![]() ![]() ![]() Best of Soundgarden (Redux) by Various Artists Best of Soundgarden (Redux) by Various Artists Fellow Brooklyn trio Somnuli even introduce a touch of swing to the otherwise molasses-thick “Mailman”, while Marc Urselli’s SteppenDoom do the same with “4th of July”. Elsewhere, Brooklyn’s Spotlights and Brighton, England quartet Miss Lava do an admirable job of stretching to capture the mournful pastels of the intros to “Black Hole Sun” and “Burden in My Hand”, respectively. Similarly, Parkersburg, West Virginia quartet Horseburner emancipate “Spoonman” from its quintessential alt-rock guitar riff-at least at first, trading-in meaty guitar distortion for soft, trickling acoustics. Darkher’s Jayn Maiven goes even further, transforming the density of “Like Suicide” into a synth-atmosphere soufflé that lands somewhere between Enya and Jarboe. Nadler’s gypsy-styled arrangement underscores the melodiousness - and the emotional weight - of the original while introducing an exoticism that wasn’t there before. Likewise, Marissa Nadler completely guts the low end from “Fell on Black Days”. When Ufomammut finally start grinding into the riff, it lands with all the more impact because they’ve held back for so long. Right off the bat, Torino, Italy, doom trio Ufomammut hover in a state of harmonic suspension for over two minutes before launching into the circular tank-like riff that kicks the original album off. Thankfully, many of the artists here at least attempt to capture some of the nuances that set Soundgarden apart from day one: the penchant for texture, the mind-altering guitar interplay between Kim Thayil and late frontman Chris Cornell, bassist Ben Shepherd and founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto’s left-of-center instincts, drummer Matt Cameron’s gift for playing odd time signatures so they sounded smooth. When Soundgarden chose to let their feet drag, they sounded-on purpose-like a band hiking through waist-high mud in boots made of lead. These decisions, along with countless others across the majority of the tracks, are understandable. Superunknown (Redux) by Various Artists Superunknown (Redux) by Various Artists Similarly, Cincinnati’s Valley of the Sun forego the rootsy psychedelia of Superunknown’s title track for a more heavy-handed approach. Where the original might give you a reason to put some pep in your step, this new version looms overhead like an acrid-but beautifully colored-chemical plume engulfing the atmosphere. ![]() Chicago doom quartet High Priest, for example, vaporize the frisky (for Soundgarden) odd-metered groove of “My Wave”. ![]() Of the 30 artists who appear on Superunknown (Redux) and Best of Soundgarden (Redux), many of them fall for the temptation to exaggerate the source material’s most bludgeoning qualities. And no matter how much their style may have overlapped with the likes of Kyuss and Eyehategod, Soundgarden never staked their musical identity around a constrained set of musical parameters. Unlike, say, AC/DC or Helmet- both of whom have received Magnetic Eye’s “redux” treatment in the past-Soundgarden didn’t define themselves by their limits. Of course, longtime fans who’ve listened to Soundgarden independent of their place in the mainstream could tell you as much. That said, a new pair of conjoined tribute albums from Magnetic Eye Records shows us that Soundgarden’s music doesn’t lend itself to being approached as a genre exercise. The band may be remembered as a 1990s grunge/alternative flagship, but if we’re being precise, we can also regard classic-era staples like “Gun”, “Mailman”, “4th of July”, and “Slaves and Bulldozers” as proto-sludge anthems. Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath, Flipper, and fellow Seattle icons Melvins, Soundgarden played a significant role in popularizing a slow, plodding brand of heavy music that would eventually evolve into the aforementioned constellation of sub-genres. The idea of commissioning a bunch of doom, sludge, and stoner metal bands to cover Soundgarden makes perfect sense on paper. ![]()
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