March 8, 1994 - Superunknown

About a month and a half after my last release and about two and a half years since "Badmotorfinger", Soundgarden released their fourth album "Superunknown" on March 8, 1994. It was Soundgarden's mainstream breakthrough, reaching #1 on the charts and spawning five singles. It's a bit more diverse, with more different styles than Soundgarden's usual sound and it's more accessible and commercial than their previous work. But it's still Soundgarden and their last album was excellent, so let's check out the latest from these grunge rockers!

The album begins with "Let Me Drown" and Kim Thayil kicks right into a nice lead guitar riff, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron form a solid rhythm section and Chris Cornell begins a verse in his one-of-a-kind voice as usual. It rolls right into a similar headbanging chorus with Thayil continuing to play some cool guitar. After another verse and chorus they slow things down in a new bridge riff that ends with a nice high yell by Cornell as Thayil moves into the solo. He plays a short but pretty cool guitar solo and then the guitar drops out for a final verse before returning to solo overtop of a final chorus. Aside from that slow bridge, a pretty cool opener. Up next is "My Wave", one of the many singles and it's driven by a pretty catchy main riff that is a a little offbeat but sounds pretty cool as Thayil and Shepherd sync up. Cornell begins a nice verse overtop and Thayil breaks away from the main riff for some little guitar bits and instead of a chorus they roll right onto another long verse. Then we finally reach the chorus and it's pretty catchy as well and Cornell yells the name of the song nicely. The chorus is played out by some cool guitar and pretty sweet bass as well and it connects perfectly back to the main riff. They play another verse and chorus and then Thayil's guitar seems like it's building towards a solo, but it never comes. Shepherd plays some more great bass in the background and Thayil plays some trippy guitar while Cornell repeats "keep it off my wave" as they psychedelically jam out the last minute plus of this pretty cool song. Track 3 is another of the singles titled "Fell On Black Days" and Thayil starts by himself with another pretty catchy guitar riff before the rest of the band joins in and Cornell sings a soft verse overtop the slow music. It rolls right into a very similar chorus and Cornell sings it softly this first time around. After another verse the chorus is longer this time and has Cornell sounding pretty good. Thayil plays some cool guitar that isn't quite a solo while Cornell "ooooo"s in the background and then they roll right into a final verse. Kim spices up the final chorus with some solo-level guitar in a nice finish to this slower but still solid song. The next song is "Mailman" and Shepherd leads the way with a slow but nice and heavy bass riff that keeps the pace and Cornell sounds great as he sings the verse overtop and hits some nice high notes. The chorus follows the same slow rhythm and Cornell continues to sound great in this one. Sheoherd continues to drive things as they chug through a couple long, slow verses and choruses. Thayil once again just solos overtop of the final chorus, which of course makes it even better, and then Cornell finishes off the song with several nice loud yells that sound pretty awesome. Track 5 is the title track "Superunknown" and Thayil leads the way with a nice fast guitar riff while Shepherd and Cameron play a nice heavy rhythm section and Cornell holds some nice long notes in the long verse. Eventually things reach the chorus and it's pretty catchy with Chris yelling "alive in the superunknown" and it breaks down nicely at the end and Thayil plays some cool guitar before they start up the next verse. After this verse and another chorus Cornell holds a nice long "soooooooul" and things quiet down briefly to set the stage for a loud Thayil guitar solo. Kim nails it and plays a pretty awesome solo that sounds great and it leads perfectly into a final chorus before Cornell holds another nice long "soooooul" to finish things off. Up next is "Head Down" and Thayil plays an interesting guitar riff to lead the way as Shepherd and Cameron form a nice rhythm section to back him in this slightly strange but interesting riff. Cornell sings a soft verse overtop and while this is not a typical Soundgarden song I like that it's different even though it's not the most exciting. Cameron plays some solid drums throughout and Thayil plays a light "solo" in the middle of the song that is decent but nothing amazing. They continue to jam out this main riff for most of the song and the song eventually devolves into just the rhythm sections Shepherd and Cameron both play some cool stuff as the song fades to an end. Track 7 is "Black Hole Sun" and it is arguably Soundgarden's most famous song. The most successful of all the singles, this would become a mainstay on rock radio and it's no surprise why. The opening sounds really epic and cool and Cameron nicely plays in the verse as Thayil plays some slow but sweet sounding guitar and Cornell beautifully sings overtop. Cameron does a nice fill to play in the chorus and Cornell nicely sings overtop a cool slow chorus riff. It's a short first chorus but after another cool verse we get a longer chorus with Cornell singing lots of "black hole sun, black hole sun, won't you cooooome"s. Then it's solo time and Thayil delivers an absolutely amazing solo! It's a little quiet, but he is just shredding that guitar and he has time to play a pretty fantastic solo. Cornell sings a couple nice lyrics, then Cameron plays an epic drum fill that brings us to the chorus once more. They jam out the chorus for a little bit with Thayil playing some more sweet guitar overtop and then they nicely bring this epic to a close. Especially for a single, this was a terrific song! 

