King Animal

King Animal
A pile of bones in a snow-covered field
Studio album by Soundgarden
Released November 13, 2012
Recorded February 2011 – August 2012
Genre Alternative metal,[1] grunge,[2] psychedelic rock[3][4][5]
Length 52:01
Label Seven Four Entertainment, Republic[6]
Producer Adam Kasper and Soundgarden
Soundgarden chronology

Live on I-5
(2011)		 King Animal
(2012)		 Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path
(2014)
Singles from King Animal
  1. "Been Away Too Long"
    Released: September 27, 2012
  2. "By Crooked Steps"
    Released: February 12, 2013

King Animal is the sixth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on November 12, 2012 on Seven Four Entertainment and Republic Records[7][8] in the US and Vertigo Records[9] in the rest of the world. Produced by both the band and Adam Kasper, the album is the band's first in sixteen years, and the first not to be released on A&M Records since 1988's Ultramega OK. However, Republic, Vertigo and A&M are all owned by Universal Music Group.

Background

On January 1, 2010, Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion via his Twitter, writing: "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" The message linked to a website that features a picture of the group performing live and a place for fans to enter their e-mail addresses to get updates on the reunion. Entering that information unlocks an archival video for the song "Get on the Snake", from Soundgarden's second studio album, 1989's Louder Than Love.[10] In November 2010, Soundgarden was the second musical guest on the show Conan, making it their first television appearance in 13 years.[11]

In February 2011 it was announced on Soundgarden's homepage that they had started recording a new album.[12] On March 1, 2011, Chris Cornell confirmed that Adam Kasper would produce the new album.[13] Four days later, the band stated it would consist of material that was "90 percent new" and the rest consisting of updated versions of older ideas. They also noted that they had 12 to 14 songs that were "kind of ready to go".[14] Although Cameron claimed the album would be released in 2011,[15] the recording was prolonged as Thayil said that "the more we enjoy it, the more our fans should end up enjoying it."[16][17] Thayil also reported that some songs sound "similar in a sense to Down on the Upside" and that the album would be "picking up where we left off. There are some heavy moments, and there are some fast songs."[18] The next day, Cornell reported that the new album would not be released until the spring of 2012.[19]

In April 2011, Soundgarden announced a summer tour consisting of four dates in July, and was also headliner for Voodoo Experience at City Park in New Orleans Halloween weekend 2011.[20] It was announced in March 2012 via the band's official Facebook page that they would be including a new song on the soundtrack of the movie The Avengers, based on the franchise by Marvel Comics. The song was titled "Live to Rise" and marked the first newly recorded song that the band have released since reforming in 2010.[21] "Live to Rise" was released as a free download on iTunes April 17, 2012.[22] Also in March 2012, it was announced that Soundgarden would headline the Friday night of the Hard Rock Calling Festival the following July.[23] On May 5, 2012, just before The Offspring began playing their set, the band appeared as a special guest at the 20th annual KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California.[24][25] Later that month, Soundgarden told Rolling Stone they were eyeing an October 2012, release for their new album.[26] On September 17, 2012, it was announced that the album would be titled, King Animal and would be released on November 13, 2012.[27]

Singles

"Been Away Too Long" was the first single to be released from King Animal on September 27, 2012.[28] On October 31, 2012,"Non-State Actor" was released through the official Soundgarden YouTube channel. The video for the song features an American flag waving back and forth with the King Animal logo replacing the stars.[29] The week before its release, the album was streamed in its entirety for free on iTunes.[30] On January 29, 2013, the band released a music video for "By Crooked Steps", which was directed by Dave Grohl.[31] On September 4, 2013, the band released a music video for "Halfway There".[32]

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 70/100[33]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [34]
Alternative Press [35]
Artistdirect [4]
BBC Music (favorable)[36]
Drowned in Sound 7/10[37]
The Guardian [3]
Pitchfork Media 5.9/10[5]
The Phoenix [38]
Rolling Stone [39]
The New York Times (favorable)[40]

King Animal received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 70, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 32 reviews.[33] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it a positive review by saying, "King Animal is a big, bright album, executed with precision and professionalism. The band members sound older, not quite as loud, and possess a keener sense of good taste, and it sounds as if they've aged together, which is a testament to their innate chemistry. Simply put, Soundgarden sound like they belong together; Cornell sounds richer, fuller when anchored by drummer Matt Cameron, bassist Ben Shepherd, and the deceptively sinewy and brainy guitarist Kim Thayil, whose presence has sorely been missed over the past decade."[34] Stuart Berman of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 5.9 out of 10, saying "The best hope for King Animal was that Soundgarden would be inspired enough by their spiritual successors to want to outdo them, and set a new benchmark for ambitious aggression. Instead, the group's first album since 1996 just sounds like the one they would've churned out in 1998."[5] Hilary Saunders of Paste gave the album 7.0 out of 10, saying "Comeback albums are notoriously difficult to conceptualize and actualize and King Animal took more than a year to create after the band spent a decade and a half on hiatus. While this record lacks the canonizing tracks like "Jesus Christ Pose", "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman" and "Burden in My Hand", Soundgarden deserves to be commended for recapturing the feeling of grunge and reintroducing it today."[41] Luke Turner of BBC Music gave the album a positive review, saying "King Animal undeniably draws its strength from the band’s accessible Superunknown era, but also takes Soundgarden somewhere fresh."[36]

