Reviews (page 7 of 15)
definitely one of the best grunge albums i've heard. came at a good time considering i'm listening to a lot of pearl jam and listening to their bandsplain episode. absolutely loved the guitars on this album - they were dark and heavily distorted which is exactly what i hoped to hear. i also really liked the haunted feel a lot of the tracks had - chris cornell's stunning vocals helped this happen. the only reason it's not 5* is because a lot of the tracks weren't very memorable. i feel like they could've shaved 15-30 minutes off this album and made it super tight and compact listen. still an enjoyable listen though.
Though I like the first (and only from the band I've listened to) album, this one didn't seem that inspired to me, and it's too long.
Classic grunge album, although it is my least fav of the big bands. Still liked it alot, especially my wave, fell on black days, and black hole sun. Gotta give my boy Chris more time since I liked it alot more than the last time I listened
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.
it just felt like a rock album
Conec black hole sun, musica emo?
CERTIFIED ALL-TIME FACEMELTER!!🔥🔥🔥
Song for song, they're all really good. As a whole it's kinda one note. Obviously one of the most fundamental grunge albums. My heart says 3.5, but I'll bump it up to 4 for the amount of times we watched the Black Hole Sun music video off of limewire in middle school.
3.5★
Enjoyed a few of these.
A bit too loud for my taste, so three stars.
Chris Cornell has a powerful vocal presence, and the guitars go pretty hard. I can kind of see that if I sat in a darkened room long enough, maybe with some oxy and headphones and an unwashed band tee, I could really get into this. But there's a lot to overcome. There's a tendency to ruin otherwise listenable songs with a ill-concieved decision - a guitar that's a bit too high pitched or an agonizingly elongated vocalization. Vapid writing isn't saved by using bigger words. Soundgarden fans still look like they smell of stale beer. I wouldn't go back to it but I can no longer say I hate this kind of music.
I just can’t get into this album - or Soundgarden at all for that matter. I really like Cornell’s voice, but this album largely just bleeds together for me. Aside from the great Black Hole Sun, I just get a bit bored by this. A regretful 2/5 ⭐️⭐️
Fell on black days is a banger. Love the bass. Head down 👍 Spoon man 👍
Some great songs towards the end but too long and too many forgettable tracks.
Some good songs in there. Still love the 7/4 time of Spoonman. No real bops though.
Definitely biased by nostalgia. A huge Chris Cornell fan and used to listen to this + Audioslave whilst studying for college chemistry classes which somehow helped me understand chemistry better. I think I prefer Chris' Audioslave phase better but this still hits.
I feel as though I’m basking in a garden of sound listening to this album…. I prefer Audioslave though. Kinda funny how he pulls out the hair metal vox in this sometimes
oh jeez i just dont know... it wasn't bad but i think not for me!
Spooooon maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan
Tufft! Speciellt Black Hole Sun.
C'est pas que c'est nul, mais j'ai du mal à comprendre pourquoi ça c'est culte et Nickelback c'est drôle.
It’s good. It’s classic (rock). It’s not what grabbed me from that era as a youngster and listening now, the record all kinda globs together for me.
It's an obvious 5 but these days I can't help but gravitate toward the deeper cuts like Head Down and 4th of July, probably my 2 favorite Soundgarden songs. Wild stuff going on, even in just the vocals.
This is like a superior version of pearl jam, incredibly heavy and Chris Cornell is a great vocalist, probably the best i’ve heard for this genre of heavy grunge. Great riffs, vocals, drums and production was clearly on point to make it sound as heavy as it did. Maybe a little bloated as it was a little samey but it had a clear sound it was aiming for and maintained it throughout so i guess that’s only a small nitpick (although it did have 1 song which changed it up a bit “half”). I thought the vocal delivery and lyrics were very much like Kurt Cobain in some aspects, like a heavier version of nirvana. Favourites: Let me down, New wave, fell on black days, Superunknown, kickstand, 4th of July and like suicide. I did feel like all of the songs were consistently good though. Overall, 8/10.
One of those albums that at times feels underrated due to its genre's exceptional product. A dark opera that bleeds, before the scab can seal. Guitar work that is both jarring and equally harmonious with Cornell's vocal echos.
More like black hole fun
Really great. Strong consideration for a 5, but just shy. Definitely an album where it feels like “they don’t make music like this anymore”
I think I like Chris Cornell’s voice more than I actually enjoy soundgarden but this was decent
I too wanted to make the joke Black Hole Fun, but I am late to it. I enjoyed
Depressing and not as good as it was when I was 17
Would be 5 if it all sounded like black hole sun
Not my cup of tea, doesn't mean it's bad tea, but it's not MY cup of tea.
Starts strong, couldn’t finish
Not really for me. Black Hole Sun will always be great, but all of the other songs just sound the same to me.
chris cornell I love and miss you so much. this is such a quintessential album to understanding the human condition. not to be gauche but soundgarden (along with nirvana, alice in chains, and pearl jam) gave individuals an outlet to feel all emotions. it is beautiful to me!!!!!!
