Along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden were one of the Seattle-based grunge bands who dominated American rock music in the first half of the 1990s. Their 1994 album Superunknown is a classic of 90s rock.
Soundgarden were formed in 1984 by Chris Cornell (drums, vocals), Kim Thayil (guitar) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass). After an EP, Screaming Life (1987), they released their debut album Ultramega OK in 1988, which earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. Louder Than Love was released in 1989 before the previous EP was re-released with a further EP, Fopp, which had been released initially in 1988.
After a short detour for Cornell and Cameron to record as Temple of the Dog with members of Pearl Jam (formed to honour their friend, Mother Love Bone's Andy Wood who had died of an overdose), Badmotorfinger was released in 1991. Sadly, this release was overshadowed by the worldwide success of Nirvana's Nevermind. However, they were able to bask in some reflected glory as Nirvana's new fans began to pay attention to Soundgarden's similar sound.
They had only to wait until their next release, Superunknown (1994), for the spotlight to turn to them fully. The single "Black Hole Sun" was particularly successful, hitting the higher reaches of the US and UK charts, and Superunknown became widely regarded as a landmark of the grunge era.
Down on the Upside (1996) was their last album. It moved away from the grunge sound which had been their trademark, but the change of direction was not what they all wanted. Rifts formed which finally cracked the band open. During the tour for the album in 1997, the band split. A compilation A-Sides was their post break-up swan song.
All of the band members went their separate ways, including Cornell's lead part in Audioslave. When there has been talk of a reunion by the press, hopes have been quickly quashed by Cornell and co.
