Badmotorfinger

BADMOTORFINGER was reissued briefly with a limited-edition bonus disc titled S.O.M.M.S, featuring B-sides and one live track.

Soundgarden: Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar); Kim Thayil (guitar); Matt Ben Shepherd (bass); Matt Cameron (drums).

Additional personnel: Damon Stewart (spoken vocals); Scott Granlund (saxophone); Ernst Long (trumpet).

Recorded at Studio D, Sausalito, California and Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, Washington in 1991.

Soundgarden couldn't have picked a better time to issue its best album yet, BADMOTORFINGER, in the fall of 1991. The Seattle explosion (which also included Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice In Chains) was just about to take off, and along with such other classic albums as NEVERMIND, TEN, and FACELIFT, BADMOTORFINGER benefited greatly from all of the newfound media attention and critical praise. New bassist Ben Shepherd fit in perfectly with the band, evidenced by this incredibly consistent album. Although Soundgarden's breakthrough hit, "Outshined," remains the best-known track, the whole album is a must-hear from beginning to end.

While BADMOTORFINGER is certainly best experienced listening all the way through, single standouts include the barnstorming album opener, "Rusty Cage," the all-out assault "Jesus Christ Pose," as well as the crawling "Slaves & Bulldozers," and the tranquil "Mind Riot." Add to it the back-to-back epics "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" and "Room a Thousand Years Wide," plus the short punk blasts "Face Pollution" and "Drawing Flies," and you have one of the greatest rock albums to ever come out of the Emerald City.

What the critics say...

Spin (10/91) - Highly Recommended - "..many credit the band with what has become known as the Seattle sound...[Soundgarden] stomps all over these tunes..."
Melody Maker (12/91) - Ranked #27 in Melody Maker's list of the top 30 albums of 1991 - "The sound of the 70s hacked up and reassembled in the 90s."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.51) - "With a more metal approach than many of their peers, it's a complex, dark piece of work..."