides by. Brooding, moody - there's such a great constant groove riding through it all. Chris Cornell is the star of the show, the vocals are incredible. There's lots of moments where he's obviously belting and really letting that rasp go, but he finds such a great balance between being more tender and somber, which a lot of similar vocalists in this kind of realm I feel can lack. Fell On Black Days, My Wave, Suicide... so many great moments where his voice just gives you goosebumps. Rhythm section are doing bits as well - the whole band just propels forward together and never loses any momentum over 70 minutes. Great stuff. 8.5/10
Very grand and moody. One of the best grunge albums of all time. Killer vocals. Key tracks: Let Me Down Black Hole Sun Spoonman 4th of July
I’m a grunge hater, but this was so good. The intervals and progressions they use really go beyond the basic “grunge” stuff and actually come close to being progressive rock. 70 minutes flew by.
Pont kívül volt annyira a komfortzónámon, hogy nagyon izgalmas legyen, de még pont volt olyan dallamos hogy genuinely élvezzem, szóval yay! Csak azért négy, mert nem látom, hogy elindítanám magamtól az egész albumot megint, de ettől még kiváló.
I went into this album with a bunch of ideas about it already in my head. I used to like it a lot years ago but I expected it to not hold up as well listening to it now. It's still pretty great. I mean name another band who writes a song in 15/8 time (Limo Wreck). I love a song with an odd time signature and weird tuning and there's a lot of that on this record. Apparently by mistake, from what I understand they just wrote songs they thought sounded cool and didn't worry about the time signatures. Just goes to show what an amazing drummer Matt Cameron is for being able to deal with that. I feel like music could use more of that kind of experimentation now. While it's recorded and produced well, I do feel like some of the actual instrument sounds are a little generic sounding now. Back in 1994 they definitely were cutting edge but if you told a guitar player now to dial in a generic grunge tone, this is the sound you would get. That's not necessarily bad I guess but looking back it doesn't really stand out among the rest of the genre. Vocals are a different story - Chris Cornell was one of the best and most unique vocalist ever. I love that he was one of the 90s guys that didn't just try to sound like Eddie Vedder. So I liked this one more than I thought I was going to. I'd listen to it again for sure. Not all the time but if I saw it in the record store I'd buy it and play it every now and again. 4/5 not least for the song in 15/8. Because damn, man.
Was good, some bangers I knew but those I didnt I liked as well
One of Mike’s faves - the second I heard Chris Cornell’s voice I thought - that’s the new best male voice in rock and roll thayil always a force !
Suffers from 90s bloat the the killer tracks are killer and oddities like Half underscore how these guys were more like Led Zeppelin than any of their Emerald City piers - though there is still plenty of Sabbath/Stooges here. A better listen than expected. Amazing production. And with a little editing...
3.9 Hadnt listen to this in 10 years. The hits are still the hits and really really good. The other songs, meh, they sound a bit formulaic (Silverchair anyone!?). They were probably fresher 30 years (yeesh) ago. Cornell and Thayil's guitar tone stands out
Vette muziek, paar hele vette nummers, iets te lang
Chris Cornell had such a voice.
I thought I didn't really like grunge bands other than Nirvana, but I actually really enjoyed this. Some of the songs were a bit samey and it was slightly overly long, but all in all a very good album. Fav tracks: Like Suicide, Black Hole Sun, Fresh Tendrils
A hard rock album I like, which is not often the case. The opener is a little too close to metal for my tastes but things gradually change to styles more to my liking. The album has a more melodic and psychedelic style, as evidenced on the hit Black Hole Sun, that I very much like. This stylistic metamorphosis begins with Fell in Black days which has a nice mid tempo gait. My favourite is Head Down with its beautiful guitar figure, beautifully melodic Chris Cornell vocal and powerful drumming - it's my favorite song. Other highlights; Limo Wreck, The Day I Tried to Live and Half with its Eastern feel. Overall a very accomplished album that I will revisit. 4 stars
Happy to have this one on the list. My son also loved hearing it, which was also pretty cool. Fell on Black Days is such a good song. 4/5
I have fond memories of playing Black Hole Sun on Guitar Hero 3. Or whichever one it was. Good grunge rock album. Vocalist has some chops. Lyrics didn’t stick out too much for me. Band is always there with just enough sound. Felt rich and dense. Standouts: Fell On Black Days, Mailman, Head Down, Black Hole Sun, The Day I Tried To Live, and 4th Of July.
Great album cover. Great vocals, instrumentation, production, writing, and lyrics. The length should have been cut to make for more focus on their better tracks, but still a very enjoyable album. 4/5
Still good.
Classic.solid that still stands strong today. I’d love to go back to my younger self and ask why I didn’t like this when I was a kid.
