Maps of Music

King Animal (2012)

Where the lyrics of King Animal take you, and where it was really made.

King Animal was Soundgarden's first studio album in 16 years and the last one released before Chris Cornell's death in 2017.

Key places

Seattle recording site (2012)

Recording site Avast Recording — The release notes list Avast Recording in Seattle as one of the album's recording locations. The point uses the building-level coordinates of the candidate record. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in Los Angeles (2012)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Additional recording for the album took place at TNC Studios in Los Angeles. The point is placed at city-centre level, so it does not show the studio building's exact position. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• King Animal: sixth and final studio album by American rock band Soundgarden
• Released 13 November 2012 through Universal Republic and Loma Vista Recordings in North America, and Vertigo Records elsewhere
• Produced by the band together with Adam Kasper
• First studio album in 16 years, following Down on the Upside (1996)
• Last studio album before frontman Chris Cornell's death in 2017 and the band's dissolution the following year

Background

• Cornell announced in January 2010 that the band had reunited, 13 years after their break-up
• Band first focused on relearning old songs for live shows
• First studio work: finishing 'Black Rain' for the compilation Telephantasm (2010)
• Drummer Matt Cameron booked studio time in late 2010 to develop song ideas through jam sessions
• In March 2011, recording began at Seattle's Studio X with producer Adam Kasper
• Sessions paused so Cornell could start his solo 'Songbook' tour, which was mixed in with Soundgarden concerts
• The A&M Records contract was fulfilled after Telephantasm and the live album Live on I-5 (2011), so the band produced King Animal independently

Recording

• Cameron said in April 2011 the album would come out that year, but recording was prolonged
• Cornell said in October 2011 the album was mostly done and needed a few more songs and the mix
• Band reported in May 2012 that they were aiming for an October release
• Title announced 17 September 2012; Cornell linked it to the band being a big fish in a small pond
• Additional recording took place at TNC Studios in Los Angeles
• Ben Shepherd's song 'Taree' was reworked into a full-band track from a late-1990s idea

Cover

• Cover and art direction based on the sculpture Night of the Last Equinox by Josh Graham
• Thayil sought out Graham after seeing his artwork for the band A Storm of Light
• Band asked for white and lighter colors, unlike their darker earlier covers
• Graham also designed the animated tour backdrops and directed the video for the lead single 'Been Away Too Long'
• Band photographs in the booklet were taken by manager Don VanCleave

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto.
• The band named itself after A Sound Garden, a wind-channeling pipe sculpture in Seattle.
• Scott Sundquist joined on drums in 1985 so Cornell could focus on vocals; Matt Cameron replaced him in 1986.
• Soundgarden was one of the pioneers of grunge and released its first EPs through Sub Pop.
• The band signed to SST Records for Ultramega OK (1988), then to A&M Records, becoming the first grunge band on a major label.

Members

• Kim Thayil: lead guitar.
• Chris Cornell: lead vocals, rhythm guitar (died 2017).
• Matt Cameron: drums, later also a member of Pearl Jam.
• Ben Shepherd: bass, joined in 1990.

Career

• Badmotorfinger (1991) helped bring grunge into the mainstream.
• Superunknown (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won Grammy Awards for "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman".
• The band broke up in 1997, reunited in 2010, and released King Animal in 2012.
• After Cornell's death in 2017, the band disbanded again, performed occasional reunions, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: normalized score of 70 out of 100 from 32 critics, described as 'generally favorable reviews'
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): positive review, calling it a big, bright album executed with precision and professionalism
• BBC Music (Luke Turner): positive review, saying it draws strength from the accessible Superunknown era while taking the band somewhere fresh
• Now (Richard Trapunski): four out of five stars, saying it picks up where Down on the Upside left off
• The A.V. Club (Chris DeVille): B-, saying it is neither a trainwreck nor a masterpiece
• The Phoenix (Michael Christopher): three out of four stars, reminding listeners why the band was seen as architects of the Seattle scene
• Alternative Press (Tim Karan): three and a half out of five stars
• Paste (Hilary Saunders): 7.0 out of 10
• Consequence of Sound (Matt Melis): three stars out of five
• The Boston Globe (Scott McLennan): mixed review
• Slant Magazine (Jonathan Keefe): three out of five stars, calling it less a triumphant return than a more conservative version of the band's past
• Pitchfork (Stuart Berman): 5.9 out of 10, saying it sounds like the album the band would have made in 1998

Records

• Billboard 200 debut: number 5, with 83,000 copies sold in the first week
• Third-highest Billboard 200 peak for Soundgarden, behind Superunknown (number 1) and Down on the Upside (number 2)
• United States sales: 235,000 copies as of November 2016
• Top five in New Zealand and Denmark
• Top ten in Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and Finland
• Top twenty in Norway, Ireland, Italy and Austria
• Top thirty in the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Scotland and Sweden

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Songbook tour interrupted the recording sessions, and Cornell's solo concerts were interspersed with Soundgarden shows.
• Ben Shepherd wrote 'Taree' in the late 1990s and first recorded a demo for his solo album In Deep Owl (2013) before the reunion.
• Dave Grohl directed a music video for 'By Crooked Steps', which was released on January 29, 2013.
• The 'Non-State Actor' video shows a waving American flag with the King Animal logo in place of the stars.
• The deluxe box set included a DVD of the band's 2012 performance at Hyde Park.
• Record Store Day 2013 brought out King Animal Demos on limited pink vinyl, collecting all six demos.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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