The next song was another very succesful single called "Spoonman" and Thayil plays a pretty cool and catchy guitar riff to lead the way but the rhythm section is pretty solid as well, especially Cameron playing some nice drums. Cornell sings a cool verse to match and it rolls right into a similarly catchy chorus with some more cool guitar and some nice long-held vocals. It rolls seamlessly into the next verse and after another chorus Shepherd leads the way briefly with a cool bass riff as Cornell sings a few "come on"s and this sets the stage for the guitar solo as Thayil explodes very nicely into a fast-paced and pretty epic and sweet solo. The solo nicely leads right into a new part where Shepherd keeps the pace with some more cool bass and Cameron really shows off his chops with some excellent drumming in this part. Cornell returns towards the end of this part and with him back things move nicely into a final chorus before they finish the song off with one final short verse that ends on a nice epic note. Once again especially for a single, this was an amazing song! Track 9 is "Limo Wreck" and it's driven by a slow but interesting main riff with Shepherd playing some cool bass while Thayil plays some offbeat light guitar. Cornell starts to sing a pretty solid verse overtop the slow droning guitar and Chris just sounds so great just being himself. He switches to a wonderful high voice for the chorus as he songs overtop a nice heavy backing riff. They segue nicely back to the main riff and after another verse and chorus they continue to heavily and slowly jam things out and set the stage for the guitar solo. Thayil goes slow to match the mood but it still sounds nice and epic and it moves nicely from there to the chorus again. Thayil spices up this final chorus and then he and Chris nicely combine for an epic ending to this slow but solid song. Up next is the final single "The Day I Tried To Live" and Shepherd and Thayil both play the same riff, Ben with a light bass that almost sounds like a guitar and Kim with a really high but light guitar. This quiet opening shifts as Shepherd and Thayil still play the same riff, but now it's louder and it sounds pretty epic. Cornell sings a nice verse overtop and the music eventually turns up to a full-blown riff that sounds pretty cool and then it rolls right into a catchy chorus with Chris singing "one more time around" a few times before nicely ending it by singing the name of the song. They slow it down to start the next verse and nicely build their way back up to another chorus. The song hangs in the air for a few bars while Thayil plays some light guitar, and 'm waiting for the solo, but they just decide ro go back into the main riff, which isn't bad it's just a little oddly disappointing. They play a final verse and final chorus before things hang in the air again to end it as Shepherd plays some final cool bass and Cornell lightly sings a final bit. Track 11 is "Kickstand" and it's only a minute and a half long. They kick right into the first verse and this reminds me of their older stuff with a nice fast grunge-y beat and Cornell singing some solid vocals as usual. Thayil eventually spices things up a bit with some cool guitar and then the song is just over, a cool little interlude! The next song is "Fresh Tendrils" and Thayil and Shepherd both play some cool and catchy stuff in this main riff as Cornell sings softly overtop for the first verse. The next verse he sings louder, though both sound good, and after the second verse they finally reach the chorus with Shepherd playing some cool bass and Thayil playing some cool lead guitar. They play another long verse and after another chorus Thayil plays a very brief guitar solo before they finish off the song with a bit of a final verse. Track 13 is "4th Of July" and it's driven by a dark and low riff that sounds pretty dirty and cool and Cornell sings a nice soft verse overtop. It rolls right into a similar chorus and then Cameron finally joins the mix with a nice drum beat. From here on out we hear two Cornell's: one singing low and one singing high and together it sounds pretty good. This verse and chorus is louder and better and then it's solo time, but Thayil plays a pretty tame, slow solo that matches the mood nicely but isn't all that exciting. The solo nicely collapses into the slow main riff once again and they play a final verse and chorus to finish things off. Up next is another short song called "Half" and it actually has some cello and viola that are used in a very interesting way to make an almost eastern-sounding riff that sounds pretty cool. Along with some weird distorted vocals this is unlike any other song on the album, but I like it's oddness and Thayil echoes this vibe on guitar as best he can. Things are nice and fast for most of this short song, but they slow things down at the end and I think it takes away from an otherwise cool little tune. The final song on the album is the seven minute "Like Suicide" and Cameron starts it off with a pretty cool drum beat, Shepherd then joins in on bass, and then Thayil comes in with some slow but cool lead guitar to complete this driving riff. Cornell eventually starts to sing the verse and he sounds pretty good matching the mood perfectly. Thayil plays a nice light guitar riff in the chorus as Cornell sings in a nice low voice. The second verse has Cornell singing in a higher voice and he sounds fantastic leading the way here and in the next chorus. They shift to a nice new heavier riff with Cameron playing some cool drums and Cornell sings a nice new verse that sets the stage perfectly for a nice long solo. Thayil gets lots of time on this one and he uses it all very nicely with some pretty awesome guitar that sounds very cool indeed. Cameron does some more great drum fills as the solo comes to a close and then Cornell belts out one final chorus to nicely end this song and this album.

That is the end of "Superunknown" and I thought it was another phenomenal album by Soundgarden! It's no surprise at all this album launched them into superstardom because it was a slightly more commercial, accessible version of their awesome grunge/rock/metal style. Amazingly though, the big hit singles were some of the best songs with "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" being my two favourites. I think this album is easily better than their first two albums, but "Badmotorfinger" was also a great album top to bottom and I like it just a little bit more. Take nothing away from "Superunknown" though, it was another wonderful album. Where will Soundgarden go from here?