Soundgarden
Been Away Too Long

We're almost there, on November 13th, after 16 years of a flat discography, Soundgarden will return to the market with "King Animal".

The thing that makes me wrinkle my nose a bit, despite being one of the most ardent supporters of Cornelious & friends, was first the single, to be completely honest, quite questionable, more of a leftover from solo Cornell than a true Soundgarden hallmark, released for the soundtrack of yet another American blockbuster: The Avengers, and subsequently the colossal blunder of releasing a trailer (first time in human history seeing a trailer for a record) for the presentation of the new "King Animal.

 Now, I can understand that the Soundgarden reached a certain global fame at the time of Superunknown, that the guys demonstrated they could play and had musical inventions, combined with somewhat unconventional timing, a bit above the standard. It's okay that they have a frontman with an extraordinary voice, not to mention also a handsome man to look at, even at the ripe age of 48, singing and playing while making explicit stalking and harassment to his screaming pipes... But from here to releasing a trailer for a record... Meh... Not even if it were the return of Led Zeppelin with a resurrected John Bonham and Robert Plant from 1969. After all, Soundgarden, attributing all their merits, were just one of the four leading bands of a great period that lasted more or less as long as the flash of a match. Their discography doesn’t exceed ten years, so I don't think they can be considered among the leading icons in rock history.

 Well, having said this, let's analyze the first extract from this operation, which is "Been Away Too Long", which seemed more like sailing for monetary shores to many, rather than a reunion for glory... 

 And I'll do it with the words of a person who, in musical terms, I esteem almost as much as the stentorian Cristiano Cornelio, namely the one who tried (in vain) to guide me towards a less reckless use of the voice in all its facets, Mr. Tiziano Spigno: "BWell, it may not be the song of the century, but it flows well and most importantly, it sounds like Soundgarden without seeming like a pathetic attempt to mimic the good old days: the Morrisonian influences inCornell's melodies are still the same and the piece is quite catchy without being predictable. Nice production, by the way, nice sounds, modern, but not over-inflated like the current post-grunge wants, something that's fine for Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry, but that would have clashed on a Soundgarden record. For now, on first impression, I’d say thumbs up".

There, I wouldn’t have been able to do better or add anything else..

Fate vobis..