by Andrew Bohardt

Created on: September 29, 2010

As a member of Seattle's "Big Four" grunge bands, Soundgarden's big break commercially came a bit later than the others (Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains) with 1994's "Superunknown." Critically, however, 1991's "Badmotorfinger" was the band's "White Album," as it teetered on the line of commercial appeal while maintaining Soundgarden's dingy, Black-Sabbath-meets-Led-Zeppelin classic rock vibe.

That notion especially rings true today with the band's recent reunion and subsequent release of Black Rain, a B-Side from the "Badmotorfinger" sessions. Put out as a single in the summer of 2010, Black Rain, in hindsight, is a surprising omission from "Badmotorfinger," but Chris Cornell's vocals and Kim Thayil's driving guitar work hold up just as well today as they did 20 years ago.

Back to what did make the album, "Badmotorfinger" delivers a pummeling 1-2 punch right out of the gate with Rusty Cage and Outshined, the latter being perhaps the quintessential song of the grunge era with its downright nasty main guitar riff. Thayil's axe simply seeps devastating filthiness on that track.

The album keeps a torrid pace through the next few tracks, which include Slaves & Bulldozers and the ominous Jesus Christ Pose. The latter is highlighted by the vocals, which, near the end of the song, Cornell hits an ungodly high note that is legendary in its own right.

By track 8, the listener hits Room A Thousand Years Wide, the first single off the album and one of the few Soundgarden tracks written by members other than Cornell. Drummer Matt Cameron orchestrated the music on this track, with Thayil writing the lyrics, and the end result is one of Soundgarden's most underrated tunes, not only on the album, but in its entire catalog.

As the album draws to a close, Soundgarden hardly holds back with another pair of powerful tracks at the back end in Holy Water and New Damage.

Perhaps a drawback to some, the album never really takes a turn to Soundgarden's softer side, which was seen more on its later albums, the aforementioned "Superunknown" and "Down on the Upside." But that's no reason to penalize a band when its harder side is this good.

In summation, "Badmotorfinger" is a true classic and a must-listen for any music fan who appreciates pure classic rock. It's incredible to think this album was released within two months of the release of Metallica's "Metallica (The Black Album)," Nirvana's "Nevermind," and Pearl Jam's "Ten." Quite an epic run of music, indeed.

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