Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Soundgarden - Louder Than Love (1989)
Soundgarden. One of the earlier grunge/alternative metal bands, fronted by the legendary Chris Cornell. Sadly, he committed suicide in 2017, which caused the band to end and perhaps his close friend Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington to take his life as well on Chris' birthday. RIP both vocalists...
Under 3 decades before those tragedies, Soundgarden were becoming a classic band in the grunge/alternative metal scene with their first major album Louder Than Love. It's quite a cool stepping stone to their then-expanding adventurous career. Chris Cornell has great vocals, Kim Thayil's guitar playing really blooms, Hiro Yamamoto flows with his bass, and drummer Matt Cameron performs complex time signatures. The production is audible and metallic, though it could've used some improvement.
The interesting opener "Ugly Truth" creeps in with atmosphere that might seem abrupt for newcomer listeners. The irregular riffing sounds nice, so I can cross off that small issue. It shines in peace while having a sinister mood, like wandering through a wasteland. The riff strikes during the atmosphere in this composition written by Cornell. The atmosphere is quite awesome compared to other alt-metal bands. The technique used in there would carry on in later albums. There's some more of this strong writing in "Hands All Over". It's environment-themed in the lyrics, so if you Cornell yelling "You're gonna kill your mother, yeah...and I love her", it's about the destruction of Mother Earth, not matricide. Another good creeper is "Gun", with has a slow sludgy start before speeding things up. "Power Trip" is a conceited take on the lyrics and music of glam metal.
"Get on The Snake" hints at what they would have later on in their career. Reaching punky levels, "Full on Kevin’s Mom" is as fast as earlier hardcore. Still it's lighter and closer to hard rock. The lyrics are apparently about some dude whose mom gets beaten up by an a****le that was once the dude's friend. "MOMMY!!!" The strongest song of the album is the semi-title track "Loud Love", though a bit creepy. "I Awake" is more somber. The twists in the intro and heavy riffing give it a creepy nightmarish vibe. Cornell shouting "I love you! I LOVE YOU!!" add more tension to the lyrics about not taking an estranged relationship. Great track with simple yet moody riffing!
"No Wrong No Right" has thinner instrumentation and less remarkable vocals. Probably the worst here. Another simple yet strong track is "Uncovered", also hinting at what they would develop later. There's straight melody and comforting atmosphere that nicely adds to the pace. "Big Dumb Sex" is another glam metal parody track that I would never recommend for the more serious metalheads. "Full On (reprise)" isn't really a necessary way to end the album.
All in all, Louder Than Love is a strong loud album. Though I've heard more cohesive albums from more recent bands. Still it's a great album to dive into. But will I be up to checking out more of this band? Not sure, but it's my call....
Favorites: "Ugly Truth", "Hands All Over", "Gun", "Loud Love", "I Awake", "Uncovered"