Grunge was an unusual genre for critics to wrap their heads around in the early 1990s. It was such an issue that the Soundgarden guys once recalled music journalists describing their music in some “bizarre” ways. Honestly, though, I have a favorite.
“Critics are starting to find some pretty bizarre ways to describe our music,” Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell told Melody Maker magazine in 1991. “‘Metallica meets Beefheart’ is a good one. I like ‘New Age heavy metal’ and ‘Hillbilly Sabbath,’ too. Come to think about it, whatever stops us being seen as just another rock group is fine by me.”
I will forever be referring to Soundgarden as “Hillbilly Sabbath” from now on.
Soundgarden Wanted to Combine Elements of Old and New Rock
“But we don’t want to be seen as a trendy band either,” continued Cornell, who Melody Maker described as “the main object of desire for Soundgarden’s female fans,” which is pretty damn bizarre in its own right. “We want to be like AC/DC: a group you know will always be there. And you know you can always trust to give an extra little twist. People appreciate that. There’s not a whole lot you can trust in music today.”
He also offered some insight into Soundgarden’s approach to making music. “I feel that rock groups are often too progression-oriented in terms of song structure and signature changes. When we first started, we used to spend hours working on quirky arrangements. But after a while, we realized that pounding out a simple, solid groove was easier, more enjoyable, and more effective.
“A lot of the tracks we write now are designed to hypnotise, to literally force people to be swept away,” he added. “I guess you could say we’ve updated to the old Killing Joke approach.”
Chris Cornell Said The Band’s third album was their ‘most intense’ to date
Speaking about their then-forthcoming third album, Badmotorfinger, Cornell shared, “It’s definitely our most intense album. And, however weird this might sound, that’s probably because we were more relaxed about the recording process than in the past.”
“So, instead of worrying about giving spot-on individual performances, we let ourselves go as though we were onstage and became absorbed in the total effect,” he continued. “Everything was down to gut feeling rather than something cerebral. Kim’s solos, for example, were largely improvised. When we perform these songs live, there’s no way he’s able to play anything which sounds the same as it does on vinyl.”
“I also think that we’ve extended our overall range on this record. Although it wouldn’t have been in character for us to write a commercial rock ballad, ‘Outshined’ has this rich, melodic, Beatles-ish quality,” Cornell added. “A lot of The Beatles’ songs were heavier than most so-called metal tracks of the last 20 years. Then, at odds with ‘Outshined’, the melody of ‘New Damage’ comes in little fragments. The whole thing is never really pieced together. There’s incredible tension from start to finish.”
Badmotorfinger has since been heralded as one of the greatest grunge albums of all time. Considering they were just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we’d say the band’s risk paid off.
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