2 dark 4 me
loooove that the album cover is an orc.
I have some very heavy nostalgia for this album. Despite some songs being massively overplayed, it’s still damn near perfect to me. So I give it a very biased 5.
oh i really like this one. for those of you fans of grunge music, this album will be right up your alley. overwhelming and amazing rock music that isn't afraid to get a little strange and complex. chris cornell is an AMAZING vocalist. he's up there with kurt cobain in terms of how iconic his presence on the album is. and best believe me i'm not about to dismiss the synergy the other band members have. it's grimy and... well, grungy, but it's mighty sophisticated too. one of the greatest in the genre.
Awesome!!
𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 may be a landmark of 90s grunge, but it didn’t work for me. At over 70 minutes, it drags on far too long — this could have been a solid 40-minute record. Chris Cornell’s voice, supposedly the band’s greatest asset, often gets buried in the wall of guitars (with the exception of 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯). And as much as this is hailed as grunge, it feels more like a heavy metal clone than something fresh. Impressive to some, but not my kind of sound.
As much as I was comfortable with the Seattle Sound, I always found myself hesitant to embrace Soundgarden. I liked the singles from Badmotorfinger and some of Temple, but the general sense I had - not dissimilar from AiC and early PJ - was that this was a hard rock band that would be just as happy touring with hair metal trash as Jane’s, but not the Cure or other alternative music standard-bearers. I just couldn’t decide which guise Chris and co ultimately were and with the time having passed, so much of their riffs and general vibe was adopted and crept into the nu-metal and later wave grunge rock of far lesser bands. Even in high school, the dudes who were way into guitar histrionics worshipped Soundgarden and kinda shrugged at punk or post-hardcore. Not in a dismissive sense, but more...Soundgarden were the natural inheritors of Zeppelin and were pushing things forward in their way, whereas punk was off doing its own thing. Which maybe came together later as stoner rock, depending on how you trace the lineage, in large part thanks to Cornell and esp. Thayil’s guitar work. Anyhow, like every Soundgarden album I find Superunknown incredibly overlong and redundant. Fell on Black Days is an all timer, but I prefer Rusty Cage, Jesus Christ Pose, Pretty Noose, Blow Up the Outside, Outshined, Birth Ritual, etc. That’s my sweet spot, but I can listen to Limo Wreck for its guitar tones and be pretty happy, but the sense I come away with is one more of admiration than love. Whereas around the same time this was released I was head over heels for Siamese Dream (but also Helmet...). The narcissism of small differences I suppose.
Heavy. Sometimes too heavy. Catchy in an (un/)enjoyable way. 2.5.
90s hardrock. Breakthrough album. Very cool nostalgic grunge flavour. Some very iconic songs.
This was mid even black hole sun, 2.
Enjoyable music, singing not bad, a little hard to understand, but that may just be listening for the first time. Didn't think I liked grunge, but perhaps I was wrong. 4 stars.
Awesome, very fun listen. Just a bit too long tho.
Zajebiste. 4/5 Taka kwintesencja grunge razem z Alice in Chains i Nirvaną. Kilka klasyków. Dołujący klimat
10000/10🔥🔥🔥
Great grunge, but a bit long, and tad repetitive. It's got Spoonman and Black Hole Sun, so obviously a classic, but my own appetite for Soundgarden perhaps keeps it from 5.
It’s alright, bit samey after a while - few stand out tracks but unlikely to listen again
Awesome, energetic grunge record that is on the heavier side. Nice vocals, great riffs, many banger songs. Not much more to say.
Don't like hard rock.
un bell'album ruoock
A fine release of a new wave of music coming out. One of the better singers in rock and roll
In 2017, I looked out the window of my car and saw a billboard mourning the loss of Chris Cornell. I was 10 at the time and I had no clue who this person was. But that sudden discovery only fueled a sense of curiosity within me. I can't say that I immediately googled him, but eventually I found out who he was and what band he was in. Years later, here I am being given this record knowing a bit more about "grunge". I turn on the first song and I hear what I would expect: brutal and cut-throat guitar riffs and a beat to match. Then here comes Chris Cornell with something different: a voice built for what you would expect out of '80s hair metal bands. More a soaring Axl Rose than a quiet Cobain-esque voice. That flavor added to top-tier grunge tracks is a wonder to hear. There's a sweet run of tracks that goes from the title track, Head Down, Black Hole Sun and Spoonman. Those 4 songs are all great (props to My Wave and Black Days too). All the songs I've mentioned so far are all enjoyable, but after Spoonman, the album's length starts to run slow. The songs sound less surprising and intriguing albeit for maybe The Day I Tried To Live and 4th Of July but those also got stale. There's a thing about some bands in the 90s offering really long albums bordering on 65-70 minutes. Especially with a band like Soundgarden that is obviously loud, that's going to make my ears tired. Bottomline: the album is too long for me to fully enjoy it, but it has Black Hole Sun which is one of the best songs ever written. I say that's a major win. RIP Chris Cornell (7/10, 3/5 on this scale)
Couple of low points in the middle and at the end - Superunknown and Head Down, Half - that drag down the album as a whole. However, My Wave, Spoonman, and BHS are such classics, a true picture of early grunge. Album is a bit too long - so docking it one star.
