A terrible album title, but Soundgarden suddenly rise above the grunge scene, even before Nirvana make their doomed landing. 'Badmotorfinger' stomps, rattles and grooves like a heady mix of Sabbath and Zeppelin, and despite always remaining behind my preferred 'Louder Than Love', this record still shakes rock 'n' roll up, taking metal in the '90s and also into the homes of those who'd feared or ridiculed it for so long. The sound on this album is at once huge and suffocating as thick smoke. 'Rusty Cage' seems lightning fast in comparison to the gargantuan steps of 'Outshined' and miserable doom of 'Slaves & Bulldozers', but it's the clattering-ram of 'Jesus Christ Pose' that sails the band into starstruck dimensions on a bruising riff and Cornell's spirited wails. Only 'Face Pollution' slackens the grip before 'Somewhere' strolls into the city like an iron giant, crushing towns and people with a casual lead foot. Soundgarden play it so immaculately, defying the fuzzy-grunge era with slab upon slab of seething groove, 'Room A Thousand Years Wide' has elements of early Alice In Chains, circa the sinister 'Man In The Box', and it's wonderfully intelligent stuff, at times seemingly lazy in its casual brilliance and as you reach the smouldering ashes of the final cut, 'New Damage', you're left realising that metal in '91 was moving into new directions of freshness, whilst still spewing an black smoke, but those who were reluctant to come along for the ride would have found it incredibly isolating relying on their old W.A.S.P. albums for satisfaction.
8/10
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