by: Charley (@ruperto2106)
It’s been 16 long, long years since the boys from Seattle are back with their first new album since 1996’s Down On the Upside. I am happy to announce that out of all the bands that reunited this is by far the best effort. While not as heavy as Louder Than Love & Badmotofinger, the boys at Soundgarden got it right with this latest release.Lead single and opening track “Been Away Too Long” is exactly what fans have been thinking. The heavy guitar rifts, the strong drum work, and Chris Cornell’s infamous yowl are back with a vengeance. “Non-State Actor” is a song reminiscent of a Zepplin tune. “By Crooked Steps” and “Blood on the Valley Floor” are classic Soundgarden tunes which, once again, show off how talented Chris Cornell’s vocal work is.“Bones of Birds” is a classic grunge song that makes you which grunge music would come back to the mainstream again. “Black Saturday” is another classic grunge song with lyrics that read “Promise something. Kill me right away if I start to get slow, and don’t remember how to separate the worm from the apple. Don’t wait ‘till tomorrow. Kill me right away if I start to listen to the voices telling all the mouths what they need to swallow. Do that for me. It’s the least that you can do”.The album ends on an up note with a trio of heavy, strong songs “Worse Dreams”, “Eyelid’s Mouth” and “Rowing” that leaves us wanting more and gives us hope for more great tunes from Soundgarden for years to come.This is by far one of the best rock CD’s of the year and easily gets 5 out of 5 stars. I just hope we don’t have to wait another 16 years for another album.Check out the video for “Been Away Too Long” below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeBjhpw_Ee0