  
Wow, here is a new album I never thought I’d
be reviewing; one of Grunge’s founding fathers
and fully fledged icons Soundgarden chose to reform
in 2010 it was a tremendous shock, well more of
a great surprise than a shock. Not only that but
they’ve took a break from the live shows
to record an actual full studio album; the first
studio album since 1996, whilst other may be put
off after front man Chris Cornell’s recent
solo venture I am more intrigued than anything
else to see where we stand after an enormous 16
year break in releases.
It’s clear throughout that this hasn’t
been a wasted opportunity and that they’ve
really threw themselves into it to really recapture
the magic from a time where their name reigned
supreme above all others; it’s great to
see Cornell can still really bring it irrelevant
of what he was putting out throughout the 00’s,
his writing is just as strong as it has always
been, it compensates heavily on the fact that
the years have taken their toll and have hindered
his ability to really fly up and down the spectrum.
The quality of material is great which makes up
for it not being by any means one of their longest
records; give “A Thousand Days Before”
and “Rowing” a spin and see for yourselves,
all the traditional bits and pieces are there,
some just toned back and others more “mature”
although that may be a tad off as I can also see
people claiming that to be a bit of an overkill.
All in all with everything about it and surrounding
it being a relevant factor this had all the potential
to be a complete and utter abolishment of an album,
as many acts who split for a long time but decide
to come back for what one can only assume as a
“cash cow” cash in have put out before
now. They could have run this reunion business
into the ground as they’ve got more than
enough hit singles in their increasingly impressive
back catalogue to ride it out for a few more years
before fading away again, they have not however,
instead they’ve really pushed themselves
to at least attempt to recapture the magic, it’s
been a journey and I’ve actually enjoyed
being on it.
3.5/5
Review by James Webb
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