ROBERT MATHEU / CAMERA PRESS
Already seven years and two albums into the fray, by 1991 Soundgarden were practically veterans when the zeitgeist finally caught up with them for Badmotorfinger. With due respect to 1988’s Ultramega OK and the following year’s Louder Than Love, this third album was where the Seattle band’s story became essential, a perfect storm that whisked up a focused heaviosity no other band operating under the banner of ‘grunge’ could match. “It’s the heavy metal White Album,” said guitarist Kim Thayil. “Twelve different ways of approaching the idea of heaviness.”