Retro Girl Album Review: Soundgarden’s Superunknown

By: Arianna Grewal

When Soundgarden released Superunknown in March of 1994, Cornell’s new look emerged. His long hair cut off and bare chest now covered in shirts was symbolic to the band’s goal to “deliver maximal effect with minimal histrionics,” as said by Pitchfork. Superunknown was Soundgarden’s late rise to fame as they finally made their way to the top. Songs on the album such as Black Hole Sun and My Wave became crowd anthems as Soundgarden became the new face of grunge. Compared to their fellow grunge bands, Nirvana and Pearl Jam, who both desperately attempted to fade out from the spotlight, Soundgarden did not mind their official Seattle Scene status. However, although Superunknown was the perfect example of what a mainstream 90s grunge song sounded like, Soundgarden was able to achieve this sound without surrendering their original image and identity.

Superunknown was surely Soundgarden’s most successful album for a reason, winning two Grammys and certified platinum five times.  Soundgarden’s punk influences in previous albums like Badmotorfinger are replaced with a more psychedelic sound. Songs such as “Black Hole Sun” and “Head Down” are even Beatles influenced. According to band member, Thayll, “When you really look deep inside of Soundgarden, there's a little Ringo wanting to get out."  The band also utilizes odd time signatures in many of the songs which offers a unique sound. The unusual time signatures were often accidental since they were not even considered until the song was written.  The album features problems of substance abuse, depression, and suicide which make for rather grim lyrics.  Cornell, inspired by Sylvia Plath, explained the background for some of the dark songs saying that “Let Me Drown” is about “crawling back to the womb to die and "The Day I Tried to Live" is about "trying to step out of being patterned and closed off and reclusive.”

The album, a new and diversified sound, makes way for an even different sound in their 1996 album Down on The Upside. Soundgarden produced an album with such substance that even the heaviest songs sound vivid and bold. The album remains an emblem of grunge in the 90s. Despite his death earlier this year, Cornell continues to somehow remain through his music, or as he once said, “aliiive in the Superunknown!”