Soundgarden

小简介
乐队名称：  Soundgarden  
成立时间： 1984
成立地点： 美国，华盛顿，西雅图
乐队主力成员： Matt Cameron（鼓）、Chris Cornell（主唱/吉他）、Ben Shepherd（贝司）、Kim Thayil（主音吉他）
乐队临时成员： Jason Everman（贝司）、Scott Sundquist（鼓）、Hiro Yamamoto（贝司）
音乐风格： Grunge,Alternative Rock,Hard Rock
风格类似的乐队或歌手： Alice in Chains、Pearl Jam、Mother Love Bone、Mudhoney、Stone Temple Pilots、Melvins、Nirvana、Screaming Trees、Tool、The Smashing Pumpkins、Green River、Days of the New、Deftones、Gosmack
本站点对此乐队的评价： 个性鲜明、技术精湛并且霸气十足，堪称摇滚乐坛的无冕之王。
发行的作品： 《Ultramega OK》1988，SST
《Screaming Life/Fopp》1990，Sub Pop
《Louder than Love》1990，A&M
《Badmotorfinger》1991，A&M
《Superunknown》 1994，A&M
《Down on the Upside》 1996，A&M
这支多才多艺、能适应平凡生活的GRUNGE乐队以他们自立的态度和趋于金属的音乐风格在90年代初期出现在西雅图的GRUNGE舞台上，并且凭借他们以上的个性特点于大量的主流乐队区别开来。最终，这支深受Led Zepplin以及70年代早期战斗美学摇滚风格影响的乐队始终保持着庞大的气势和GRUNGE的狂躁。他们也以此逐渐被载入摇滚史。
　　Soundgarden的种子是在远离EMERALD 市的中西部平原萌芽的。几位本地的好友——Kim Thayil（吉他）、Hiro Yamamoto（贝司）以及Bruce Pavitt决定搬到华盛顿州的OLYMPIA。1981年，他们入学学习并且在地下文化圈中发展。随后，Kim Thayil和Hiro Yamamoto加入了一支名为Shemps的乐队，其中还有歌手兼鼓手Chris Cornell。而Bruce Pavitt开办了一个叫作FANZINE，这是日后成为著名独立唱片公司的SUB POP的前身。不久，Yamamoto与新室友Cornell计划成立一支新乐队，很快他们让Thayil也加盟了，并且取名为Soundgarden。Soundgarden是西雅图的一座很受欢迎的雕塑。
　　鼓手Scott Sundquist加盟乐队后，Soundgarden在太平洋西北海岸举行了一系列巡演并且造就了一大批地下音乐圈内的支持者。Soundgarden最能吸引这些乐迷的就是他们混合了ROCK、METAL及PUNK的独一无二的音乐风格。
　　1986年，Scott Sundquist离开了乐队，而Matt Cameron取而代之。Matt Cameron是我个人最喜欢的鼓手之一。他的鼓又稳又狠并且变化多端，这在他们后期的作品中有充分的体现。次年，Soundgarden与Bruce Pavitt刚刚成立并无名气的SUB POP签约，并且发行了乐队的第1支单曲“Hunted Down”。随后Soundgarden又在SUB POP旗下发行了两张EP——“Screaming Life”和“FOPP”。1988年，Soundgarden换了东家，这次他们与另外一个著名的独立唱片公司SST签了约，而且在年底发行了第一张专辑“Ultramega OK”。
　　随后，乐队开始涉足主流，与著名的大唱片公司A&M签约，并于1988年12月开始着手录制第二张专辑。1989年，专辑“Louder Than Love”发行了，并且在评论界收到了很好的效果以至获得了“格莱美”奖提名。很遗憾，乐队的成功并没有打消贝司手Hiro Yamamoto 返校读书的念头。由于还没有完成巡演的计划，Soundgarden剩下的成员迫切希望一名贝司手的加盟。Nirvana的前吉他手Jason Everman暂时顶替了这个位置。不久，Soundgarden乐队的老友Ben Shepard的表现给他们留下了深刻的印象，但他对Soundgarden的作品比较生疏。虽然如此，Ben Shepard还是加入了乐队，而Jason Everman也在巡演的末尾离开了乐队。
　　1991年，Soundgarden的第三张专辑“Badmotorfinger”出版了。这是一张霸气十足的作品，有相当浓重的金属味道但又兼顾了GRUNGE的失真。这张专辑被评论界给予了很高的期望值。他们预测这将是一张极具爆发力和煽动性的作品，Soundgarden也将成为代表着西雅图摇滚火爆风格的摇滚明星。但实际情况与预测并不完全吻合。Nirvana同年的专辑“Nevermind”出乎意料的成功，使“Badmotorfinger”被掩盖在其之下。即使如此， 专辑“Badmotorfinger”的销量仍然达白金，并且在唱片榜上取得了第39位的成绩，也产生了像“Outshined”、“Slaves & Bulldezers”、“Room A Thousand Years Wide”和“Holl Water”这样的火爆的摇滚歌曲。