Chris DeVille of The A.V. Club gave the album a B-, saying "More often, though, King Animal affirms what a potent formula this band established. It’s neither a trainwreck nor a masterpiece, but it stirs the senses in all the right ways."[42] Matt Melis of Consequence of Sound gave the album a C-, saying "Production issues aside, this record proves that Soundgarden still have their muscle but also hints that they are in the process of figuring out how to flex it again. For every realized track like “Worse Dreams”, with its circular vocal phrasings and slippery riffing, there’s a jam like “Eyelid’s Mouth” that completely loses its identity — in this case, via an almost painful chorus that asks, “Who let the river run dry?” Still, there’s more than enough merit found in King Animal to ensure that any future tweets by Chris Cornell about new Soundgarden music will confidently be filed under #reallygoodnews."[43] Michael Christopher of The Phoenix gave the album three out of four stars, saying "On the whole, King Animal is a welcome return, and though it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it reminds us why these guys were considered the architects of the Seattle scene."[38] Richard Trapunski of Now gave the album four out of five stars, saying "King Animal doesn’t sound like a nostalgia-fed cash grab, nor is it poisoned by the desperate commercialism of Cornell’s post-Soundgarden projects. Instead, it picks up where 1996’s Down On The Upside left off, layering Cornell’s distinct howl over psychedelic textures, off-kilter time signatures and heavy, chugging riffs courtesy of way-underrated guitarist Kim Thayil."[44]

Scott McLennan of The Boston Globe gave the album a mixed review, saying "There's nothing bad about these 13 tracks, but nothing truly remarkable either. It's been 16 years since singer Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and drummer Matt Cameron applied their combined talents to new songs, and while the old chemistry sounds intact (though can we get more from the drummer, please?) the material is not particularly combustible."[45] Tim Karan of the Alternative Press gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "It’s difficult to imagine a new Soundgarden album that would sound startlingly different from King Animal. It’s right in line with the band’s natural progression; so much so that it’s almost difficult to believe it didn’t come out a decade ago. Is it as evocative and emotive as their earlier albums? Not quite. But it’s new Soundgarden songs that sound like old Soundgarden songs—and if you’re of a certain generation or disposition, that’s been a long time coming."[35] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine gave the album three out of five stars, saying "King Animal doesn't contain any standout tracks that justify Soundgarden's comeback or which rank as essential additions to the band's very strong catalogue. The album is less a triumphant return than an example of what happens to most middle-aged rock bands: They've returned as a slightly more conservative version of what made them famous in the first place."[46]

Commercial performance

King Animal sold 83,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the third highest position of Soundgarden's career behind their previous two studio albums, Superunknown (1994) and Down on the Upside (1996), which landed at position Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.[47] The album has to date reached the top ten on the Australian and German Albums Chart, the top fifteen on the albums charts of Ireland and Norway, and the top thirty on the albums charts of the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.[48]

European Tour 2013 'Plus' re-release

On September 2, 2013, King Animal Plus (with a distinctive dark purple/black sleeve) was released prior to the bands' European tour later that month. 5 live tracks recorded for Live from the Artists Den at The Wiltern, Los Angeles on February 17, 2013, and an acoustic cut by Cornell and Shepherd recorded for 89X CIMX radio, Detroit on April 22, 2013, were included as bonus tracks.[49]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Chris Cornell, except where noted. 

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Been Away Too Long"   Cornell, Ben Shepherd 3:36
2. "Non-State Actor"  Kim Thayil, CornellShepherd 3:57
3. "By Crooked Steps"   Matt Cameron, Shepherd, Thayil 4:00
4. "A Thousand Days Before"   Thayil 4:23
5. "Blood on the Valley Floor"   Thayil 3:48
6. "Bones of Birds"   Cornell 4:22
7. "Taree"   Shepherd 3:38
8. "Attrition"  ShepherdShepherd 2:52
9. "Black Saturday"   Cornell 3:29
10. "Halfway There"   Cornell 3:16
11. "Worse Dreams"   Cornell 4:53
12. "Eyelid's Mouth"   Cameron 4:39
13. "Rowing"   Shepherd, Cornell 5:08
Total length:
 52:01

Personnel

Soundgarden
Additional musicians
Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Greek Albums Chart[50] 20
Italian Albums Chart[51] 18
Polish Albums Chart[52] 36
UK Albums Chart[53] 21
US Billboard 200[47] 5

