Superunknown was released in 1994. It was the fifth album by the band Soundgarden, their third through A&M Records. The album shows a Beatles influence, particularly on
"Black Hole Sun" and
"Head Down". This album became No.1 in the "Billboard Top 200" in 1994 and their release "Black Hole Sun" became No.1 straight away when released. This album totals in 15 tracks and the album clocks in at a long time of 70:24.
This album has many different atmospheric feelings to it like uncomfortable (4th Of July) to a more uplifting feel like "Kickstand". This album is one journey to go through and I will show you in detail how it the journey is like.
Firstly, the band:
Chris Cornell : Vocal, Guitar
Kim Thayil : Lead Guitar
Ben Shephard : Bass, Vocals
Matt Cameron : Drums, Percussion
--- The Review ---
First in line to start off the album is
"Let Me Drown". This kicks off with driven drums and low bending guitaring. It is very grungy to start off, the vocals are at perfection here with excellent vocals by Chris. The chorus breaks the grunge scene quite a bit with a more rockier side to it. After the chorus, you will hear Chris shouting "Drown Me In You" which gives that urge of power in the song. The bridge is more of a smooth approach but then breaks to a frantic solo which is superb construction. This song really kicks off the album well with its moderately fast tempo and powerful music.
Magnificent start to the album. The sudden stop to the song brings us to the next.
My Wave is more of a punk then grunge style approach hence the catchiness of the riff that the guitar creates during the song, this is the mainstream rhythm that keeps the beat flowing. The beat of the song is really a head-banger with the driving drums banging the power of the beat to your ears. The vocals are more mellow compared to
"Let Me Drown". The atmosphere created here on this track is a more uplifter to the recent track. The drums on this track is extrodinary and really brings out the power of this song. The guitar riffs are used mainly for rhythm and has a repetitive construction to it as the drums is the one that brings the melody of the song out. The lyrics on this song is quite surreal at times with phrases like this:
"Don't come over here,
Piss on My Gate,
Save It Just Keep It,
Off My Wave."
This paints a more homourous side to the song and shows how random the song can actually be. The ending of this song is rather retitive due to the same kind of sound repeating over and over again for 1:30 which makes me skip track. Even so, the song is excellent and should be listened when encountered.
The next song is
"Fell On Black Days". This song is more mellow to the last 2 creating a less frantic feeling. The guitaring here is more of a melody here with more variety of bending and chords. The song flows slowly and mellow, Chris' voice is more mellow as well creating a soft atmosphere. The drums still give out power though. At pre-choruses, the guitar is somewhat put onto a wierd effect and played at a high end. The whole song is mostly mellow with its low soundind music. The vocals can be very unique at times, also the guitaring can be put into a brief frantic solo at the pre-chorus. This whole song repeats itself again at one point which is a Coda. This song is very mellow and it gives a kind of break towards the last 2 fast songs. We now enter an unpleasent song
"Mailman".
"Mailman" is about a mailman having a mixed relationship towards a girl that he delivers mail to. When I talk about mixed relationship, I mean that at one point that he is crazy about her then he thinks that she is not crazy about him which puts him in a desperate situation. Its along the lines of that. The music in this song is very grungy and slow. It has decendind power chords in a sliding effect which gives a spooky feeling. The vocals can give a spooky feeling as well when Chris changes his tone of voice to fluctuate. The lyrics show this mixed relationship like:
"For all the kisses turned to spit in my face"
Vocals at the chorus is mellow and sings it beautifully, shows that there is emotion in this song. The mellotron used in this song gives the unpleasent atmosphere and the very brief ending solo gives the outbreak. This is a very thought through song and the outcome of it is extrodinary. An excellent song, but not as brilliant as the next.
"Superunknown" is a magnificent song on its own. It has one of the greatest riffs I have ever heard and this song is one hell of a head-banger!!! Chris' voic here is extremely good while he screams at his best and it blows you away with lyrics that are really good. The guitaring is superb and drums are really frantic.
This song is 5 minutes of total bliss and in my opinion the best on the album. The solo is absolutely crazy with aimless fretting that fits into the song perfectly. This is truely an amazing song that should be heard by any rock fan. This song finishes in a flash at the last power chord to go on to the next song.
"Head Down" is mostly an instrumental but with brief vocals from Ben Shephard who which has a wierd voice. The music here is very wierd with screeching guitaring and powerful percussion especailly at the end when the whole song collapses into a percussion war for at least 30 secs. This song is very repetitive but I must say that it is a great filler for between "Superunknown" and "Black Hole Sun" even though it exceeds 6:00. I would call this an average song really but it doesn't spoil the album's atmosphere.