Chris Cornell is an amazing rock singer, absolutely one of the best! And while I like most grunge era bands, Soundgarden wasn't always on my playlists. I like the singles and they were probably singles because they had the best production. Even as they progressed, some of this stuff sounds muddy. This is a good album with some great songs, but as many have said, it's a few songs too long. "Half" would be the first to go. I'll listen when some of these pop up in a retro or grunge playlist, but I won't be seeking it out.
This is a great album. Loved it then… love it now!
Grunge royalty. So. So. So good. This was Soundgarden turing on their pop sensibilities and leaning into some serious hooks.
I love grunge, but soundgarden has never clicked with me.
7.5/10
What a great album and great performances from all the band members. Chris Cornell is of course expectionally great singer. And it's great that all the band member have contributed in the song writing. Some of the energy, that earlier records had, is lost, but on other hand, music is more diverse. I find the album a bit overlengthly. Maybe some of the songs should have been dropped out. I don't especially like neither of the Shephard songs (Head down and Half). Overall, one of the best albums of the Seattle-era.
Especially love the vocals on this one. Part of my regular listening.
No songs stuck out in my mind, not an enjoyable listen.
Sludgy with some unexpected doom metal vibes. It's a good album with some classic songs but I feel like there's not enough going on to justify such a long run time.
I listened to this quite a bit when I visited Seattle for my journalism trip. It's a great, moody album. It's sort of dark and a little scary and downbeat and I like that. This is one of the better rock vocalists, I think. He has a really nice style but he's also lowkey just a good singer. I never thought of myself as much of a Soundgarden girl, but I was surprised to find that I knew how a lot of these songs went. "Black Hole Sun" is obviously their big hit, but I've also listened to "The Day I Tried to Live" plenty of times. It reminds me of Alice in Chains with the vocals and I guess they're both grunge bands so it makes sense. Let Me Drown: I remember this song, I guess from my time starting this whole album in Seattle. It's definitely a lively start to the album. A little repetitive but it's alright. My Wave: I really like Chris Cornell's vocals. So powerful but clean but not too clean. It's nice. It's very strong but then it becomes almost relaxed in the chorus. Also a nice song. Fell On Black Days: Gloomy, brooding. It's still engaging, though, still splashy and I really like this wobbly guitar stuff going on. Mailman: I really like this falsetto he's doing. Sorta catchy! I really like it. Superunknown: Kinda classic rock riff at the beginning here. Kinda reminds me of, like, ZZ Top for some reason. Or Amyl and the Sniffers. Obviously not similar to either but great sound. The little bit of echo on his voice makes it sound like he's yelling in a canyon or something. Lots of layers of instrumentation here and I love it! He does more melodic or vocally beautiful screaming than other rock bands. Definitely a good title track. Head Down: More intricate sort of beginning here. The clapping(?) almost reminds me of flamenco or something. Sort of hazy and exotic and his voice is much shyer here. Cool, atmospheric track. I don't love the ending. Black Hole Sun: Hit alert! There's a reason why this song is so popular. It's because it's awesome. It's acceptance, it's waking up in the morning knowing the day's gonna suck, it's bittersweet, it's beautiful but it's lethargic and it's just a great song. Spoonman: Funny name. Don't know what it's about. But it still rocks! Limo Wreck: Calmer, almost prayer-like. It's a good change of pace from hard rock. Oh, we're back! This record is a little monotonous but then again, so are most. It's still very enjoyable. A little long, though -- 15 tracks! Gee! The Day I Tried To Live: I don't know why, but I've always just liked this song. That high pitched guitar and his screaming, such a desperate plea for life. It's really awesome to listen to. Kickstand: Quick! Very rock n roll. Short n sweet. Reminds me of QOTSA's Six Shooter. Just this little tune, harsher than the rest of the album. It's driving music. Fresh Tendrils: Really good. Toxic. Got a nice, grand sound. Aggressive but also has a nice electric riff at the end. 4th of July: It's somber, it's slow, it's tired, it's jaded. I heard it in the wind, I saw it in the sky, I thought it was the end, I thought it was the 4th of July --maybe it's about false hope? disappointment? It's sort of haunting. The end is cool. Half: Plucky! Almost folksy! Definitely different from the rest thus far. Exotic and kinda global? Sounds like a whole different band made it. Very dream-like at the end, like seeing an oasis in the desert or staring up at the beating sun through closed eyelids. Like Suicide: Continuing with the sound from Half with sort of tribal drums. This is just so good. It's smooth and kinda sexy and his vocals stay awesome. Great end to a great album. I think this is a strong 4 light 5. Like, really awesome now that I've listened to the full thing.
