The new album was actually very solid. I would say it compares most to "Badmotorfinger" musically. A couple of things I noted:
A) There are no filler songs.
That's not to say there weren't song from this record that I didn't like. I didn't care for a Thousand Days Before or Black Saturday most notably, but it doesn't sound like there are any half-assed songs. That was my biggest problem with Down on the Upside. It had eight really good songs and a kickass outtake, which is almost all you need for a great album, but that record had 16 songs, and half of them were quite obviously subpar to the standout tracks like Pretty Noose and Zero Chance. Even Superunknown, which I consider to be the greatest grunge album, had some filler (Kickstand, even though I love that song, it sounds very unfinished). I think Down on the Upside would have been a lot better if they had just taken more time to write good songs for it, as they did for this album. I'm glad they took almost three years since announcing their reunion to make sure King Animal was as strong as it could be.
B) There are no signature songs.
Although it's not my favorite, the single "Been Away Too Long" is easily the most memorable and catchy track on the record. I'd call this a quality album, but it's completely void of any track that will define its era. Superunknown had Black Hole Sun, Fell on Black Days, Spoonman, the Day I Tried to Live, and My Wave. Down on the Upside had Pretty Noose, Burden in My Hand, and Blow Up the Outside World. Badmotorfinger had Outshined, Rusty Cage, and Jesus Christ Pose. King Animal doesn't have any song that particularly stands out all at once, or will go on to be considered a classic in their catalog, which kind of bummed me out. King Animal is very consistent in that way.
It's a good record, but it's definitely a record for the fans. Not many people who don't know much about Soundgarden are going to hear Been Away Too Long or whatever the second single and have an epiphany.
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