Soundgarden
The most unsettling aspect of Grunge was the death toll – either by drug overdose or suicide. The list includes Kurt Cobian (Nirvana), Layne Staley (Alice In Chains), Mike Starr (Alice In Chains) and the one that seemed most unlikely of all, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.
Soundgarden’s initial line-up had lead singer Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron,
They recorded for Seattle’s Sub-Pop and SST imprints before signing with a major label. They moved to the forefront with the double platinum albums “Louder Than Love” (“Ugly Truth,” “Loud Love”) and “Badmotorfinger” (“Rusty Cage,” “Outshined”).
But it was “Superunknown,” released in ’94, that really broke through.
The six times platinum effort held the majestic “Black Hole Sun,” which starts slow and dreamy but transforms into a Grunge explosion.
There was also the ominous “Fell On Black Days” and “Spoonman” with a Grunge wall-of-sound production and an irresistible hook.
The latter song’s inspiration came from a Seattle street musician.
Superunknown
Black Hole Sun
Spoonman
The band benefited from having three extraordinary songwriters in Cornell, Thayil and Shepherd. Cornell wrote all the lyrics.
Blow Up The Outside World
“Down On The Upside” (which included “Blow Up The Outside World”) sold a lesser but still impressive 1.6 million units. It was at that point the band decided to go their separate ways, no doubt, succumbing to the pressures of success.
After a false start, Cornell hooked up with Rage Against The Machine vets for Audioslave. The band had a successful, if brief, run.
In mid-2009, Cornell stated that a Soundgarden reunion was “not impossible.”
Not impossible at all. ’10 started on a promising note when, on New Year’s Day, Connell tweeted “The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!”
Soundgarden released “Telephantasm: A Retrospective,” with a previously unreleased song “Black Rain.” It was Soundgarden’s first new song since ‘97’s “Bleed Together.” Not surprisingly, “Telephantasm” went platinum.
Next, Soundgarden’s first live album, “Live on I-5” arrived in ’11.
Having leveraged their past, Soundgarden returned to the studio with producer Adam Kasper. “King Animal” took longer to finish than anticipated. “We didn’t have predetermined deadlines set by the record company – that was great,” said Thayil.
“King Animal” was eventually completed and released in November, ‘12. The set reached #5 on the Billboard 200 but topped Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums survey.
Kurt Cobain famously said Nirvana sounded “like Boston being molested by Black Flag.” If that’s true, then Pearl Jam veered toward The Who and Neil Young while Soundgarden had an affinity for Black Sabbath and AC/DC. “King Animal” kept the latter’s touchstones intact.
On May 18th, 2017, while on tour with Soundgarden, Cornell was found dead in his room at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Detroit. The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death as “suicide by hanging.”
Cornell’s widow, Vicky, said that the drug Ativan which her husband was taking, might have led him to commit suicide.
On a happier note, Soundgarden was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ’25.
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