Solid album. Chris Cornell is great but def not my favorite. Feeling light 8 Fav songs: Let me drown, Fell on Black Days, Super Unknown, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman and 4th of July
Soundgarden rocks. Plain and simple. Black Hole Sun and Spoonman are obviously jams. This album actually has a lot more range than I would have given them credit for. Happy to have listened to the whole thing.
I think Soundgarden have done a really good job of being “hard” rock without it being overwhelming. This album is pretty easy and enjoyable to listen to all the way through. Black Hole Sun is a great song and definitely the best on the album, but I also really like Spoonman and several others.
Awesome album! I've always known "Black Hole Sun" but I've never listened to more Soundgarden. Great album that reminded me of high school weightlifting. It is too long though.
Miss the fuck out of Cornell’s voice. He sounds so great on Fell on Black Days. Forgot how much I loved this song. His voice was always best when he just sang. He could scream with the best, but he sang better than most. 4/5
Liked this more than I expected to. I’m a sucker for weird time signatures like the 7/4 in Spoonman and whatever is going on in Fell On Black Days. Especially in grunge, which otherwise can be dreary and monotonous. Cornell’s voice grates on me after awhile. The day I tried to live is another highlight.
Some really good songs and riffs, and Cornell's vocals are some of my favorites. The only issue I have is a lot of the songs sounded very same-y - but they were still good and the singles were standouts. Not a group I'd listen to on the reg but still killer when the time/mood is right.
Fantastic album from a great time of my life. Lots of memories here.
I loved this album when I was only expecting to enjoy it on a normal level. I wouldn't specifically call myself a grunge fan, which is why my expectations weren't super high. Superunknown is super good, if you'll forgive the pun (that I'm sure others have made before). I admire the creativity on this album. The frequent distortion is badass and Chris Cornell's vocals are everything. There's a South Asian influence in "Half" that sets it apart. Though grunge straddles metal and punk rock, sometimes Soundgarden went harder into heavy metal and it plays so well. Different time signatures in the same song, the emotive lyrics, it's all so satisfying.
Another grunge top tier staple, check. There are some excellent displays of guitar riffs and songwriting on this album. Plus, Chris Cornell was just a stellar grunge vocalist, and really, a stellar rock vocalist in general -- it's grating, it's deep, it's howling. His voice hits all the right points. The combination of music, vocals, and songwriting is important in grunge; it should all be done with a dark edge that leaves the listener feeling a bit grimy. I think Chris Cornell and Soundgarden understood that intimately, and it is what makes them one of the grunge greats. This album in particular nails all of that. There really isn't a single song that drags this album down; it is banger from start to finish.
A freebie for today, as I own this album and love it. It's too long by about 30 minutes--some of the songs really don't do all that much--but such a great sound overall and several fantastic songs ("Fell on black days", "Mailman", "Black hole sun", "Spoonman", "The day I tried to live", "Just like suicide", to name just a few). To me, the album brings me back to my days in Seattle and a pretty powerful period in its music history. The only sad part is that it makes me think of Chris Cornell and his untimely death many years later...
Var väl som jag mindes den, lite dålig mix - speciellt för en 20-års-utgåva?
All around great album, it's a bit more mainstream than the previous albums, hence it's popularity. It also does showcase Cornells wide range of singing style as well which is always welcome. However it doesn't have the rawness and edge of Badmotorfinger, which is a perfect album and would be my pick for this list.
Cornell had one of the best voices in rock and this record showcases it. Excellent record but point deducted for the ridiculous song Spoonman which features a spoon solo.
Better then I remember it. Wasn't a big fan in the 90s. A good listen if a little long.
I liked this one. I'm a fan of grunge and this is a good album for that. Cornell's voice is great here. But there is some filler songs keeping it from being a great album.
Viihdyttävä setti ja Soundgarden löytänyt uuden elämän omissa korvissa Chrisin muun uran avulla. Tämä levy meni autoillessa ja toimi hyvin.
Eipä ole tullut kuunneltua tätä levyä aiemmin kokonaan. Tosi kova, mut samaan aikajaksoon julkaistut esim. Nevermind ja Blood Sugar Sex Magik jättää tämän varjoonsa.
This is a challenging album to write about succinctly. It simultaneously excites and frustrates me. I can especially see in hindsight that at the time, the industry machine was 110% all in on Soundgarden. Cornell was viewed as the next golden child - and looking at the trajectory of his career and how he gradually popped himself out more, it’s clear he bought into that somewhat. But with how STRANGE of a record this is, it kinda surprises me how backed it was…it definitely had hits ready to go, but songs like “my wave” had this hit potential that was drenched in weird arrangements and time signatures. It was rad, but especially with the mega hit, it ended up all seeming SO commercialized and it just all creates this odd stir of emotions in me considering how off-kilter and experimental the album is as a whole. But lots of good stuff on here - Ben Shepherd doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions, which really make the album feel alive, albeit maybe a living thing you don’t want to fuck with.