　　随后，Soundgarden被很多人当作金属乐队看待，与Guns N'Roses、Monster Magnet、Skid Row等著名金属乐队一起巡演。他们在1992年与Pearl Jam、Ministry、Red Hot Chili Peppers等乐队一起参加了著名的LOLLAPALOOZA音乐节。另外，Soundgarden的成员主唱Chris Cornell和鼓手Matt Cameron与Pearl Jam的成员Jeff Ament、Stone Gossard、 Eddie Vedder一起组建了一支临时乐队“Temple Of The Dog”，目的是为了纪念已故的西雅图乐队“Mother Love Bone”的歌手Andrew Wood。这一系列事情也使Soundgarden在乐坛的知名度有所提高。
　　经过短暂的调整后的1994年，Soundgarden推出了一张在他们音乐生涯中取得重大突破的专辑“Superunknown”。可以说，Soundgarden凭借此专辑的发行，达到了其事业的顶峰。这张专辑也是Soundgarden所有作品中我最喜欢的一张。此专辑的旋律性更加突出，风格更加多样，演奏技巧更加精湛，当然你依然可以从中感受到火爆的气氛和王者的风范。专辑中的歌曲首首精彩，真是值得收藏的佳作。Soundgarden凭借此专辑荣获两项“格莱美”奖，1994年的摇滚乐坛毫无疑问属于Soundgarden。
　　经过了一系列的巡回演出后，Soundgarden于1996年又发行了一张新专辑“Down On The Upside”。这张专辑在评论界的反响也不错，但是在销量方面却似乎有点让人失望。比起他们以前的作品，新专辑“Down On The Upside”要温柔许多，给人感觉比较低调。在90年代中后期，GRUNGE在整个摇滚乐坛有所降温，Soundgarden新专辑的风格也和这种气氛吻合了。虽然如此，此专辑依旧继承了他们另类、有个性的传统，只是并不那么火爆。总地来看，Soundgarden仍然保持着相当高的水准。同年夏天，Soundgarden再次参加了LOLLAPALOOZA音乐节，并且在他们开始宣传新专辑的巡演前先与Metallica、Ramones一起举行了巡演。
　　在媒体报道了关于乐队内部矛盾的内容的不利情况下，Soundgarden继续坚持了巡演直到1997年4月7日。此时乐队已无法保持为一个整体，在这种情况下他们中断了巡演剩下的部分。不久乐队正式宣布解散了。Kim Thayil和Ben Shepard经常忙于各种事物，Matt Cameron经常与西雅图的另外一支著名乐队Pearl Jam合作，而Chris Cornell则开始了个人的发展。
Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock. Their fellow Seattle rockers Green River may have spearheaded the grunge sound, but they relied on noise rock in the vein of the Stooges. Similarly, Jane's Addiction were too fascinated with prog rock and performance art to appeal to a wide array of metal fans. Soundgarden, however, developed directly out of the grandiose blues-rock of Led Zeppelin and the sludgy, slow riffs of Black Sabbath. Which isn't to say they were a straight-ahead metal band. Soundgarden borrowed the D.I.Y. aesthetics of punk, melding their guitar-driven sound with an intelligence and ironic sense of humor that was indebted to the American underground of the mid-'80s. Furthermore, the band rarely limited itself to simple, pounding riffs, often making detours into psychedelia. But the group's key sonic signatures — the gutsy wail of vocalist Chris Cornell and the winding riffs of guitarist Kim Thayil — were what brought them out of the underground. Not only were they one of the first groups to record for the legendary Seattle indie Sub Pop, but they were the first grunge band to sign to a major label. In fact, most critics expected Soundgarden to be the band that broke down the doors for alternative rock, not Nirvana. However, the group didn't experience an across-the-boards success until 1994, when Superunknown became a number one hit.
