ARTIST · GRUNGE / METAL

Soundgarden

Odd meters swagger—psych-metal intellect disguised as FM gravel.

Grunge
Alternative metal
Hard rock

Updated 27 October 2026

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Biography

Badmotorfinger sharpened rhythmic IQ for emerging alt-metal palettes.

Superunknown’s Black Hole Sun became surrealist grief anthem disguised as summer hit.

Kim Thayil’s detuned colour prevents riff blocks from feeling generic.

High-bitrate streams expose phaser guitar haze, room-heavy drums, and Cornell harmonics.

Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, and Hiro Yamamoto formed Soundgarden in Seattle, and later added Matt Cameron on drums and Ben Shepherd on bass. Badmotorfinger (1991) took the band to a wider audience, and Superunknown (1994) delivered Black Hole Sun and Spoonman.

Down on the Upside (1996) followed, and the band split in 1997. They reunited in 2010 for King Animal (2012). Cornell died in May 2017.

Soundgarden: recent news, 2020–2026

2020 No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1, an album of Chris Cornell cover songs, was released in November.

Interesting facts about Soundgarden

01 American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984; Chris Cornell was lead vocalist.
02 Superunknown (1994) debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.
03 Won Grammy Awards including Best Hard Rock Performance for Black Hole Sun in 1995.
04 Superunknown (1994) includes Black Hole Sun and Spoonman.
05 Chris Cornell died in May 2017.