Would be a nice compliment to go in alongside Nirvana - who is obviously to be elected first-ballot, and the only 2013 artists eligible where that is obvious to be the case - this coming year. AIC is not eligible until 2015, and Pearl Jam in 2016. All four will be enshrined by the time Eddie Vedder and co. give their acceptance speeches, even if AIC has to wait a year to go in w/ PJ.

Posted by Sunking278 on Wednesday, 04/24/2013 @ 05:39am

Gonna see these guys in concert on 10 May. Will give a recap. Looking forward to it.

Posted by Paul in KY on Wednesday, 04/24/2013 @ 08:17am

I didn't even realize Soundgarden were eligible already. They'll definitely go in but will have to wait until Nirvana is either already in next year, or go in alongside Nirvana because that makes for a better story with Nirvana being the first grunge band inducted.

Posted by Kevin on Tuesday, 05/21/2013 @ 04:25am

Saw Soundgarden at Louisville Palace. No warm up act. They played for about 1 hour, 50 mins. No intermission. Glad I brought my earplugs, as they were LOUD.

Cornell and band were in fine form, really enjoyed show.

Posted by Paul in KY on Wednesday, 05/22/2013 @ 11:03am

A couple of comments seem to be downplaying Soundgarden's influence. A quick search on google put forward a few interesting names... Quite obviously, there are Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, along with stuff like Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, Silverchair... all the way up to Nickelback, Creed, etc. Then there are the "stoner rock" bands like Sleep, Clutch, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Atomic Bitchwax, Fu Manchu, (etc.) and all the bands that came from these like QOTSA, Ohm, High On Fire, etc. There's also Nu Metal stuff like Deftones, Korn, and so on.

A few more random bands: Incubus, Pantera (starting with Cowboys From Hell), Mastodon, Blind Melon, Tool, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lostprophets, HIM, Boris, Chevelle... It just goes on and on. Kirk Hammett named Soundgarden as the musical influence for the Enter Sandman riff. And Johnny Cash even covered them, for crying out loud!

Posted by Steve987 on Tuesday, 07/2/2013 @ 11:38am

Soundgarden will be inducted in RRHOF before 2020. They are respected through a wide swath of musicians & fans of various genres.

Cornell has a powerful voice that can peel paint off aluminum & his amazing octaves soars above the dark guitar riffs. I always could hear Black Sabbath in their music. Just fantastic band.

Superunknown is my FAV of the Soundgarden CD's. An epic 5 Star album. My favorites are Black Hole Sun & Fell On Black Days.(had) They had enough hits &big CD's to make it RRHOF. KING

Posted by KING on Friday, 01/31/2014 @ 01:37am

Great interview with Chris Cornell on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast. HIGHLY recommended for any Soundgarden fans.


http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_502_-_chris_cornell

Posted by DarinRG on Friday, 06/6/2014 @ 21:50pm

Of course they should!

Posted by BulmaPunkRocker on Sunday, 07/6/2014 @ 22:25pm

They were a very good but not quite great band (enough to get in).

Posted by andrew on Thursday, 01/15/2015 @ 21:50pm

Much better than Nirbana musically. Easily superior musicians on guitar, drums and bass. Grohl is the best at a single instrument in Nirvana yet SG have a guy who destroys him.

Although I will say that on the whole package I think the two bands are close.

My problem with SG is their lack of versatility, too many of their songs sound the same. Too uniform a sound. They're no Smashing Pumpkins that's for sure.

Superunknown isn't a great album, it's far too long with too many similar-sounding songs.

Good, but not great.

There's underrated bands and artists who are far more interesting, such as FNM or PJ Harvey that also have the wide-varying sound that SG don't.

Posted by Gaz on Thursday, 03/5/2015 @ 13:05pm

Think Soundgarden will be inducted. I favor Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden RRHOF. Those were my prime years and Seattle sound was all the rage. I like how the Seattle bands helped one another and forever linked. Chris Cornell could really sing. Don't remember if he was beloved as Kurt Cobain or Eddie but he was definitely great. SuperUnknown was my FAV Soundgarden album. Fell On Black Days probably my FAV. Nirvana was elected in 2014 now it should be Soundgarden's turn. KING

Posted by KING on Tuesday, 05/12/2015 @ 22:47pm

Chris Cornell Is a fan of Elton John and Chicago. He owns all their albums.

Posted by Roy on Monday, 11/2/2015 @ 16:29pm

Growing up in the early 90s, I always considered the Seattle seen as 1) Nirvana, 2) Pearl Jam, 3) Soundgarden and 4) Alice in Chains (and then the rest). As such, I'd induct them in that same order as well. Nirvana is in, and Pearl Jam is up for induction next year. Once they are, then I'd look at Soundgarden making it in.