For a band so heavily identified with the Seattle scene, its ironic that two of its founding members were from the Midwest. Kim Thayil (guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass), and Bruce Pavitt were all friends in Illinois who decided to head to Olympia, WA, to attend college after high school graduation in 1981. Though none of the three completed college, all of them became involved in the Washington underground music scene. Pavitt was the only one who didn't play — he founded a fanzine that later became the Sub Pop record label. Yamamoto played in several cover bands before forming a band in 1984 with his roommate Chris Cornell (vocals), a Seattle native who had previously played drums in several bands. Thayil soon joined the duo and the group named itself Soundgarden after a local Seattle sculpture. Scott Sundquist originally was the band's drummer, but he was replaced by Matt Cameron in 1986. Over the next two years, Soundgarden gradually built up a devoted cult following through their club performances.
Pavitt signed Soundgarden to his fledgling Sub Pop label in the summer of 1987, releasing the single "Hunted Down" before the EP Screaming Life appeared later in the year. Screaming Life and the group's second EP, 1988's FOPP, became underground hits and earned the attention of several major labels. The band decided to sign to SST instead of a major, releasing Ultramega OK by the end of 1988. Ultramega OK received strong reviews among alternative and metal publications, and the group decided to make the leap to a major for its next album, 1989's Louder Than Love. Released on A&M Records, Louder Than Love became a word-of-mouth hit, earning positive reviews from mainstream publications, peaking at 108 on the charts, and earning a Grammy nomination. Following the album's fall 1989 release, Yamamoto left the band to return to school. Jason Everman, a former guitarist for Nirvana, briefly played with the band before Ben Shepherd joined in early 1990.
Soundgarden's third album, 1991's Badmotorfinger, was heavily anticipated by many industry observers as a potential breakout hit. Though it was a significant hit, reaching number 39 on the album charts, its success was overshadowed by the surprise success of Nirvana's Nevermind, which was released the same month as Badmotorfinger. Prior to Nevermind, Soundgarden had been marketed by A&M as a metal band, and the group had agreed to support Guns n' Roses on the fall 1991 Lose Your Illusion tour. While the tour did help sales, Soundgarden benefited primarily from the grunge explosion, whose media attention helped turn the band into stars. The band was also helped by the Top Ten success of Temple of the Dog, a tribute to deceased Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood that Cornell and Cameron recorded with members of Pearl Jam. By the spring release of 1994's Superunknown, Soundgarden's following had grown considerably, which meant that the album debuted at number one upon its release. (A year before its release, Shepherd and Cameron released an eponymous album by their side project, Hater.) Superunknown became one of the most popular records of 1994, generating a genuine crossover hit with "Black Hole Sun," selling over three million copies and earning two Grammies. Soundgarden returned in 1996 with Down on the Upside, which entered the charts at number two. Despite the record's strong initial sales, it failed to generate a big hit, and was hurt by grunge's fading popularity. Soundgarden retained a sizable audience — the album did go platinum, and they were co-headliners on the sixth Lollapalooza — but they didn't replicate the blockbuster success of Superunknown. After completing an American tour following Lollapalooza that was plagued by rumors of internal fighting, Soundgarden announced that they were breaking up on April 9, 1997, to pursue other interests.