Soundgarden, King Animal (2012)

Hello everyone,

Today I am looking at the latest album by Soundgarden, King Animal. This is the band's first full-length album of original material since Down on the Upside in 1996. Yes, folks . . . that's 16 years.

To say that I have been excited about this release would be an understatement. I have always been a huge fan of Chris Cornell's voice, and the underrated guitar work of Kim Thayil. While Nirvana has often been credited as the most important band of the grunge era, one could certainly make the argument that Soundgarden was the best.

Anyway, on to the new record.

There are good things and bad things about this album.

The good: First, Soundgarden is making new music together again. I believe that their has been a huge void in my music life without this band. While Cornell's solo albums are okay, and Audioslave was decent, I needed Soundgarden. This brings them back. Second, this album is not just an older band trying to relive their past glory by releasing the same albums over and over again. This album shows significant growth by the band, which was to be expected. It has less of a grunge or metal sound, and employs a more bluesy/garage rock sound that I like.

The bad: Chris Cornell's vocals aren't as solid as before. Understandably, a singer's voice doesn't last forever due to a number of reasons such as smoking, excessive touring, and/or age. While his vocals aren't as great as before, they are still solid.

The standout tracks on the album are "Been Away Too Long," "Non-State Actor," and "Blood On the Valley Floor."

I rate this album as a B +.

Here is "Blood on the Valley Floor."

Thanks for reading!
Marty Sabin