Soundgarden is an American band operating in six major musical genres. These are: alternative, hard and stoner rock, grunge, heavy and alternative metal. The hometown of the quartet is Seattle. In this locality of America in 1984, one of the most odious rock bands was created.
They offered their fans rather mysterious music. Hard basses and metallic riffs are heard in the tracks. Here there is a combination of melancholy and minimalism.
The emergence of a new rock band Soundgarden
The roots of the American team lead to The Shemps. In the early 80s, bassist Hiro Yamamoto and drummer and vocalist Chris Cornell worked here. After Yamamoto decides to end his collaboration with the group, Kim Thayil moves to Seattle. Yamamoto, Cornell, Thayil and Pavitt began to become friends. Thayil takes the place of the bass player.
Hiro and Chris didn't stop talking even after The Shemps broke up. They create some interesting mixes for popular songs. After a while, Kim joins the guys.
In 1984, the Soundgarden band was formed. The founders are Cornell and Yamamoto. After some time, Thayil joins the group. It is worth noting that the group got its name thanks to a street installation. It was called The Garden of Sounds. That is how the name of the group is translated. The composition itself, when the wind was blowing, began to produce very interesting, intriguing and mysterious sounds.
At first, Cornell combined drumming and vocals. Somewhat later, drummer Scott Sandquist appeared in the group. In this composition, the guys were able to record two compositions. They were included on the "Deep Six" compilation. This work was created by C/Z Records.
Since Scott did not cooperate with the team for a long time, Matt Cameron was accepted into the group instead. He previously partnered with Skin Yard.
Recording launch releases from 1987 to 90
In 1987, the band recorded the first small album "Screaming Life". At that time they collaborated with Sub Pop. Literally next year, another mini-LP "Fopp" was released under the same label. After 2 years, both small albums are re-released as a Screaming Life / Fopp compilation.
Despite the fact that well-known labels wanted to cooperate with the team, the guys signed an agreement with SST. At this time, the debut disc "Ultramega OK" is released. The first album brings success to the team. They are nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.
But already in 1989 they start a partnership with the major label A&M. They are recording Louder Than Live. During this period of creativity, the first video for the composition "Flover" appears. It was filmed thanks to the collaboration with director C. Soulier.
After the guys recorded their first disc on a major label, Yamamoto left the group. He made the decision to graduate from college. The guy was replaced by D. Everman. This performer worked in the Nirvana team. But his collaboration with the band is limited to appearing in the "Louder Than Live" video. Soon his place was taken by Ben Shepherd. At this stage, the formation of the team was completed.
Growing popularity of Soundgarden
In the new line-up, the guys released the disc "Badmotorfinder" in 1991. Despite the fact that the work turned out to be quite popular. The quartet's compositions such as "Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" played constantly on alternative radio stations and MTV.
The band goes on tour to support their new record. Upon completion, they record a video "Motorvision". It includes footage from the tour. In 1992, the team took part in the Lollapalooza field project.
The guys had a real hit in 1994. The disc "Superunknown" is directed to the radio format. Despite the fact that the sounds of the early periods are preserved in the compositions, new musical notes nevertheless appear. The album was supported by tracks such as "Fell on Black Days".
It is worth noting that in these compositions there is a predominance of darker colors. Performers give preference to topics such as suicide, cruelty and depressive states of society. There are several tracks on this disc that have oriental, Indian notes. In this direction, the composition "Half" stands out. It is in this song that fans hear Shepherd's vocals.
In the same year, 4 melodies from the album were included in the soundtracks for the popular game of that time "Road Rash".
Creativity 1996 - 97 and the collapse of the group
The team held a successful world tour in support of their latest album at that time. Despite internal contradictions, the guys decide to produce the album on their own.
He appears on May 21, 1996. The album itself is pretty light. Among the tracks, "Pretty Noose" stood out. This composition was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Most Entertaining Hard Rock Performance. But the album did not become super popular. Commercial interest has not exceeded the previous work of the guys.
At that time, a serious conflict is brewing in the team between Cornell and Thayil. The first tried to prove the need to change the direction of creativity. In particular, Cornell wanted to ditch the heavier metal notes.
The conflict came to a head during a performance in Honolulu. Shepherd couldn't contain his emotions due to a hardware problem. He threw away his guitar and left the stage. On April 9, the guys announced the dissolution of the team. This happened against the backdrop of the fact that the new compilation "A-Sides" proved to be very popular among the band's fans. Until 2010, the guys worked on their own projects.
Reunion, another hiatus and disbandment
On the first day of 2010, a message appeared about the reunion of the team in its original form. Already on March 1, the guys announced the re-release of "Hunted Down". After that, the group took part in the festival in Chicago. It took place on August 8th.
After a long work in March 2011, the live disc "Live-On I-5" appears. It includes tracks from the tour, which was made in support of the 1996 record. And in November 2012, the studio disc “King Animal” appears.
In 2014, Cameron stopped working with the group. He tries to promote and support his own projects. Instead, Matt Chamberlain sits at the drums.
With this line-up, they held a North American tour. At the same time, they performed as an opening act before Death Grips concerts. Already on October 28, the band releases a box set. It consists of 3 disks. After that, the guys start working on new records.
Unfortunately, from 2015 to 17, the performers gave nothing to the world. And May 18, 2017 turned out to be tragic for the whole team. Chris Cornell was found dead in his room. The police indicated that it was most likely a suicide. But the details of the incident were not disclosed.
Soundgarden today
Starting from 2017 and ending in 2019, the participants were in a lull and publicly expressed doubts about the continuation of their careers and the existence of the team. They could not find common ground. In particular, they did not see directions for further creativity.
In 2019, Kornel's wife decided to organize a concert program in honor of her husband. At the "Forum" arena, located in Los Angeles, the remaining members of the quartet gathered together. In addition to Soundgarden, other famous artists took part in the project. They performed Cornel's compositions from different years of creation.
Thus, despite the fact that the band came together at the concert in memory of Cornell, they are not trying to revive the band. At the same time, there are no announcements about the termination of activities yet.
Today, all members of the quartet are trying to realize their solo potential. At times they perform the famous compositions of the group, recorded many years ago. Accordingly, the future of the quartet remains vague.
