Photo Courtesy of Taringa
How does a Hard Rock band like Soundgarden celebrate the 20th anniversary of their biggest album ever? By rocking out to a jam packed concert! Just days after the deluxe re-release of the classic 1994 album Superunknown the band gathered in New York City’s Webster Hall last night to play for the delighted crowd.
Frontman Chris Cornell exclaimed that “It’s black even in f—king July!” right before starting “Fell On Black Days” to massive cheers from the audience. For the incredibly low price of $19.94 the Soundgarden fans in attendance were treated to a high octane performance of all of the hit songs from the classic album. “Spoonman”, “Superunknown”, “Like Suicide”, and of course “Black Hole Sun”. At the end of the concert the band even tapped into their 1991 hit album Badmotorfinger for a well received encore.
The band formed in the Grunge capitol of Seattle in 1984 by Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil and Bassist Hiro Yamamoto. During the eighties and early nineties the band endured little success and massive change ups which saw the departure of Yamamoto and the departure of Bassist Matt Sheperd and drummer Matt Cameron. Fortunately, all the hard work through the turmoil came together for 1991’s Badmotorfinger. However, 1991 was an embarrassment of riches in music (RHCP’s Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten, and Temple of Dog’s Chris Cornell featured debut album) that ended up boxing out Soundgarden from their deserved exposure. Nevertheless, the band spent the next few years crafting their masterpiece Superunknown which has endured to this day as one of the greatest rock albums ever thanks to Grammy award winning singles “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun”
After Superunknown Soundgarden became an internationally beloved band for the next four years. Unfortunately, 1998 Would prove to be a tumultuous year that led the band’s breakup over artistic differences. During that period Cornell performed with the remaining Rage Against the Machine band members to form the similar rock band Audioslave. Cornell also lent his vocals and writing skills for “You Know My Name”, the themes song for the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale
By 2007 Audioslave had dissipated and three years later Soundgarden announced their reunion to the delight of their fans. The band has began touring and releasing new albums for the future, though concerts like these let their fans remember who they are and where they came from.