"Badmotorfinger" Soungarden

Badmotorfinger is the third studio album released by Soundgarden in 1991 with A&M records. It contains such tracks as Outshined, Spoonman, Jesus Christ Pose, and Slaves and Bulldozers. It accurately demonstrates the unique and violent sound that Soundgarden have always been capable of producing. It was also the last album before the release of their most successful album and the ever iconic Superunknown. At the time of it's release, it was their best selling album and was beaten by their next album.

Sound

The album demonstrates many of the band's identifying characteristics including the technical mastery of Kim Thayil on lead guitar and the Glass-shattering screams and high baritone pipes of Chris Cornell. The extent of Cornell's vocal prowess is demonstrated on the track Slaves and Bulldozers where he goes from a low murmuring poetic speech, to screaming at blood curdling pitches in the chorus whilst maintaining perfection in terms of hitting the correct notes. He has a very soulful voice and this is also present Rusty Cage from the very same album. Furthermore, the drumming and bass by Shepherd (who had recently replaced Hiro Yamamoto as the bassist) and Cameron helps to create sound and lasting tracks with a variety of styles in just this one album. Outshined and Rusty Cage found their way onto the billboard 200 and the album was nominated for a Grammy.

Legacy

The legacy of the album among Soundgarden fans is that of an original and deep grunge vibe. Though Superunknown was immensely popular overall, many fans of the band felt that it was aimed at a more mainstream audience and thus many still hold Badmotorfinger as their favourite album by the Seattle grunge rock fathers. Therefore, if you are relatively impartial and enjoy grunge rock and wish to get a feel for the sound of Soundgarden, I would highly recommend listening to this album.

*As always, all images sourced from google images and I own no rights to any images used

Led Zeppelin "Mothership"

Its been a while since i have posted anything here. The thing is, I'd like to review guitars and equipment but unfortunately i'm not rich enough to be able to afford new equipment all the time so I have to rely on friends and family to play new models or use new equipment. However, as it has been so long, I thought I would give my take on a classic album which is none other than Led Zepp's iconic "Mothership". So without further ado, here goes.

Mothership

This album is iconic in every way. From the infallible musicians that made up Led Zeppelin, to the album cover itself, which to me evokes ideas of capitalism and dictatorship (largely due to the association of zeppelins with Nazi Germany in my mind at least). The colours of the  album are black,white and red and this too is not only eye-catching but extremely effective in showing contrast, which can also be found in the music.

Sound

Mothership contains a total of 11 tracks over two discs. These tracks vary massively in theme, tone, lyrical depth and even in instruments. All of which, however, still contain Robert Plant's emotional and bluesy screams and Jimmy Page's incomparable guitarists's prowess. Only a few tracks on the album are missing the thunderous crashes of John Bonhams drumming and all rely on the impeccable rhythmic genius of John Paul Jones. The tracks include the likes of "Stairway to Heaven", "Black Dog", "Babe, I'm gonna leave ya" and "Rock and Roll". Overall, the entire album is such a classic now that very few people could dislike it and personally, I am a fan of each and every song on the album.

Legacy

This album perfectly sums up the legacy of Led Zeppelin and their impact on rock music, heavy metal and popular culture. This album is a compilation and was released in most parts of the world in 2007, despite the fact that the band officially split in 1980 after the death of John Bonham. This is a strong implication of just how popular they were and still are, even myself; I was only born in 1996 and am a fan of Led Zeppelin, therefore, they are an enduring band and a great example of British musicianship.

*All images sourced from google images. I do not own any rights.