Bidding for a popular breakthrough with their second major-label album,
Soundgarden
suddenly developed a sense of craft, with the result that
Badmotorfinger
became far and away their most fully realized album to that point. Pretty much everything about
is a step up from its predecessors -- the production is sharper and the music more ambitious, while the songwriting takes a quantum leap in focus and consistency. In so doing, the band abolishes the murky meandering that had often plagued them in the past, turning in a lean, muscular set that signaled their arrival in
rock
's big leagues. Conventional wisdom has it that despite platinum sales,
got lost amid the blockbuster success of
Nevermind
and
Ten
(all were released around the same time). But the fact is that, though they're all great records,
is much less accessible by comparison. Not that it isn't melodic, but it also sounds twisted and gnarled, full of dissonant riffing, impossible time signatures, howling textural solos, and weird, droning tonalities. It's surprisingly cerebral and arty music for a band courting mainstream
metal
audiences, but it attacks with scientific precision. Part of that is due to the presence of new bassist
Ben Shepherd
, who gives the band its thickest rhythmic foundation yet -- and, moreover, immediately shoulders the departed
Hiro Yamamoto
's share of songwriting duties. But it's apparent that the whole band has greatly expanded the scope of its ambitions. And
fulfills them, pulling all the different threads of the band's sound together into a mature, confident, well-written record. This is heavy, challenging
hard rock
full of intellectual sensibility and complex band interplay. And with their next album,
would learn how to make it fully accessible to mainstream audiences as well. ~ Steve Huey