After the "filler" we go on to the most famous on the album which is
"Black Hole Sun". This song is a legend in the grunge scene which deservedly is as it has fantastic music and vocals. I think everyone knows this song so I won't go into detail much but it has great music that gives the mixed happiness in the verse to the powering chorus. The solo is really frantic as always by Kim. This song is excellent and one of the highlights of the album.
"Spoonman" is well known as well with its great riff on the guitar which brings out the flow on this song. Vocals are superb as well with its catchy sound and catchy lyrics. The drums on this is spectacular at mid-point with its own percussion solo with a spoonman playing with it!! This is a very good song and is also a great listener for flowing music.
"Limo Wreck" is full of harmonics on the guitar on its rhythm which gives a positive effect on the song. The drums here is the flowing momentum giving the beat and the vocals is serious here and at the chorus, Chris' voice goes emotional as he belches out his voice at his highest peak. The lyrics are very distressing but not in a bad way, it involves slavery and basically destruction. The music here gives out a powerful motion in distortion and fits well with the vocals. This song is very good if you listen to it but it seems a bit too long for a song like this.
"The Day I Tried To Live" is another release from this album and it should have been as this another highlight of the album with eerie guitaring and tom banging fillers powering in. The vocals are Chris at his mighty best at the chorus which grips me into the song. The song is repetitive in rhythm but it doesn't spoil how excellent this song is. I think the lyrics are really cool like this chorus:
"The day I tried to live,
I stole a thousand beggar's change
And gave it to the rich."
This song is one of the best on the album and this song really gives the impression on how much wierd atmospheric feeling there is on this album. This is another truly amazing song and the next song breaks the atmosphere this has created.
"Kickstand" is tremendously short compared to the others but it has an effect of breaking the unpleasent atmosphere to a more uplift with this more punkish song that is very quick and easy. Nothing special but the music is very good.
"Fresh Tendrils" is a mellow song that has a sharp riff. The vocals seems a different approach at the verse but it shows mellowness in the song. The guitaring here isn't so special here with no amazing stuff and the music isn't so special as well but the vocals on the chorus blows you away. I don't know why but Chris' vocals on the chorus is amazing. Either way, this song is very good and is listenable.
"4th Of July" is very unpleasant with its very low tuning and very crunchy sounding guitar decending on its lowest frets. This song reeks with power everywhere with power drumming that is simple but so effective and effects used on this song really gives that 4th July feeling. Vocals are relaxed with no effort but again effective which gives that very mellow approach.
Simply amazing song and shouldn't be missed.
"Half is a filler with no meaning to it whatsoever. All it is is random music which sounds Indian and random lyrics and wierd vocals from Ben Shephard. Its only short but it has an interesting ending with a 1 minute solo with a bass. Not a bad filler after all.
Now we are finally on the last track,
"Like Suicide". This has a great start with a perfect vocals and uplifting guitaring in a slow tempo. The drums sound different but it is an effect that they quieten the drums until it explodes later. The song picks up a climax when Chris raises his loudness of his voice to a more extreme level and then at 3:30, the whole thing picks up suddenly with drums becoming louder and vocals becoming more and more extreme. The guitaring is more powerful until it outbreaks into a frantic solo that is so good it wonders me how Kim pulls it off. This song is a great finisher to the album.
--- Overview ---
The Ratings I would give the songs are as follows:
1. Let Me Drown - 5/5
2. My Wave - 4.5/5
3. Fell On Black Days - 4/5
4. Mailman - 4.5/5
5. Superunknown - 5/5
6. Head Down - 3/5
7. Black Hole Sun - 5/5
8. Spoonman - 5/5
9. Limo Wreck - 4/5
10. The Day I Tried To Live - 5/5
11. Kickstand - 4/5
12. Fresh Tendrils - 4.5/5
13. 4th of July - 5/5
14. Half - 3.5/5
15. Like Suicide - 4.5/5
This album is truly amazing with many moments in it and it seems to be that there is hardly any faults except for the minor repetition and others like that related. This album works wonders and in my opinion one of the 90's best albums and one of the best grunge albums out there, it even has the best album booklet ever with amazing pics inside.
This is a classic album and no wonder why it gets:
Overall: 5/5
Chris Cornell's voice was really at its peak around this album too.