Groupe connu, découvert par le tube 'Pretty noose' de leur album suivant, album qui finalement ne m'avait pas beaucoup plus (totalement oublié depuis). Superunknown contient des morceaux un peu originaux (signature rythmique dans quelques morceaux, avec en plus harmonie dans 'Limo Break'), mais de mon point de vue il manque de dynamisme. Les morceaux sont plutôt lents, ses 15 morceaux et 70 mn au compteur m'ont paru terriblement longs. Interminables en fait. Aucune envie de l'écouter une seconde fois. =>2/5
it's peak
Actually some pretty good rock. 7/10
Chris Cornell has an amazing voice, Black Hole Sun is a stunning song. I wish they didn't decide to make such shitty music most of the time. 2/5.
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
It starts heavy and then continues heavy with no little to no break in pace or tone. It's not that it's bad, it's that it's all the same. I feel like you could listen to a few songs and get the same feeling as if you listened to the whole album.
Black hole Sun carries it
agony served via soundtrack. how I miss Chris Cornell
The first half of this album almost felt like easy listening grunge. I guess I'm fine with it. I probably would never reach to put this on. It feels incredibly familiar without ever having heard any of it (except Black Hole Sun). Probably because I can't differentiate grunge from itself very well. Is this Nirvana? Alice in Chains? Silverchair? Today years old learning that Temple of the Dog and Audioslave are also Chris Cornell bands. I will say I loved the shit out of the rhythm on Spoonman. That said, after that track, the sound really started to wear on me and still had half the album to go. It feels pretty long. Great it you love it, not so great if it's not your thing.
Great grunge album that reminds me of working in a restaurant kitchen.
Decent hard rock, some cool stuff, generally didn’t excite me too much. 3 stars
Masterpiece love Chris so much every song is amazing
Super overrated but still good, black hole sun good
A solid entry, but not my favorite grunge album from Soundgarden. I preferred BADMOTORFINGER. Not one of my favorite 90s albums in general. The album is way too long. There is a a fair bit of filler on here. I agree with others that 30 minutes could easily be cut and really make this a tight album. There is no concept album story to tell, so there was really no excuse not to cut some. Favorites: "Fell On Black Days", "Spoonman", and "The Day I Tried to Live".
Repeat listen
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
One of the best albums I’ve ever listened too
A few bangers, but the cons outweigh the positives for me :0
I’m not going to say this was bad, just that I would absolutely never seek any of this out on my ow
Kinda cool, never heard the whole thing. Super immersive, and impeccable Chris Cornell voicings
Great rock album. Previously had only heard spoonman and black hole sun but am glad I've listened to the rest of this album now
Great album! Grunge but not Nirvana. Will listen again.
a bit heavier than my usual listening but it was good while driving
yes
Classic grunge
Great grunge introduction, though it gets outshone by their later works.
good album a great rock reference
Black hole sun is one of the best songs of all time
Glad to see some Soundgarden pop up. First full album of there’s I have listened too and 70 minutes. Okay, let’s go.. Fierce and hard hitting. This is Soundgarden and the unmistakeable lyrics of CC. Despite popularity of ‘Fell in Black Days’ felt a drop off to me and continued a bit into ‘Mailman’ but good to have variety. Back to the norm with ‘Superunknown’ before the big hitters of ‘Black Hole Sun” and ‘Spoonman’ (which weren’t as impacting as I’d hoped and more taken by the fierce, fast paced songs at the start of the album). Enjoyable album, but could maybe be half the length and more consistent. But still a solid release (3.5)
I think the grunge world may have passed me by a bit, but I'm gonna give it a solid 3. Maybe this is sounded a bit dated - who knows. I wish I'd heard this back in 1996 - I'd have loved it!
God, what a album Has some classic has some gems but all together it’s amazing, one of the greatest of all time
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.
Liking Soundgarden is the 90s version of liking Nickleback. But here we are.
Too grunge for my taste. A bit dark and gloomy (not in the mood today).
Absolutely killer & essential grunge record. RIP Chris Cornell you beautiful bastard, you had one hell of a voice.
I always feel like Soundgarden is a slightly improved version of Nirvana. I'm not a huge Nirvana fan, so to be honest it's hardly a compliment.
I don't even need to listen to this album. I've listened to it hundreds of times. Classic! 9/10
En vägg av ljud utan sväng. Rock utan roll. Som att lyssna på en traktor som går på tomgång.
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.
I recall purchasing this album when I was 14 years old and absolutely loving it. I did think the album was a bit long and a few songs could have been trimmed. I still feel this way. As anyone who reads album reviews knows, I tend to prefer albums that cut out fat and don't overstay their welcome, even if the songs are all pretty good. Just because you are a good shot doesn't mean you need to shoot all of your bullets. It's hard to complain too much about having too much material to listen to on an album, yet it does make it very difficult for me to sit down and listen to this entire album in one sitting. There are just so many great songs on here though, so this is an absolute must-listen album in my opinion. Even if you don't like Black Hole Sun (which everyone has heard 1001 times), there are plenty of other songs that you can enjoy. A loaded album that could potentially be more impactful if 3-4 of the tracks were trimmed. Still, that's why God made CDs in the Year of Our Lord 1994 when this album was released. So many bands have tried to ape this sound and Chris Cornell's voice. Only the original can do though, no matter how many times The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go" is played on the radio.
Chris Cornell power vocals-need I say more!
rym 3.0
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.
Clearly deserves to be on this list due to historical and cultural impact, but a quote from the Wikipedia article really stuck with me and summarizes my criticism "we didn't really want to argue over what should be cut" - it really shows. Too much of the album sounds the same, and paring it down would have helped. By song 12 I thought I was almost done, but the last 3 songs drag on for another 15 minutes. And its a shame, because "Half" is actually an interesting detour, bringing to mind some of Zeppelin's more adventurous explorations.
Barely noticed it.
Just ok. Not my jam. I’m old I guess.
Love this entire album
Obvious five stars for this one. That said, Badmotorfinger will have to get a 5+ if if comes up on this list. Potentially the best album of 1994 with strong nods to AIC and Nirvana. This album is dark and brooding, and sometimes heavy (almost Melvins level on 4th of July) as one would expect from Soundgarden. It is also experimental, poppy, and polished in a new way, that shows the signs of growth from band with time and space to execute their vision. The layered vocals are superb and I am not sure anyone in the era did it as well as Cornell. I feel this album picks up steam as it goes on dropping the gloss and pop for dig into some darker weirder content ala BMF, which I love.
*I love 90s alt/grunge, but I just find Soundgarden meh. *This was fine. RATING - 6.5/10
It had black hole sun
Not enjoyable for me, other than the songs I already knew
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.
This was an album I listened to religiously in the 90's. In 1995 this would have been a 5 star album for me. I also would have rated it higher than Dirt by Alice In Chains at the time. I guess time changes things as listening to AIC's album really impressed me and I gave it 5 stars and listening to this I could remember really enjoying it as a teenager but found myself wanting to skip a lot of the tracks.
En af dem, jeg burde have hørt i 90'erne. Velkendt lyd, mange gode numre. Men det ændrer nok ikke på, at jeg ikke kommer til at sætte den på igen foreløbig.
I don’t know man, am I off base to say that Cornell has a great voice but musically Soundgarden is sluggish and kinda boring? Maybe if this was tightened up and it was 40 mins, it would have been better, maybe if the production of it was better (it sounds shallow) This album lacks the punch it should have and I’m not even joking when I say that if this and Silverchair’s Frogstomp were to be pitted head to head, Frogstomp would get my vote for better 90’s grunge album. Fuck, this is so overrated that I want a I give it a 2 but it’s better than that but it’s still pretty fucking dry. Ah fuck, I’m gonna list to Israel’s Son as a pallet cleanser… 3 stars
Some songs can get repetitive
A great grunge album, a really enjoying listening 3/5
This album was pretty fantastic. I consider this album to be like, the crown jewel of dad rock albums. They are easily the most powerful and tasteful of all the dad rock bands. Cornell is an absolute vocal powerhouse. There's a lot of Buckley influence too, and it makes sense after learning they were incredibly close. Like listening to this album at times I was just like, "oh hey, Jeff". Blues-rock actually describes this album pretty good when the instrumentation is more nuanced. When it explodes, as it often does, I find that there's a shoegaze element to the bass and distortion on the guitars that adds to the heaviness of the riffs. It certainly gets pretty damn sludgy at times, particularly the longer it goes on towards it seems, like near the end of the album. 4th of July is fuckin SLUDGY. I do think this is the gold standard for many, many dad rock bands, and Chris's vocals are just mind blowing. And come on man Black Hole Sun is peak 90s alt.
Not bad, it’s rock. It’s got Black Hole Sun, so that’s fun.
This was a banger. Chris Cornell had such a fantastic voice and the songs let his voice and the music mesh wonderfully. Not sure why I haven't listened to this in it's entirety before, but I'll definitely revisit this one. 5/5
Sometimes, an album just fuckin' rips, you know?
Good but not great. Sounds plastic to me. Not a fan, and most of my friends (with similar music taste) are, so I guess something's wrong with me. I don't care anyway.
The 90's sucked and so do you.
Overall not the strongest album, but still a great listen. Great instrumentals and vocal work. 'Black Hole Sun' takes the cake for my fave, but 'Spoonman' is a very close 2nd.
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
Grunge is such a bullshit title for any band. This one especially. This rocks. It's different and fucking awesome. It's a little long, but I'm not sure what they could have cut.