Posted by StephD on Tuesday, 05/17/2016 @ 14:16pm

Just heard that Chris Cornell passed away at 52. Can't believe the news. A sad say for music.

Posted by The_Claw on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 03:35am

RIP Chris Cornell. I'll miss his powerful voice and on the masterpiece SuperUnknown. Looks like Eddie Vedder the only singer left from the big 5 groups. Layne, Kurt, Scott, now Chris all left us. It shows the brevity of life. Remember Chris through his music. Not sure how this affects Soundgarden's RRHOF chances but there no doubt will be a Chris Cornell tribute. KING

Posted by KING on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 06:53am

I wonder what was going through his mind--he was apparently more troubled than we knew (the Detroit Police are, as I write this, investigating his death as a possible suicide). Rest in Peace Chris Cornell, 1964, 2017.

Posted by Joe on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 09:30am

It's tragic that Chris Cornell isn't going to see his induction in to the Hall of Fame.

Posted by Nicky Joe on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 11:28am

Losing another magnificent voice from our generation no matter how it is lost it is like losing a part of ourselves!!!! Peace & Love to his family, friends, all his bands members & all of His fans!!

Posted by Mandy on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 13:11pm

RIP Chris Cornell, in my opinion, the most gifted and wide-ranging vocalist of the 90s grunge bands. This is such a sad day for music fans. Soundgarden are going to be shoe ins for the HOF soon and unfortunately Cornell's untimely death will make their candidacy stronger than ever. That's a damn shame since they are a great rock band by anyone's standards. I agree with Shrek - Tom Morello on the committee will at least bring Soundgarden's name in the discussion. He posted a tribute to Cornell on his Twitter account a few hours ago. Questlove also paid tribute to Cornell on Twitter (the former is also on the nominating committee). Plus remember Dave Grohl is now on the nominating committee and he was apart of Nirvana, one of the great grunge bands who are already inducted. Those three alone might push hard for Soundgarden for 2018 induction and hold off on their favorites (e.g., Jane's Addiction, Bad Brains) that can wait a year or two. A Morello/Grohl tribute for Cornell and Soundgarden would be amazing and seems plausible right now. I'm fully expecting Soundgarden on the 2018 nominees list.

Cornell also had the acclaim from his peers, many of whom are HOFers, including Jimmy Page, Elton John, Slash, Joe Perry, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Posted by Nick on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 13:25pm

I'm up here in Columbus, getting ready for Rock on the Range. Guess who was supposed to headline Friday?

Watched excerpts of their show up in Detroit & he/they were ON! Dammit. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem (always exceptions to that, of course).

Very sad for his family.

Posted by Paul in KY on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 16:18pm

Damn. Lost for words, albeit there may be some typed. 1997, Soundgarden ends. 2007, Audioslave ends. 2017, Soundgarden ends for good.


I suppose life was not precious anymore for Chris Cornell. Just an unlikely end, but boy, so much greatness he left behind. The fans can take solace in that. He was loved. A Seattle radio station is playing nothing but his songs today. A gathering will be held later. It is a sullen moment, but celebrate the musical spirit of this wonderful singer.

Soundgarden is definitely a shoo-in for the RHOF next year. Things that could happen in life, tend to occur in death. He was indifferent (probably because it is like the golden globes) about being inducted, so it is fitting he will not be there.

Posted by Blooms on Thursday, 05/18/2017 @ 17:06pm

Soundgarden was supposed to be in St. Louis (headlining Pointfest) this Saturday. The whole event was cancelled since the following bands didn't want to perform in respect to the man. I didn't know they were doing ROTR. Paul - you were really in Detroit at the time? Damn. Its great that you got to see some parts of the show.

Posted by Jason Voigt on Friday, 05/19/2017 @ 15:31pm

No, Jason. Was not in Detroit. Watched excerpts of show on youtube. Should have been clearer about that.

Posted by Paul in KY on Saturday, 05/20/2017 @ 08:51am

RIP

Posted by JShortsmith on Saturday, 05/20/2017 @ 17:43pm

Chris Cornell is probably one of the best lyricist of all time. Just compare his lyrics to anyone. So much meaning in all of his songs. Some of the best songs of that time. If there not inducted the judges who vote, do not really know as much as people think about music.

Posted by Tim Knoble on Friday, 06/9/2017 @ 14:14pm

Lack diversity but a good band, they deserve induction.

Want to say something about Superunkown, it's hugely overrated for me. It isn't the most diverse album and overstays it's welcome. Compare that with The Bends and OKC By Radiohead. Although nowhere near as diverse as later RH albums, there is a thematic sound distinct throughout each record [The Bends being the summer one and OKC the winter] yet the songs hang together loosely enough that you can still tell them apart easily.

