### Soundgarden: King animal

#### 24/05/14 || The Duff

Soundgarden are the second best Seattle grunge band, one of the big four (Pearl Jam are third, Nirvana fourth – simple mathematics). Their two major albums that are sweet jizz on a warm Sunday’s morning (ladies..) are “Bad Motorfinger” and the downbeat classic “Superunknown”, the latter my personal favorite for tracks like “Fourth of July”, heavier than some of the dirgiest doom metal.

The former is undeniably their classic record, so here we have some of the downcast of one and the upbeat, bordering-punk moods of the other. The band is certainly taking a more ethereal tone with this record though, an almost post-rock tinge of soaring soundscapes, a lot of layers and as ever Diego (of Disgorge fame but I kid, I kid) taste for the exotic as well as classic Jimmy Page rock n’ roll, mellow and soothe.

I suppose with a band’s heyday out of the question, fans will be looking for something that surpasses the maligned yet probably misunderstood “Down on the Upside”, which was half filler half killer. For me personally, and honestly from a perspective that isn’t heavily invested seeing as they aren’t Alice in Chains, they’ve released a real solid record, every track of some value, and possibly an album with the eclectic style that failed this album’s immediate predecessor.

The opener, for example, a straight-ahead rocker not unlike the most recent Pearl Jam offerings is mixed with the Kyuss-blues stylings of “Non-State Actor”, the slave-chants of “Rowing” (controversy lurks here), the beautifully melancholic tracks “Bones of Birds” and “Taree”, and then tracks like “Attrition” with its Queen of the Stoneage vibes, and then the feel-good chill of “A Thousand Days Before” and “Halfway There”, the plain ol’ fun of “Worse Dreams”, the drab-funk of “Black Saturday”, “Eyelids Mouth” – everything fits, despite what traditionally are thought of perhaps as incompatible styles, it is delivered that more confidently than “Down on the Upside”.

The album as a whole is quite tame, there are some risks taken on the Soundgarden front but less so than “Down on the Upside” – for the most part this is an acoustic album and an atmospheric, rock one. Chris Cornell occasionally stumbles lyrically, but overall he appears to have steadied himself once more as a vocalist since reports of the Audioslave days conflicting with his once majestic power, now he sounds settled yet never daunted when hitting once more the high notes even though these are now at a more comfortable register; musically we are left with an effort that cements the legendary status of these once pioneering rockers.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Seven Four Entertainment, Republic
- Website: www.soundgardenworld.com
- Band
- Kim Thayil: guitars, mandolin
- Chris Cornell: vocals, guitars, mandolin, piano
- Matt Cameron: drums, percussion, moog, vocals
- Ben Shepherd: bass, guitars, vocals

- Tracklist
- 01. Been Away Too Long
- 02. Non-State Actor
- 03. By Crooked Steps
- 04. A Thousand Days Before
- 05. Blood on the Valley Floor
- 06. Bones of Birds
- 07. Taree
- 08. Attrition
- 09. Black Saturday
- 10. Halfway There
- 11. Worse Dreams
- 12. Eyelid’s Mouth
- 13. Rowing