Some great highs, albeit a bit stuck in the 90's.
I thought this was pretty good but nothing great. A few hits on here, it's somewhere between a 3 and 4 for me.
RIP CHRIS CORNELL
Listening to this a couple of times, I found it a mediocre experience. This is asidefrom Black Hole Sun, a song that is leagues above the rest of the album. I do not exaggerate when I say this is one of the best rock songs of the 90s, and perhaps even ever. But alas, I judge based on albums not individual songs. Many of the songs sort of blend into one for me. I find it difficult to 'get into' them. But even during my listening, particularly the second listening, I could detect the subtle guitar touches. Small pieces of eloquence dotted around the album. What I am trying to say is that this is a detailed bit of guitar work. Having read a little about the album on wiki, I can respect and appreciate it. Definitely can hear the metal (iron maiden perhaps?) inspiration from this. I also discovered the song "The Day I tried to live", easily my favourite discovery from the album and made it worth listening to. Ultimately though, this type of music (as an album whole) isn't for me. Still glad I listened though.
The kind of music you'd use for a Jeep Wrangler commercial. Not totally terrible. The singing and musicianship is pretty good. But to me it's just standard rock.
Anything with Chris Cornell's voice in it is 5 stars.
klasik
Love love love - in my regular rotation
Noen bangers, men mye vas. Sjuk stemme, og mange fete riff trekker kraftig opp.
Nice old school rock album. 7/10
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
Pretty generic rock music
Riffs in some of the songs I liked (My wave, head down and fresh tendrils) but overall was alright
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
Some bangers but not a huge pop rock fan
Thin White Duke but more louder and fuzzier. 8/10
Amazing, timeless, classic, brilliant and every other adjective that means great belongs to this album. Every song is just beautifully made and the album contains not a single miss. One of if not the greatest vocalist of the grunge era. "Heaven send Hell away No one sings like you anymore" Rest easy Chris Cornell.
spoooooonman
I knew a few songs off of this one. Always love Chris Cornell's singing. I enjoyed this album but not sure I'll listen to it again.
Very samey aside from Black Hole Sun. Black Hole Sun is still a banger but compared to the rest of the album is an opus. Crazyyyy
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
amazing
Soundgarden je bend koji ne mogu shvatiti baš ozbiljno jer zvuči kao glazba za 12-godišnjake koji misle da su metalci. Black Hole sun je legendarna stvar dada ok, ali meni ovo nije za više od 2/5, 3/10
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.
Het begin van het album zet al direct de toon. Als die je bevalt ben je in voor een feestje met de verdere verloop van dit album. Lekker even net wat ruiger dan andere rockbands. Goed gitaarwerk en bijvoorbeeld bij my wave klinkt het heel erg alsof de foo fighters in de achtergrond aan het zingen zijn. Fav nummer: fell on black days
Goede stem, maar verder vind ik het niet zo mega interessant.
Ik houd wel van geschreeuw, en dit is tastevol geschreeuw.
M'n review is na het submitten in de void verdwenen, dus dan maar opnieuw. Chris Cornell's vocals zijn een genot om naar te luisteren, maar de instrumentatie van een goed aantal nummers pakt me niet genoeg om een album als deze vaak in zn geheel te luisteren.
Perfect album. De vocals die door merg en been gaan, de drumpartijen die tientallen vellen en stokken moeten hebben gekost, gruizige gitaren die klinken alsof het signaal door een cementmixer is geleid en toffe maatsoorten. Kan hier oneindig naar blijven luisteren. Enige negatieve gevoel dat ik hierbij heb is dat ik van mezelf baal dat ik ze te laat heb leren waarderen om live te kunnen zien :'(
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
I skipped forward on several tracks, but others were fine in the background.
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.
There are a few melodic songs on it...they're OK. "Black Hole Sun" is still the best song for me. Otherwise, I hear a lot of "screeching" and no inspiration. It doesn't touch me at all.
Already love this one 8/10
I had never listened to the album all the way through. It's alright but a bit repetitive.
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
BLACK HOLE SUN, WON'T YOU COME
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.
My God, Chris Cornell couldn't half belt out a vocal could he!? What a voice! One of the greats of rock music, for sure. He's absolutely the MVP of the record. Another great thing about this album is that it has the hooks, melodies and catchiness of a pop album without having to sacrifice any of the heaviness. That guitar sound is really fantastic and pretty heavy which I obviously love. Honestly, pick any track and you'll be able to pick out a riff or vocal line that'll get stuck in your head for ages. It's honestly Black Sabbath-esque at times. It can get so heavy and sludgy (see '4th Of July) and it can also get psychedelic and dreamy ('Black Hole Sun' is still fantastic). It's like this really cool mixture as if Soundgarden are their own genre. A really solid and surprisingly consistent album with plenty to love and not a lot to dislike. I preferred this over 'Dirt' and 'In Utero' by Alice In Chains and Nirvana respectively. Over to you, Pearl Jam.