Badmotorfinger deserves much of the credit that SU garners. BMF again doesn't have that wide a range but it's about the right length. Reminds me of a Tool album which are of course very long, not terribly rangy, but are (more or less) distinct enough that you can tell the tracks apart and enjoy them for it. This my problem with SU, very overrated and I suspect some people don't listen to it as much as they say either. It repeats so much it's kinda hard to get away from it. It's glaring.

BMF and SU do sound very different to each other however, give SG kudos there.

RIP Chris Cornell. Amazing singer and a great guy.

Posted by G on Friday, 07/7/2017 @ 23:05pm

I honestly do not know that much about Soundgarden, other than hearing and watching the surreal video of the single, ‘Black Hole Sun.’ However, since Ann Wilson and Jerry Cantrell had provided a tribute to the late Chris Cornell at the 2018 Rock Hall induction ceremony, I think that there is a good chance to see a possible nomination for Soundgarden later this year and possibly an induction in 2019.

Well, what do you think?

Posted by Enigmaticus on Sunday, 05/13/2018 @ 05:18am

I honestly do not know that much about Soundgarden.
I have only seen their surreal video for the single, ‘Black Hole Sun.’ However, since Ann Wilson and Jerry Cantrell had provided a tribute to the late Chris Cornell at the 2018 Rock Hall induction ceremony, I think that there is a good chance to see a possible nomination for Soundgarden later this year and quite possibly an induction in 2019.

Well, what do you think?

Posted by Enigmaticus on Sunday, 05/13/2018 @ 05:27am

If Soundgarden is gonna get an induction next year, then Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, and maybe Temple of the Dog will come sooner than we're expecting now. So far, Nirvana and Pearl Jam are the only grunge bands in the HOF.

Posted by The Dude on Sunday, 05/13/2018 @ 09:57am

Has it been a while since I've been here...

It would be nice to see Soundgarden take their lace in the Hall. I have a feeling that in the next two or three years we'll start to see all of those groups like SG, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, etc., make the Hall.

Posted by Cheesecrop on Friday, 05/18/2018 @ 19:39pm

Here’s how I really see the HOF grunge train.

Inducted: Nirvana and Pearl Jam

Who will get in eventually: Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots

Most doubtful: Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and Bush

Not gonna happen: Screaming Trees and the Melvins (I still love those guys though)

Posted by The Dude on Friday, 05/18/2018 @ 21:32pm

Y’know, I’ve always felt Chris was the Frank Sinatra of Grunge cause he was an unofficial communicator of the Seattle scene.

Posted by The Dude on Thursday, 07/12/2018 @ 11:37am

Soundgarden is easily, hands down, one of the most influential bands of the 90's. Had it not been for Soundgarden, there likely wouldn't have been bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, etc. They inspired so many bands that followed them and even their earliest work is still relevant and doesn't sound dated by any means, it could have easily been recorded last year. If they aren't inducted it will be a huge disappointment to the music community that cut their teeth listening to songs like slaves and bulldozers and beyond the wheel. Soundgarden was a crucial and respected member of the Seattle music scene long before Bad Motorfinger and Black Hole Sun as demonstrated by their appearance and performance in the movie Singles in 1992. Their contribution to the world of music is more than invaluable, it is priceless. Even the great Johnny Cash recognized their genius and transformed Rusty Cage into a song he could record. The melodies and lyrics are so profound they touch a part of your soul, you can feel the vibrations of your life force when you turn it up and just experience the music. Soundgarden's time with us was tragically cut short, but their legacy should live on and be honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as they are truly legends of Rock and Chris Cornell was and is the voice of a generation.

Posted by Diana Miller on Wednesday, 08/15/2018 @ 15:43pm

I never realized how dark and depressing some of the Soundgarden songs are. Relistened to some Soundgarden last winter. Alice In Chains had their share too. I have Alice In Chains edging out Soundgarden for the Seattle spot on the 2018-2019 ballot. Layne is 1 of my FAV and AIC has done a masterful job after Layne's dead. Does anybody think Alice In Chains has "progressive" metal tendencies? KING

Posted by KING on Wednesday, 08/15/2018 @ 18:36pm

It's insulting how the Hall can have the nerve to cover Black Hole Sun for their show, yet they don't nominate Soundgarden for 2019. Where's the logic in that?

Posted by Michael on Saturday, 12/22/2018 @ 15:14pm

@ Micheal

At this point, It’s not easy to induct bands from the 90’s who aren’t commercially successful as Pearl Jam, but there are a few exceptions though. