Soundgarden was a seminal seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. Despite starting years earlier, and having a sound that more closely resembled Black Sabbath or Deep Purple than their contemporaries, they are usually considered one of the ‘big four’ of the ’90s Seattle grunge bands, along with Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. They were ranked number 14 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

History

The band was formed in 1984 by Chris Cornell (vocals, and originally drums) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass), to be joined later by Kim Thayil (guitar) and Scott Sundquist (drums). Thayil joined the band after moving to Seattle from illinois with Yamamoto and Bruce Pavitt, who would later start sub pop records. Scott Sundquist, who left in 1986 to concentrate more on his family, was replaced on drums by Matt Cameron. Yamamoto was replaced by Jason Everman on bass after the release of 1989’s Louder Than ... read more »