Soundgarden
The first grunge band signed to a major label, Soundgarden blended Black Sabbath heaviness with punk energy and psychedelic experimentation. They released their debut EP Screaming Life in 1987 on the newly formed Sub Pop Records, cementing the partnership between Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Superunknown gave them mainstream success without compromising their sound. Chris Cornell waded into the murky lily pads off Washington Park Arboretum for Charles Peterson's famous 1988 Rocket cover shoot, while Kim Thayil stood on shore saying 'I don't know what's in there' before finally giving up and stepping in thirty seconds before Peterson started shooting. Jonathan Poneman, who would co-found Sub Pop, first saw Soundgarden at the Fabulous Rainbow tavern where he booked Tuesday night shows. The first thing he remembered was recognizing Thayil from KCMU, where they were both DJs. Thayil hadn't yet transformed into a Metal Guru—he opted for an anonymously collegiate look, Prince Valiant haircut and all. 'To see somebody so normal-looking playing such decidedly berserk riffage was scary,' Poneman said. 'It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers—outwardly normal but with a secret agenda.' Soundgarden appeared on C/Z Records' Deep Six compilation in 1986, which sold miserably but made music history by documenting the raw fusion of heavy metal and punk rock.
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Discography
Badmotorfinger
Released the same month as Nevermind, this album showcased Soundgarden's metal-grunge fusion and featured breakthrough singles 'Outshined' and 'Rusty Cage.' It dropped in the year following Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood's death, part of the explosion of great records that made 1991 grunge's peak. Greg Prato chose Wood's death as the breaking point in Grunge Is Dead: 'Everything leading up to that moment was a slow build up of momentum. What followed was an explosion.' Badmotorfinger was part of that explosion, released alongside Ten and Nevermind. Soundgarden had been the first grunge band signed to a major label, and they'd appeared on C/Z Records' Deep Six compilation in 1986—which sold miserably but documented the raw fusion of heavy metal and punk rock that would become grunge. By 1991, they'd refined that fusion without losing its heaviness. Chris Cornell's vocals soared over Kim Thayil's sludgy riffs. The album proved Seattle bands could be heavy, experimental, and commercially successful without compromise.
Superunknown
Soundgarden's commercial peak, debuting at number one and spawning the massive hit 'Black Hole Sun,' while pushing grunge's sonic boundaries with experimental elements. Released in 1994, the same year Kurt Cobain died and Pearl Jam testified before Congress about Ticketmaster, it arrived as the scene was collapsing under its own weight. But Superunknown proved Soundgarden could achieve mainstream success without compromising their sound. The album blended Black Sabbath heaviness with psychedelic experimentation, odd time signatures, and Cornell's operatic vocals. It was grunge's most musically ambitious record, proof that the scene's raw fusion of punk and metal could evolve into something stranger and more complex. Jonathan Poneman, who co-founded Sub Pop and released Soundgarden's Screaming Life EP in 1987, had seen them at the Fabulous Rainbow tavern years earlier. 'To see somebody so normal-looking playing such decidedly berserk riffage was scary,' he'd said of Kim Thayil. By 1994, that berserk riffage had become arena-ready without losing its edge.
Ultramega OK
Soundgarden's first full-length combined punk speed with Black Sabbath heaviness, earning the band its first Grammy nomination and establishing their unique sound. Released in 1988, the same year Bruce Pavitt first used the word 'grunge' in print to describe Green River's Dry as a Bone EP, the album proved Seattle bands could be heavy, experimental, and ambitious. Soundgarden had appeared on C/Z Records' Deep Six compilation in 1986, which sold miserably but documented the raw fusion of heavy metal and punk rock that would become grunge. Jonathan Poneman, who would co-found Sub Pop with Pavitt, first saw Soundgarden at the Fabulous Rainbow tavern where he booked Tuesday night shows. Guitarist Kim Thayil was also a DJ at KCMU, where Poneman hosted "Audioasis." 'To see somebody so normal-looking playing such decidedly berserk riffage was scary,' Poneman said. 'It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers—outwardly normal but with a secret agenda.' Ultramega OK revealed that secret agenda: Soundgarden wasn't just heavy, they were weird. Odd time signatures, psychedelic elements, Chris Cornell's vocals shifting from operatic wail to primal scream. The Grammy nomination legitimized them before anyone knew what grunge was.