Soundgarden's third album "Badmotorfinger" was released on October 8, 1991.!
It joins the wonderful Class of '91, a year that saw the release of an insane number of huge albums !!
This album was released about two weeks after "Nevermind" and a little more than a month after "Ten".
So, on one hand, it suffered from the hysterical success of those two albums that overshadowed it (especially "Nevermind" which broke out faster), but on the other hand, it gained greater exposure as it was part of the huge grunge surge.
Let us say that this is a sophisticated album, maybe we should be rude and say that this is a much more sophisticated album than "Nevermind". The lyrics on the album are much more exposed on the one hand and very metaphorical on the other, in a way that gives the listener a sense of belonging and the possibility of interpreting the text in the way that suits him best.
Beyond that, the rhythm, the fragility, the syncopations, the rhythms, and the beats on this album are something that sounds like no other. An alternative time signature is called. But let's ignore the definitions, just listen and understand that in no small number of songs like "Rusty Cage", "Holy Water", and "Jesus Christ Pose" the parts are arranged and divided differently and abnormally compared to what we are used to.
No wonder Matt Cameron called this album a "Weird science project".
The band members said they were free to explore and discover, this was the atmosphere that also continued with them along the way. They know that they are undergoing a transformation as human beings and therefore their music, they have not defined themselves or aimed at a particular thing but have created what felt good and right to them. They felt they brought to the music a lot of things that other bands did not dare to bring at that time, elements that were mostly influenced by the punk bands of the 80s.
Critics claimed that Chris Cornell has made a significant leap here in terms of the lyrics of the songs, an example of this is in the song "Outshined" which is one of Cornell's most personal songs which summarizes and distills for 5 minutes of music the secret of "Mania Depression" which he experiences over the years, when one day he feels on the top of the world and in another moment in the depths of the gutters. The addition of bassist Ben Shepherd was a significant catalyst in the leap from the previous albums, the band members said he brought with him a fresh and creative approach, and his writing and creative abilities influenced everyone. But we think the big leap was in Chris and the friends' perception of the music, in thinking outside the box, in innovation, this is indeed only their third album but the first where the writing is done in collaboration with all the band members together. No wonder this album was less successful than its brothers, since it is less "commercial" and has fewer melodic or light-hearted elements. There is an amazing music display here but it is hard to digest so it needed a very strong boost. And this push came precisely from the direction of "Nirvana".
After Kurt Cobain told "Guns N 'Roses" no! As an opening act for their "Use Your Illusion" tour, Chris and his friends jumped at the chance and indeed received the international exposure they deserved as part of that tour. Although a few years later Chris claimed it was just a nightmare to perform in front of 40,000 people for 35 minutes day after day, when none of them knew you and everyone was waiting for Guns.
Anyone who has experienced this album real-timeline could say that although it may have been harder to digest than his other brothers which born that month, even though it did not include "hits", even though it was less "commercially successful" than his brother, it was still clear that this was a different and special child. Indeed, over the years and from the height of the age of the two albums things look a little different.
The album cover that became the band's iconic symbol was created by guitarist Mark Dancey from the band "Big Chief" who was a friend of Kim Thayil. Kim is also the one who suggested the name of the album as a joke on the song "Bad Motor Scooter" by "Montrose". With the spark plug in the center and the jagged elements around, it felt very aggressive to them.
The limited edition of the album included another disc called "Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas".
And if you still do not understand what we mean, just think about the feelings that go through your body when you hear the guitar howls that open the song "Rusty Cage" and the whole album.
Listen to the album on: Spotify, Apple Music