Within weeks of its release, Cobain would be dead and the white-hot media frenzy about all things Seattle would cool. The record, released in the early part of 1994, marked the apogee of grunge and the pinnacle of the entire '90s alternative rock movement. While this rerelease doesn't exactly burnish the legacy of 'Superunknown' with unreleased gems, it does effectively deepen one's appreciation for what these musicians accomplished all those years ago. The reissue comes in two expanded forms - a two-disc deluxe edition and a five-CD 'Super Deluxe Edition' box set - that boasts demos, rehearsals, alternate versions, B-sides, concert performances and in the case of the latter, a disc of the album mixed in Blu-ray Audio 5.1 Surround Sound. (The reunited Soundgarden is touring North American yet again, this time on a co-headlining bill with fellow '90s alternative survivors, Nine Inch Nails.) A new reissue of 'Superunknown' - boasting a massive trove of extra tracks - seeks to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of the record's arrival and to resurrect its reputation among rock fans when so much as happened in the years since then.

At least that's what the members of Soundgarden hope. And what isn't to love? Like the 'thinking man's metal' that would come later, Soundgarden created heavy songs with true emotional content, a record head's diversified ears for sonics and just plain-old, pop-songwriting smarts.Īnd so in a new age likewise plagued by suspicion, dashed hopes and lingering uncertainty, perhaps the glories of past will have new relevancy. 'Superunknown' wears its glum descriptors like badges of honor, but only because it accurately and artfully reflects the zeitgeist of those times, especially when paired with dinosaur-sized guitar riffs and howling vocals. While Kurt Cobain gave a frustrated Generation X its alienated anthem, it fell to Cobain's hometown compatriots in Soundgarden to give the era its definitive rock album. Adjectives like 'dark,' 'vengeful' and 'brimming over with apocalyptic imagery' aren't necessary the bywords for a classic album, but those are a few of the qualities that perfectly describe Soundgarden's 'Superunknown' and helped to make it one of the defining albums of the 1990s.

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