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Soundgarden Solidifies Return With Chicago Show". LuminoMagazine.com. 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  2. ↑ "Album review: Soundgarden’s ‘King Animal’". NY Daily News. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Simpson, Dave (2012-11-08). "Soundgarden: King Animal – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Florino, Rick (2012-11-06). "Soundgarden King Animal album review". Artistdirect. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Berman, Stuart. "Soundgarden: King Animal". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  6. ↑ "SOUNDGARDEN: 'King Animal' Track Listing, Final Cover Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  7. ↑ "Soundgarden King Animal". Soundgardenkinganimal.com. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  8. ↑ "SOUNDGARDEN: New Album Title Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  9. ↑ "Soundgarden - King Animal at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  10. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (January 4, 2010). "Soundgarden's Chris Cornell announces reunion". MTV News (MTV Networks). Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Web Exclusive Soundgarden Performance!". Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Our goal for 2011 – Let's Make a Record". 15 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
  13. ↑ Goodman, William (March 1, 2011). "Chris Cornell Talks New Soundgarden Album". Spin.
  14. ↑ "Soundgarden's new album will feature 'updated old material' – NME". Nme.com. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  15. ↑ "Blog Archive » New Soundgarden Album Will Be Finished By The End Of May". GrungeReport.net. 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  16. ↑ "Soundgarden reunion fell into place by chance". Reuters. May 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - SOUNDGARDEN Guitarist Says New Album Won't Surface Before 2012". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  18. ↑ "Blog Archive » Kim Thayil Says New Soundgarden Album Has Elements Of Down On The Upside & Led Zeppelin". GrungeReport.net. 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  19. ↑ "KIM THAYIL Says New SOUNDGARDEN Album Is Being Mastered". BlabberMouth.net. 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  20. ↑ "VOODOO Music Experience 2011 :: Worship the Music :: October 28.29.30". Thevoodooexperience.com. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  21. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Live to Rise - Single by Soundgarden". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  22. ↑ "Here's an exclusive...". Facebook. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  23. ↑ "Hard Rock Calling News | News and Announcements for 2012". Hardrockcalling.co.uk. 2006-07-02. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  24. ↑ "Soundgarden Performs 'Live To Rise' During Surprise 'KROQ Weenie Roast' Set; Pro-Shot Video". Blabbermouth.net. 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  25. ↑ "Soundgarden live at the KROQ Weenie Roast, May 2012". Idioteq.com. 2006-05-07. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  26. ↑ Dan Hyman (2012-05-06). "Soundgarden Eyeing October Release for New LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  27. ↑ "Soundgarden Announce First New Album in Over 15 Years - Video". Rolling Stone. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  28. ↑ "Soundgarden - Been Away Too Long (Official Audio)". Soundgarden. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Soundgarden - Non-State Actor". Soundgarden. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  30. ↑ "Soundgarden - King Animal (Stream)". Soundgarden. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  31. ↑ "Video: Dave Grohl Directs Soundgarden's Raucous 'By Crooked Steps'". Rolling Stone. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  32. ↑ Hughes, Josiah. "Soundgarden - "Halfway There" (video) • Music / Video •". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "King Animal - Soundgarden". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "King Animal - Soundgarden". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Karan, Tim. "Soundgarden - King Animal". Alternative Press. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Turner, Luke (2012-11-08). "Soundgarden King Animal Review". BBC Online. BBC Music. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  37. ↑ Cottingham, Christian. "Soundgarden- King Animal". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Christopher, Michael. "Soundgarden King Animal". The Phoenix. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  39. ↑ Dolan, Jon. "Soundgarden King Animal". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  40. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2012-11-12). "Soundgarden King Animal". BBC Online (New York Times). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  41. ↑ "Soundgarden: King Animal". Pastemagazine.com. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  42. ↑ Chris DeVille (2012-11-13). "Soundgarden: King Animal". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  43. ↑ Melis, Matt (2012-11-12). "Album Review: Soundgarden – King Animal". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  44. ↑ Trapunski, Richard. "Soundgarden - King Animal". Nowtoronto.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  45. ↑ By Scott McLennan (2012-11-27). "CD REVIEW: Soundgarden, ‘King Animal’". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  46. ↑ "Soundgarden: King Animal". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Caulfield, Keith. "One Direction Tops Billboard 200 Chart, 'Twilight' Debuts at No. 3". billboard.com. Nov 21, 2012.
  48. ↑ acharts.us
  49. ↑ "Soundgarden". Soundgardenworld.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  50. ↑ "Official Cyta-IFPI Charts - Top-75 Albums Sales Chart - Εβδομάδα: 47/2012" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  51. ↑ "Album - Classifica settimanale WK 46 (dal 12/11/2012 al 18/11/2012)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  52. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Soundgarden UK Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 November 2012.