Review: Various Artists ‘Superunknown Redux’

Here, we have the second of Magnetic Eye Records Soundgarden tributes, this one, focusing on the band’s game-changing 1994 commercial breakthrough, Superunknown. As I stated in reviewing the previous compilation, Best Of Soundgarden Redux, Soundgarden has been one of my all-time favorite bands since 1990, and Chris Cornell is my favorite rock and roll singer, with guitarist Kim Thayil in the conversation as one of the ‘90s riff-lords, along with drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd being among the era’s very best rhythm sections. This being said I’m taking on these compilations with a bit of caution as I hold these songs in such high regard. And, like The Best Of Soundgarden Redux, Superunkown Redux has some very cool recordings on it, and some that I didn’t like quite as much.

Opener Let Me Drown performed by Italy’s psychedelic, portal-opening, riff conjurers Ufomammut is a prime example of taking a song by another band and warping it completely into their own vision. If a listener didn’t know Soundgarden’s original version of Let Me Drown, there’s no reason to think this isn’t an authentic Ufomammut song, as it completely sits in the sonic plane that we’ve come to expect from one of Italy’s heaviest, and most original bands.

In keeping with this approach, one of the cooler tracks on Superunkown Redux is Marissa Nadler’s rendering of Fell On Black Days. She proffers a tripped-out version, her slightly distorted,  ethereal vocals are complemented well by subtle bell jingles, and some heavy psych guitar playing. Somnuri’s Mailman, one of the heaviest songs on Superunkown, stays close to the original, if slightly heavier, and fuzzier, and while the vocals are nowhere near Cornell’s, they’re close enough in presentation and sound to the original that it’s not distracting. Ohio’s Valley Of The Sun, not surprisingly, do a fantastic interpretation of Superunkown as guitarist/vocalist/bandleader Ryan Ferrier, while not Cornell, is an accomplished singer himself, possessing a fantastic voice with plenty of range.

Frayle’s take on Head Down is slightly slower and sludgier than the original with vocalist Gwyn Strang’s ghost-like vocals floating above the music, providing sonic dichotomy. Horseburner do a marvelous job with Spoonman, starting with a killer, semi-haunting acoustic intro, as the song builds with some nasty riffage and a different approach to the chorus and bridge, that had my former-Seattle-resident, pearl-clutching ass nodding with approval. Fellow Pacific Northwesterners Witch Mountain do a solid version of Limo Wreck, with Kayla Dixon, the third of four female vocalists on the record, taking on Cornell’s role, and doing her best to belt it out as much as possible, in a way that would have undoubtedly pleased the much-missed, deceased rock singer. Meanwhile, Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows fresh off their own covers album, Hail To The Underground, do a massive, rumbling spaced-out version of Kickstand, which is another track that works well with a completely different take on the original.

Superunkown Redux is a pretty cool tribute to one of the best bands of the ‘90s, as well as one of the best heavy rock bands of all time…

The Age Of Truth do a pretty faithful version of, my personal favorite track off Superunkown, Fresh Tendrils, if with some added fuzz to Thayil’s original, Zeppelin-esque riff, while the vocals are close, at least in spirit, to Cornell’s, which is in of itself an honest and commendable performance. Marc Urselli’s SteppenDoom, in keeping in with his release of the same name, finds the producer/engineer engaging in some of the ancient throat singing techniques found on his album to a weird, psychedelic, yet cool effect.

Similar to the aforementioned Ufommammut’s offering, Swedish legends Dozer’s take on Half sounds so much like an original Dozer song, if one didn’t know this was originally written and performed by Soundgarden, one might think Dozer wrote this which, for me, also turned out to be one of the best tracks on Superunkown Redux. Closer, Darkher’s version of Like Suicide is all at once haunting, ethereal, and soul-crushingly sad, as Jayn Maiven’s melancholic vocals add to the sorrowful sound, to say nothing of the subject matter, that, in the wake of Cornelll’s death, make this track all the more haunting. 

Despite a decent guitar sound, not surprisingly, I didn’t dig High Priest‘s version of My Wave, as I didn’t enjoy their debut album Invocation either, and I didn’t care for Spotlights Black Hole Sun, their quiet-to-rumbling fuzz, while not bad, didn’t hit the aural sweet spot for me, but this isn’t my favorite Soundgarden track either. Beastwars take on another favorite of mine, The Day I Tried To Live was unappealing, especially the vocals, despite some decent tone in the instrumentation.

All in all, I enjoyed Superunkown Redux more than the Best Of Soundgarden Redux as I found most of the bands appearing on this compilation do, at the very least, an interesting take on the original material with Uffomammut, Dozer, Valley Of The Sun, and Marissa Nadler’s interpretations being my favorites. Additionally, I found it cool, and notable, that women were well-represented throughout this compilation, with all four delivering awesome vocal performances. Superunkown Redux is a pretty cool tribute to one of the best bands of the ‘90s, as well as one of the best heavy rock bands of all time. A solid addition to Magnetic Eye’s Redux compilation series.

Label: Magnetic Eye Records

Scribed by: Martin Williams