Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially by Scott Sundquist, and later by Matt Cameron in 1986. Yamamoto left in 1989 and was replaced initially by Jason Everman and shortly thereafter by Ben Shepherd. The band dissolved in 1997 and reformed in 2010. Following Cornell's death in 2017 and a year of uncertainty regarding the band's future, Thayil declared in October 2018 that Soundgarden had disbanded once again, though they did reunite in January 2019 for a one-off concert in tribute to Cornell.[1] Both Cornell and Thayil were the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band.
"Sound Garden" redirects here. For the art installation, see A Sound Garden.
Soundgarden
Nudedragons (2010)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- 1984–1997
- 2010–2018
- 2019
- Chris Cornell
- Kim Thayil
- Hiro Yamamoto
- Scott Sundquist
- Matt Cameron
- Jason Everman
- Ben Shepherd
The band helped to popularize grunge music, a style of alternative rock that developed in the American Pacific Northwest in the mid-1980s, alongside such Seattle contemporaries as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. They were the first of a number of grunge bands to sign to the Seattle-based record label Sub Pop, through which they released two EPs: Screaming Life (1987) and Fopp (1988). Soundgarden's debut album, Ultramega OK, was also released in 1988 by the California-based independent label SST Records; although the album did not sell well nationally, it garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990. Their second album, Louder Than Love, was recorded independently, but, after they signed with A&M Records in 1989 (making them one of the first grunge bands to sign to a major label), the album became their major-label debut. While Ultramega OK had failed to chart and Louder Than Love peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200 album chart, the band's third album Badmotorfinger (1991) was buoyed by the success of the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", and "Rusty Cage", reached number 39 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA.
Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun". The band experimented with new sonic textures on their follow-up album Down on the Upside (1996), which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned several hit singles of its own, including "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction and exhaustion from touring. After more than a decade of working on projects and other bands, they reunited in 2010, and Republic Records released their sixth and final studio album, King Animal, in 2012.
As of 2019, Soundgarden had sold more than 14 million records in the United States,[2] and an estimated 30 million worldwide.[3] VH1 ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.[4]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Soundgarden were pioneers of the grunge music genre,[158][159] which mixed elements of punk rock and metal to make a sludgy, murky sound through the use of fuzzy-sounding distortion in the guitars.[160] "Soundgarden are quite good..." remarked Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, "It's very much like the same sort of stuff that we would have done."[161] Soundgarden's sound during the early years of the Seattle grunge scene has been described as consisting of "gnarled neo-Zeppelinisms".[162] The influence of Led Zeppelin was evident, with Q magazine noting that Soundgarden were "in thrall to '70s rock, but contemptuous of the genre's overt sexism and machismo."[163] According to Sub Pop, the band had "a hunky lead singer and fused Led Zeppelin and the Butthole Surfers".[164] The Butthole Surfers' mix of punk, heavy metal and noise rock was a major influence on the early work of Soundgarden.[164] The band was also influenced by the likes of the Ramones,[165] Kiss,[166] Accept,[167] the Melvins[168] and Saint Vitus.[168]
The name of the band, according to Thayil, was supposed to include the many roots of their style: that included "a virtual plethora of cutting edge rock that spans Velvet Underground, Meat Puppets, and Killing Joke". The band also mentioned "Metallica Gothicism and sublime poetry. The almost ethereal flavour of the name betrays the brutality of the music but never pins Soundgarden in one corner".[169]
Black Sabbath also had a huge impact on the band's sound, especially on the guitar riffs[170] and tunings.[171] Joel McIver stated: "Soundgarden are one of the bands I've heard closest to the original Sabbath sound."[172] Soundgarden, like other early grunge bands, were also influenced by British post-punk bands such as Gang of Four and Bauhaus which were popular in the early 1980s Seattle scene.[173] Cornell himself said: "When Soundgarden formed we were post-punk – pretty quirky. Then somehow we found this neo-Sabbath psychedelic rock that fitted well with who we were."[174] Thayil described the band's sound as a "Sabbath-influenced punk".[28]
Soundgarden broadened its musical range with its later releases. By 1994's Superunknown, the band began to incorporate more psychedelic influences into its music.[175][176] As a member of Soundgarden, Cornell became known for his wide vocal range and his dark, existentialist lyrics.[177][178][179]
Soundgarden often used alternative tunings in its songs. Many Soundgarden songs were performed in drop D tuning, including "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", "Spoonman", "Black Hole Sun", and "Black Rain". The E strings of the instruments were at times tuned even lower, such as on "Rusty Cage", where the lower E is tuned down to B.[180] Some songs use more unorthodox tunings: "Been Away Too Long", "My Wave", and "The Day I Tried to Live" are all in a E–E–B–B–B–B tuning and "Burden in My Hand", "Head Down", and "Pretty Noose" in a tuning of C-G-C-G-G-E".[181]
Soundgarden also used unorthodox time signatures; "Fell on Black Days" is in 6/4, "Limo Wreck" is played in 15/8, and "The Day I Tried to Live" alternates between 7/8 and 4/4 sections.[181] The main guitar riff of "Circle of Power" is in 5/4.[182] Thayil has said Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band wrote it, and said the use of odd meters was "a total accident".[181] He also used the meters as an example of the band's anti-commercial stance, saying that if Soundgarden "were in the business of hit singles, we'd at least write songs in 4/4 so you could dance to them".[183]
Official website
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