Louder Than Love

Soundgarden was one of several late-'80s Seattle bands to sign to a major label, as A&M issued the band's second full-length effort, 1989's LOUDER THAN LOVE. While it wasn't the big commercial breakthrough the group had hoped for (that would come with Soundgarden's exceptional follow-up, 1991's BADMOTORFINGER), LOUDER THAN LOVE did a solid job of introducing the quartet to both the alternative and metal crowds. The late-'80s metal scene was glutted with disposable glam bands, which Soundgarden was a much-needed reaction against (the group even pokes fun at the genre with the parody "Big Dumb Sex"). more...

Elsewhere, LOUDER THAN LOVE is loaded with soon-to-be Soundgarden classics: the pro-environmental "Hands All Over"; the grinding album opener, "Ugly Truth"; the hard-hitting repetitive rocker "Gun"; plus such hard cuts as "Loud Love", "Get on the Snake", "I Awake", "No Wrong No Right", and "Uncovered". Just after the album's release, founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto left the band, replaced by ex-Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman, and shortly thereafter by permanent member Ben Shepherd.

Q (7/01, p.90)
- Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" - "...certainly their most unapologetically heavy record..."