Superunknown

Sessions of the album took place from July to September 1993 , at Seattle 's Bad Animals Studio. Michael Beinhorn was invited as a producer. Regarding working with Beinhorn instead of Data, guitarist Kim Tile said, “We just wanted variety.” ^[9] Mixed the album Brendan O'Brien.

Work on the album began two months after performing at the 1992 Lollapalooza Festival. ^[10] Frontman Chris Cornell said band members allowed each other more freedom than previous records. ^[11] Tile noted that even though the group spent a lot of time writing and discussing new material, as was the case on previous albums, it still took a lot more time to record the songs. ^[9] Soundgarden worked on the principle of recording one song at a time. ^[12] First, drum and bass parts were recorded for each song, and then Cornell and Tile layered them superficially. ^[ten]

Chris Cornell said Beinhorn’s experience contributed to the wise use of time on the album. ^[13] The group spent time experimenting with various drum and guitar sounds, using the various capabilities of the available technique, resulting in an expansive production sound. ^[13] In the middle of the recording, Soundgarden took a break in order to play on warm-ups with Neil Young on his ten-day US tour. ^[14] On the advice of Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Brendan O'Brien was invited to mix the album. ^[15] Tile called the mixing process “very painless,” ^[15] bassist Ben Shepherd said it was “the fastest part in the recording process.” ^[sixteen]

The songs on “Superunknown” combine the metalic traditions of the band’s previous work and a new sound. Steve Huey, Allmusic , said that "the influence of punk early work has been replaced by surprisingly effective moves in pop music and psychedelia." ^[17] Chris Cornell described the album as more “challenging” and “universal” compared to the band’s previous albums. ^{[13] [18]}

The songs on the album are more experimental and diverse than the previous recordings of the group, some songs have a Middle Eastern or Indian flavor (for example, “Half” sung by Shepard). Some songs, such as “Head Down” and “ Black Hole Sun ”, also show the influence of The Beatles . In a 1994 interview with Guitar World, Tile explained, “In the depths of our souls lived a small Ringo . Well, of course, we like to tell people that it is John Lennon or George Harrison , but when you dive deeper into Soundgarden , this little Ringo craves a way out. ” ^[15]

Lyrically, the album is rather dark and mysterious, the lyrics raise the themes of substance abuse, suicide, and depression, along with the themes of revenge, destruction, solitude, fear, death, and discovery. At that time, Chris Cornell was inspired by the letters of Sylvia Plath. ^[nineteen]

After being released in March 1994, Superunknown debuted in first place on the Billboard 200 . ^[20] This album brought the group worldwide acclaim. Superunknown has a five-time platinum status from RIAA , USA , ^[21] three-time platinum status in Canada , ^[22] and gold status in the UK , ^[23] Sweden , ^[24] and the Netherlands . ^[25]

Steve Hooey, Allmusic , gave the album five out of five stars, saying, "Obviously, Superunknown was deliberately designed as a masterpiece." ^[17] Q gave the album five out of five stars. The review said, “ Soundgarden played hard rock: heavy guitar sound, drumming .... However, Superunknown also includes more balanced moments, such as the famous single Black Hole Sun. " ^[26] Rolling Stone rated four out of five stars, saying that “Superunknown shows such a wide range that not every group can show something comparable.” ^[27] The New York Times columnist said that "Superunknown has actually expanded the group's audience by breaking down the heavy metal barriers that Soundgarden used to take." ^[28]

For all five singles from the album clips were shot. Also, all five singles hit the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts . Black Hole Sun is the album’s most successful song, with a total of seven weeks in first place on the Mainstream Rock chart and second place on the Modern Rock chart . “Black Hole Sun” was released in the summer of 1994 and became the band's most recognizable and popular song. The clip for this song hit the rotation on television. The video won the Best Metal / Hard Rock Video Award at the 1994 MTV VMA ceremony. ^[29]

In 1995, Soundgarden received two Grammy awards. Black Hole Sun won the Best Hard Rock Performance , Spoonman won the Best Metal Performance. ^[30] Black Hole Sun was also nominated for Best Rock Song. ^[30] Superunknown was nominated for "Best Rock Album." ^[thirty]

In 2003, the album was given the number 336 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of “ 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ”.

In November 2011, Superunknown finished fifth on the Guitar World Magazine's Top Ten List of Guitar Albums of 1994. ^[31]

The singles included three B-Sides recorded during Superunknown sessions - Exit Stonehenge, Kyle Petty, Son of Richard, and Motorcycle Loop. “Exit Stonehenge” as the Bee Side got into the single “Spoonman”, and the Bee Parties “Kyle Petty, Son of Richard”, and “Motorcycle Loop” included various versions of the single “Fell on Black Days”. "Kyle Petty, Son of Richard" is featured on the 1996 compilation album Home Alive. The song “Flutter Girl” was written during Superunknown recording sessions, but did not appear on the album. Instead, she appeared on Chris Cornell's 1999 solo album, Euphoria Morning . The songs “Tighter & Tighter”, “No Attention”, and “An Unkind” were recorded during the Superunknown sessions and were featured on the 1996 album Down on the Upside . ^{[32] [33]} Matt Cameron said the band was not happy with the recording of the “No Attention” song that came out during the recording sessions. ^[34]