Grungy. I have been meaning to check out soundgarden for a while now. Not bad, but they can be slow and dark at times. Edit: I had to come back to edit this review because goddamn this album gets better with time. The hits are infinitely re listenable. I come back to this all the time.
Yeah! Groovy Rock n Roll!
Didn’t like it much. Good music, but hasn’t found anything that deeply touched me.
Classic grunge album. A not too long but the standouts make it worth it. Black Hole Sun aged well
I’ve never actually listened to a Soundgarden album cover to cover. I loved the dynamics
Good
Chris Cornell singing some of the most iconic songs of the grunge movement. 'Nuff said.
Completely forgot just how depressing grunge was. that is not a very uplifting album. It is a long one and likely could have been a few songs shorter. That being said, I loved that sound and only knew Black Hole Sun. What a great, depressing, song. It spoke to a generation. I can’t say I enjoyed it, it was too depressing. I appreciated it and might listen to some of the songs again, but only if I’m in the mood.
Actually enjoyed this way more than I expected. I usually don't like this type of music but the whole album was good to listen to.
Nice and screamy
Painterly, and excruciatingly dark. Which makes the popularity of this album interesting to me.If you were a heavy band from Seattle you were getting a lot of marketing push, like so many other underground trends did before. Like Rock music itself did when it first happened. Soundgarden are excellent musicians, I especially love Matt Cameron, and of course Cris Cornell is the best rock singer of the generation. But the album leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I'm done chewing on it. The dark themes, the offputting odd time signatures, detuning, and otherworldly sonic landscapes combine with the high level of musicianship and Cornell's vocal prowess to create an intensity that takes you to another place altogether. Not a superfun place though.
Un album sans concession, qui renouvelle le rock sans raccourci. Le chanteur ajoute du cœur à l’ensemble
Black Hole Sun is one of my favorite 90s rock songs, and I love Fell On Black Days and Spoonman as well. I genuinely love 90s grunge. This will be 4 stars for me because I just had Dirt from Alice in Chains a few albums ago, which was an easy 5, and it's hard not to compare the two. But this is a solid album as well - Chris Cornell was an incredible vocalist.
7/10 I'm fond of this record but it didn't play a significant role in my life. pretty much a solid rock and roll record. 7-08-2024
Light 4 for the grunge
Can't deny it's very good and influence
Goated
Really good
Good album. Signature sound. Great guitar. Biggest hit. Solid. Another Tortured Soul.
This album screams autumn to me. While I enjoyed it now, I think it could easily love it more then. I don't exactly vibe with this sound in the summer but ask me again when it's cold.
\m/
Pretty good
Solid Seattle Sound
Only knew one song. Easy enough to listen to though.
4/5
Who the four giants of the grunge genre were has been pretty clear for a long time. But what sets them apart is what they individually meant for the genre as a whole. It’s pretty amazing how much variety each band brought to the table. Nirvana commercialized the sound, and gave it a punk twist. Pearl Jam was definitely the most simple and hard rock based of the four, but still did a lot of great stuff with that. Alice in Chains represented the sludge and dirtiness that the genre could have, which made sense given its origins in metal. And Soundgarden, who is the subject of today, was focused on a cleaner stoner metal influenced sound that was still heavy as fuck. And I believe they fully succeed in doing so with this fourth album of theirs. If this was personified as an animal, I think it would be some sort of big and scary lion or bear. This album is a beast. This comes down to the production, but also how powerful each of these musicians are. The guitar riffs are tasteful, but still super catchy and hard-hitting. And this band might have the strongest rhythm section of any of the big four. Those drums and that bass are so locked in, and give this the extra boost it needs to become even heavier. They really balanced thumping and slow with heart-pumping and fast very well. And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak on Chris. It’s so unfortunate how many grunge legends we have lost. Especially the vocalists. Who will always be the driving force behind this music. And Chris is no exception. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of the way he sounded live, but now that I’ve experienced proper studio recordings with him, I understand why so many connected with him on such a deep level. This man can sing like nobody’s business. It’s a pretty hard toss up for me between him and Staley, but I think on a particular day, Cornell would be my favorite grunge singer. And he’s honestly just one of the best male vocalists of all time. End of discussion. I don’t think people should be trying to debate this. The success and power of this album is just more proof that shows how amazing and electric the grunge era of the 90s was for rock music. Rating: 8/10