Released in 1989, the album ‘Louder Than Love’ paved the way for the success of grunge and influenced names such as Nirvana, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses
35 years ago, on September 5, 1989, the American band Soundgarden released the album Louder Than Love. The album was the second by the group led by Chris Cornell – but the first on a major label – and helped transform the history of grunge.
Produced by Terry Date, Louder Than Love paved the way that was later successfully followed by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Not to mention the influence on one of the most famous songs of Metallica.
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The album’s success can be explained mainly by the band’s efforts in promoting it. A preview without a cover was published months before its release and the group dedicated themselves to a tour of Europe and the United States after the release.
Additionally, the album featured unusual time signatures and tuning, making it the first work by Soundgarden to enter the charts of Billboard Top 200 upon reaching position 108.
Inspiration
Louder Than Love left his mark on music. The guitarist of Metallica, Kirk Hammettspoke about his relationship with the album.
During participation in the radio program Toucher & Rich (via Revolver), the musician revealed that “Enter Sandman”one of the metal band’s biggest hits, was inspired by the album Soundgarden.
“It was about two or three o’clock in the morning. I was listening Louder Than Love“, remember Hammett about the composition of one of the most iconic riffs in history.
It was at the time when the Soundgarden it was still kind of underground. I just love that album. I heard that album, I got inspired, I picked up my guitar and that riff came out.”
Right away, Hammet talked about his reaction to composing the riff for “Enter Sandman”:
I knew it was a cool riff. You kind of know a riff is cool because when you play it, you automatically get a groove. So yeah, I was like, ‘Okay, this is pretty cool. It feels good to play and it has a good combination of notes,'” he said.
Finally, the guitarist of Metallica was asked if the deceased Chris Cornell or another member of the Soundgarden knew the story. But KirkHamett changed the subject: “It doesn’t sound like a Soundgarden riff,” he said.
It doesn’t sound like a song from Soundgarden; I was inspired by the Soundgarden absolutely, without a doubt – but I moved on to create something completely different.”
In addition to the Metallicaseveral other bands have cited the Soundgarden as influence.
The cover album The Spaghetti Incident?released by Guns N’ Roses in 1993, includes an adaptation of “Big Dumb Sex”penultimate track of Louder Than Love.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