My cat - when she hasn't been fed for five minutes!
Nice example of grunge but nothing special. Black Hole Sun is pretty self indulgent which makes it a stand out track.
Helt kurant. Grunge er ikke min greie. Kanskje dumt at jeg hadde klart å sette på random rekkefølge av låtene, men vet ikke helt jeg. Blir litt same same gjennom alle låtene. Et par bangers da.
Not my style, but a good album.
Pretty good but it is a very long album and I got a bit fatigued toward the end
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
Hell yeah, still one of my favourites.
3.5
Haha, I forgot how silly this album is.
I don't mind grunge but I haven't listened to much Soundgarden. What I have heard, I haven't minded. I really like Black Hole Sun. But these songs are tedious back to back and the album goes on too long.
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
3 stars
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
I’ve loved this album since it came out in 1994. It is very heavy and full of energy. The production is great and the lyrics touch on multiple subjects. I like all the songs and wish I still had my original 1994 clear vinyl LP that I sold off at some point around 2009.
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.
Jälleen kerran ne tunnetuimmat kappaleet loistaa ja muut tuntuu vaan täyte kappaleilta, ainakin omaan korvaan. Muissa kappaleissa ei oo mitään kunnollista hookkia. Parhaat: Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Fresh Tendrils
Great grunge album, a bit too long tho
I really enjoyed this, maybe could cut a couple songs
Grungy, really strong record with great songs and amazing vocal delivery. I am impressed
Tuff
How the hell do you "wash away the rain"? Isn't it the rain that washes away things? Why does a black hole sun wash the rain away? I bet this song Neil Degrasse Tyson crazy.
Phenomenal vocals and guitar tones on this one. Very sludgy vibe that fits alt rock really nicely. A bit bloated but really fantastic
I think a 70 minute album is absolutely fucking egregious
Niet helemaal mijn stijl. Maar zeker een goed album
Very dad rocky, and nothing a good way
omg this was 100000000 hours long. what’s with the voice that comes with this type of music??? it’s horrible to listen to on top of already shitty instrumentals. gym music for boring people
Only made it a couple of songs in. We weren’t fans back in the day but decided to give it a go. Just didn’t really land with us.
Great riffs, songs, vocals. Somehow an underrated album. One of my favorites
Great songs. Can’t explain it but somehow it never quite comes together. Still damn good.
Chris Cornell was a god-level vocalist, but if I never hear "Black Hole Sun" or "Spoonman" again, it'll be too soon. This album is okay, but Badmotorfinger is better. 3 stars.
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.
3/5; Couldn't get super into it. Liked black hole sun, mailman, fell on black days, my wave.
They never appealed to me. There are some interesting things in Chris Cornell's voice and in the musicianship of the band, but I just was never that into it. At the time Nirvana and Pearl Jam were doing this better. Not terrible, but not required to me.
It has a sound and a feel, I don't hate it at all. Not one I'd return too.
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
RIP Chris Cornell, this album is a masterpiece.
Wow I really did not like this. Spoonman and obviously Black Hole Sun are decent. The slow emo songs I just can't handle. Not really sure why this late 90s, early 2000s rock sound makes me cringe.
Definitely deserving of the list. Soundgarden is full of talented musicians, but Chris Cornell was a generational talent. Unmistakable greatness.
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.
love this album and always have. the biggest hits are not the songs that move me though
Really good groovy songs near the end of the album
I like Chris Cornell but soundgarden is probably my least favorite of his bands, but I do like soundgarden. This album was better than I expected, I’m not a grunge person so I’m kinda picky about the grunge I do like and this was one of them. I like Black Hole Sun but find it a little overrated and my favorite was “My Wave”. I think though that it goes on a little longer than it should have but this is good.
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.
Accessible grunge. Spoonman great. High 3.
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.
liked mostly the middle third of this album, rest was too much distortion for me
This shit blows chunks. Need to calm down. Didn't finish tbqhwy
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
One of my favourite albums of all time! Fav: Fell on black days
Duh
A nice sound but I wasn’t interested until Black Hole Sun, which sort of embarrasses the rest of the album with how standout it is. I’ve got time for Chris Cornell though so might give it another go.
Great album, not my favorite Soundgarden album, so I'm saving that full score for badmotorfinger
Mid rock. 3/5
Shows up the weaknesses in everything but the best of audio setups.
One of my favorite albums of all time but I’ve come to realize over the years that “Black Hole Sun” isn’t actually a good song.
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.
What a voice. It hurts. 5/5
Some solid stuff, overly long and not so consistent for me
Pretty cool grunge
Me duele la cabeza
Again, no notes. Just solid stuff from Chris and crew.
