King Animal

Having grown up in the 1990s I am pleased to see many of the great rock bands like Soundgarden and Alice in chains are still keeping the rock n roll spirit alive for both bands have released very good albums recently. Indeed grunge seems to be having a bit of a renaissance with modern bands like Dead Sara incorporating grunge elements while Nirvana remain as popular as ever despite kurts death.This album opens with real rocking intent in 'Been away to long' and maintains momentum with the slightly political 'Non-state actor' that contains an awsome guitar riff. The album as a whole is really strong and I like most of the tracks but if I had to pick my favourite tracks it would be the melancholic 'Bones of birds', the acoustic led sombre ballad 'Black saturday' and the gospel tinged bluesey album closer 'Rowing'. This is a great track to finish the album on and pretty much sums up life in a beautiful metaphor. But it is a wonderful image, that all we can do to survive, is to keep rowing against the wind and the rain and face up to any storms that come our way. To survive we literally have to keep our heads above water and breathe. Nobody knows where they are going so lets keep rowing forwards and enjoy life.Anyone with an interest in rock music are more than likely aware of Soundgarden but if you are yet to listen to this animal of an album I would urge you to check it out and lets just hope they don't stay away for too long this time!

Soundgarden are one of my favourite bands of all time so perhaps this review may come across as somewhat subjective...If you are new to Soundgarden then perhaps this is not a good place to start. It sounds like a combination of Superunknown with Down On The Upside and some elements of Cornell's solo stuff thrown into the mix. Bear in mind none of what I have just said is bad."Been Away Too Long" marks the opening of a simply staggering return to form and this is only furthered on by the classic sounding "Non-State Actor", "Bones Of Birds", "Attirtion" and "Worse Dreams". I couldn't pick a favourite track as they are all good, even "Attrition" which critics have said isn't great!This album is refreshing and modern and sounds like a natural evolution for Soundgarden. I cannot fault them for this and can only say how staggered I am by the musicianship (I'm a drummer and Matt Cameron never ceases to amaze) and the haunting vocals that are delivered by Cornell so perfectly. Its a grower, don;t get me wrong and I need to listen to it many more times to fully absorb the accomplishments on this album.My 3 albums of the year are Rush's Clockwork Angels, Coheed and Cambria's Afterman and now King Animal. This is truly a work of art that deserves the time and effort and sheer enjoyment it creates.Hail the King. Animal.

Well I'll tell you. When Peter Hook formed Monaco after the break-up of New Order in the late 90's he was scared about whether it would work, but when he heard the sound of his bass in the introduction to their first song, he knew it was going to be alright. Well that's how I felt. In particular, Chris Cornell's later stuff has been patchy - brilliant on his acoustic Songbook album, rotten on the Scream album. I was nervous about whether this album would blemish the glorious Soundgarden history. Then I heard the sound of Kim Thayil's guitar riffing on the first track, and I knew it was going to be just fine.That opening track is not typical of the album - it's immediate, superbly catchy, ballsy, it's good old rock n' roll. The rest of the album is generally slower paced, a grower rather than something that grabs you by the throat. Opinions vary about how it compares to the previous albums, and although it does have elements of them all, I see it as the natural successor to Down on the Upside.I'm looking then for the glorious stand-out songs, a Jesus Christ Pose, a Fourth of July, a Zero Chance. It takes a couple of listens, but then they stick in your head and send shivers down your spine... and unusually, it's two of the mellower songs: Bones of Birds and Taree. The sheer glory of hearing Cornell sing these beautiful songs from the heart, backed by the magnificently understated performance from the band. An honourable mention also for Black Saturday, drawing from the grand tradition of blues/folk explored by bands like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith in the past, but making it sound unmistakeably like Soundgarden.And that's really what I was alluding to at the beginning of this review: this doesn't sound like one of those albums where the various members have thrown outtakes from previous projects into a common pot - this album actually sounds like Soundgarden... okay, perhaps with the exception of Halfway There, which really belongs on a Cornell solo album, and Eyelid's Mouth, which, although the music is credited to Matt Cameron, sounds for all the world like one of the better Audioslave songs. But as I say, those apart, this sounds like a Soundgarden album - and it's fantastic to hear a Soundgarden album again after all this time.