Badmotorfinger

When I bought BadMotorFinger I was expecting an average album, I was shocked by how completely stunning it was. I had heard a few songs from it (Outshined and Rusty Cage, mainly) and decided that I wanted get it. After listening through once i wasn't very moved. It took me 2 or 3 listens to grasp the heaviness, an greatness, of this album.

On BadMotorFinger, Soundgarden finally blends all their influences and styles into one fully envisioned effort. Soundgarden has always maintained influences from rock mainstays like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin while drawing influences from punk too. Unlike previous releases, were there were punk songs and metal songs, BadMotorFinger has honest-to-god metal/punk hybrid songs that are awesome rockers, such as "Drawing Flies" and "Face Pollution". And more than ever pyschedelia is present, with such songs as "Slaves and Bulldozers" and "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" . Also they have such uncatagoriazable music like "Room a Thousand Years Wide" is it metal? is it punk? why the hell is there saxophone? who cares?

Of all their releases, Soundgarden sounds the best on this one, simply because; they tightened up their rhythm section by adding Ben Shepherd on bass, Chris's vocals on this album are, more than likely, his best singing effort put to record. Kims (distinctive) guitar style is most evident on BadMotorFinger, mostly due to the heavy riffing throughout BadMotorFinger.Also, Matt Cameron shows his talents with mindbending tempo changes scattered throughout this album.

Soundgarden has only one "fault" is, unlike Superunknown, it doesnt have a feeling of completeness once your done listening to it, as Superunknown does. That could be from the mild tension between new bassist Ben Shepherd, or that Chris just was so spent while making this (and Temple of The Dog, at nearly the same time).

BadMotorFinger is great album for those who would like to hear "metal" Soundgarden, and is on par with Superunknown in its songwriting.