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson For my money Soundgarden had recorded all of their best work by the fall of 1991 that said they never released a bad album(even their tepid reunion album from 2012 had its moments) & Superunknown (1994) is a good album even a very good one but it's not a great one like the first two albums are and it could have been better, it should have been better. What happened? I think most everything from 1992 on was too polished, sometimes overproduced and the pressure for radio play from their label really neutered that glorious Stooges meets Led Zeppelin sound they had on the first two albums but hey they still rocked with some degree of greatness until the bitter end. It's hard to see a band that sold millions of albums as a kind of cautionary tale and I don't, but Soundgarden never lived up to the enormous promise they showed in the late 1980s until about the fall of 1991 and that sucks.
Grunge just isn't my thing so even one of the best representations of the genre doesn't really do anything for me. For me this was something to be endured and was not enjoyable.
3/5 Just not my thing. I suspect I just don’t vibe with grunge- unrelentingly dark, depressing, droning- but I will listen to a few more albums before saying that for sure. I did recognize and like “Black Hole Sun”.
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)
People rave over Chris Cornal and yes some good riffs here but not ground breaking Black hole sun is a masterpiece but the rest blends into one
Is it bad that my first thought as this album went on was "it just sounds like worse Audioslave?" So anyways, I want to listen to some Audioslave. It's not that it was bad, but the three hits I've heard a zillion times, and I'm not sure there's anything else that stood out that much. Good album, good vibes, but nothing crazy. Another 3.5 probably, just can't give it a 4 even though there are at least 3 bangers, because I'd just put on Out of Exile and be happier =D
There is a good song on this album, the rest are not as good as the one that is good.
Solid grunge. Some great tracks. I feel that as a Seattlite I can't give it less than a 4.
Back in 1994 my friends played this a lot and I remember liking it, though I never bought the album. Fast-forward 30 years and wow time has changed either me or the album. There's a lot of filler. There's a lot of unbearable grunge grind which has not aged well. And yes, there are some real killer tracks as well and Cornell's voice is incredible. But this is not nearly as good as I remembered.
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 (?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!)
Just such a clean-sounding grunge album, so well polished. Black Hole Sun is so legendary, and I love that. High three, as the rest of it wasn't to my liking.
let me drown- 5 my wave- 5 fell on black days- 5 mailman- 6 superunknown- 5 head down- 5 black hole sun- 8. no one sings like you do anymore spoonman- 5 limo wreck- 5 the day I tried to live-6 kickstand- 5 fresh tendrils- 5 4th of july- 9 half- 6 like suicide- uh oh. 5 lowkey had higher hopes. it wasn't bad though
Нормальный альбом
Chris Cornell’s voice genuinely hurts my ears. That howly, strained style does nothing for me. The lyrics? Terrible. That kind of drum production—like it was recorded in a garbage can—is easily top 3 worst for me. Somehow, the singles are the weakest tracks on the album. Soundgarden’s never been my thing, and probably never will be. I can’t name a single song of theirs I actually tolerate.
divorced dad music
I’m currently listening and know my opinion won’t change as the album progresses. While I like some grunge, Soundgarden never interested me and apparently still doesn’t. Chris Cornell does have a great voice, but the music is all just the same IMO.
A staple of grunge
Gran disco
Amazing album. Not a perfect one (the album finishes on a lesser note), but still a great time listening to it.
I don’t ever need to hear spoon man again
First song that really caught me was the title track. That song was awesome and went hard. It had the high energy and crazy heavy psych guitar that I'm really into right now. I've been a fan of Black Hole Sun for a while and it's crazy to finally listen to the whole album that it's on. It's a different vibe than what I was expecting. It's a lot heavier.
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
This was a solid album some good to great songs. Perhaps a bit the same after a couple of listens.
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
Not for me
An amazing piece of 90s rock that transcends the grunge era. Even the overplayed stuff is good.
Soundgarden makes the apocalypse sound sexy.
Obviously one of the best albums of the 90s. Every song deserves a listen.
I think I’ve given out too many 5 stars in the past, but this one is definitely up deserving. Never listened to the whole thing through front to back, but it felt like a greatest hits album. The songs I didn’t know still hit hard, even at over an hour the journey didn’t feel like a slog. The only problem now is trying to find a copy on vinyl. Great riffs, Chris’s voice is amazing, the Robert plant of grunge for sure. Would recommend to anyone.
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
I like, knew Black Hole Sun, feel like they balance the heavy sluggishness of metal with the more brighter tones of rock really well
Fantastic time capsule of 90s and early 2000s rock. Loved it
Clearly a tight, quality band. They are a more mature voice in the grunge movement, and that is a good thing. They have traded a little angst with some more focused commentary, and it works for the most part. The singles stand out as good signature tracks, but the rest lacks the punch of its peers' grumpier tracks. They seem to have it to together in life to be so angry.
Underwhelming and bloated. It wasn't difficult or challenging or anything, and I didn't want to rate this too poorly, but 70 minutes is a long time for an album to do nothing for me.
Soundgarden, yeah!
Love soundgarden
Outstanding from start to finish