Soundgarden were pioneers of their style. They emerged in the grunge scene but made music that was far more sophisticated, all the while maintaining the raw and stripped down production. Badmotorfinger isn’t traditional metal, but when you really listen to it, pick apart the time signatures, the riffs, the vocals and the lyrics, it is an all around excellent album and very heavy.
I was just starting high school when I first heard Badmotorfinger. My first exposure to Soundgarden was the video for Jesus Christ Pose – I remember not totally understanding what I was watching and listening to but really digging it. That is a super heavy song, actually.
The overall vibe of the album is unmatched. Chris Cornell’s vocals shine here like nowhere else. He is up there with Freddie Mercury in terms of having a perfect balance of character, chaos and charisma in their natural vocal tone. It took a while before I realized how much he impacted on me as a musician, a vocalist and a lyricist. He was one of the few artists who can do no wrong in my book. I’m sure they could be still touring and hitting the festival scene like Alice In Chains if he were still with us.
