Badmotorfinger: best "grunge" album of the 90s?

[Talking Backwards]

Or hard rock, whatever you want to call it. I used to think that Dirt was my favorite album, and Alice in Chains my favorite 90s band (they were for a long while, and are still in my top ten at least). I've been in a mood to listen to Soundgarden a lot lately, and Badmotorfinger just doesn't have any weak tracks at all. Even those that I used to think could be filler, or almost filler don't sound like that at all to me anymore.

And Chris' voice. Jesus Christ, has there been another voice like that since the 90s in rock? Myles Kennedy is the closest I think, but even he's still no Chris. It makes hearing his trashed voice in Audioslave and the ho-hum stuff on King Animal (which wasn't a complete failure) that much harder to listen to.

Superunknown might have garnered all of the accolades due to Black Hole Sun and Spoonman, but Badmotorfinger was the stronger album I think.

 

[Psychonaut]

I greatly preferred Mother Love Bone to anything Soundgarden or Pearl Jam put out. AiC is pretty ace, though.

 

[lad]

Good shout. Overall I still prefer Dirt.

Miles Kennedy is sensational (a nae bad guitarist, as well).

 

[Talking Backwards]

Heh, kind of assumed whoever replied would mention Dirt being preferred. It's still one of the best AIC albums, but I don't see it as their best. I also don't really see it as equalling Badmotorfinger, even if it has some songs on it that I like much more than anything on the Soundgarden album. The problem is that it's not quite as consistent and there's a few tracks that I just listen to while waiting for the next.

Facelift on the other hand can give this album a run for it's money, if not top it. It's also the best AIC album (IMO of course).

 

[Dead Winter]

Dirt is my favorite 90's album, and has zero weak tracks on it. Badmotorfinger is my second favorite.

 

[Talking Backwards]

Who knows, maybe in another ten years I'll revert back to Dirt (I must have listened to it every day for like a year and a half upon release). I just know that Down in a Hole; while a good song does nothing for me, and I got so sick of hearing Rooster.

 

[~Lynn~]

Louder than Love is way better album... 90% of 90's music is complete ass sucking drivel.

 

[Talking Backwards]

Eh, that's probably my third (maybe second)favorite of Soundgarden. Hands All Over, Ugly Truth, No Wrong No Right and Loud Love are the standouts to me.
Chris' wailing dramatically improved on Badmotorfinger too. It might not have been as banshee high, but it complemented the songs way more. Both albums were their heaviest too.

Btw, I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. Just giving my two cents.

 

[Dead Winter]

Louder than Love is way better album... 90% of 90's music is complete ass sucking drivel.

The first half of the 90's was chock full of awesomeness; the second half was pretty shit.

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

All of those bands are pretty terrible.

 

[Talking Backwards]

Speaking of Kennedy, the latest Alter Bridge has some really great songs on it. I don't believe the album is as strong as what Blackbird was in a general sense, but it has some of the best songs they've ever written on it.

This is an almost Nevermoresque song.



What pisses me off the most about this band though is that they have all of the necessary ingredients to make amazing albums, but instead they have albums with a few great songs, a few good and then a bunch of songs that have some great riffs and build up that gets absolutely demolished by a chorus that simply kills the intensity. Blackbird was the closest they've come to an amazing album.

 

[DigLazarusDig]

Dirt

 

[Kafka]

Dirt followed by facelift, and then MAYBE....Ten.....

 

[Talking Backwards]

Hmm, I've been looking backwards a lot lately to find something "new" to listen to. Has anyone actually heard of My Sister's Machine or Gruntruck? MSM had some regular airplay and a video or two on Mtv and were on the verge of being huge. Gruntruck on the other hand had a really shitty label and never got the publicity they quite deserved, despite touring with both Alice In Chains and Pantera. The vocalist/guitarist was also a primary member of Skin Yard; a band that was a huge influence on Soundgarden (and also sported Matt Cameron for a year).

In all honesty, I think both of these bands were just as good as Seattle's "big four" in many ways, and I can easily say that Gruntruck's Push is grossy underrated. Both bands have that obvious Seattle sound, but one sounds more like AIC, while the other much closer (but not exactly) to Soundgarden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmHouDt3oTE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtxVMRjkdgA

Neat little fact: the vocalist/guitarist for MSM was the guitarist in Alice 'N Chains prior to them disbanding, and Staley joining Cantrell and using Alice In Chains. Influences abound.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Dirt or Jar of Flies are the only acceptable answers.

 

[Talking Backwards]

With such a quick response, I'm just going to assume you didn't even bother listening to either of the links yet. Dirt has so many awesome songs, but it has filler too. It may be the album where they solidified their sound, but there's still a few tracks that are filler, or were overplayed so much as to cause fatigue. Facelift does not have much filler in comparison. Jar of Flies is easily my third favorite by them though.

Dunno, it's like comparing two 10/10s to one another.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Facelift was FAR more consistent. It was my first AIC album I was 13. But the apex beats consistency, everytime, in my opinion.

 

[Talking Backwards]

Facelift was FAR more consistent. It was my first AIC album I was 13. But the apex beats consistency, everytime, in my opinion.

Whatever floats your boat. I like good albums that I can listen to from start to finish without there being huge peaks and valleys. I mean, "Them Bones", "Angry Chair" and "Would?" are far and away the best tracks by a huge margin. "Rooster" might have been the biggest hit, and arguably better written, but it's just bland in comparison. Another reason Dirt stands out is because of the production and super thick sound. Imagine Facelift with the same aspects... I guess if we're going to argue about consistency though, Jar of Flies beats both. It's also not a full album though, so maybe that's an unfair comparison.

One thing is for sure, Facelift had the best bass playing on any AIC album bar none. The bass on the albums after didn't even come close. Maybe because Facelift was much more "metal" too before they cashed in on the grunge scene?

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Cheers to that.

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

I generally don't make genre-wide generalizations, but I could never really get into any grunge. I don't mind Alice In Chains, but I don't actively listen to any of those bands.