Halibut reviews "Superunknown" by Soundgarden [thanks Fa]

[Sweat]

@Wendy made me review the 1994 grunge album Superunknown for him because of his overlord reign. He requested the same thing with his last reign, but I didn't do it, so I guess I should start off with an apology.

Anyways, here we go!

Soundgarden - "Superunknown" [1994]
Grunge, Alternative Rock
This album is living proof that we need to spend our lives thankful that Nirvana existed. In the mid-to-late 80s, music like this was always there in America, but never did it hit the mainstream audience. The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Big Black, Butthole Surfers, they were all helping to create the brew that was bubbling under America's nose. Then, in 1991, Nirvana helped all of that great alternative rock burst out of the underground and had the whole country explode in energy. All of these bands that usually would never had a chance at mainstream success were now in everyone's ears, and as everyone knows, the one group that loved this the most was the Seattle grunge scene. Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and the one that I have to review right now: Soundgarden.

The thing that captivated me right away with this album is the fact that it is definitely one of the more gritty and metal-ish sides of grunge I have listened to. I mean, yeah, just about every single grunge band was dark, but you could probably consider any average Pearl Jam song standard hard rock if you removed the context of where it came out of. Superunknown, though, is a very dark, twisted and distorted album. It has a take on rock music that you would normally hear in old-school heavy metal bands, and that's basically why I love it so much. Does its darkness and heaviness make it hard to listen to, though? No, not at all. This is a very accessible album, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a major must-listen to anyone who is interested in hard rock, metal, alternative rock, or all of the above.

That being said, I am not going to lie that there are some songs that I feel keep it from being straight-up 10/10 amazing. That main culprit is the more soft songs, mainly stuff like Head Down. I mean, they're okay, but why can't I just get an entire album of headbangers... well, except for Black Hole Sun. That's the kind of song that sorta HAS to exist, and it kinda makes me feel like that guy on the album cover. But yeah, more than one hour for a grunge album? Nah. Shorten it a little bit and keep it hard, and this is an insanely great album in my book.

Grade: A

[Minty Car]

Perfect review (and apology accepted)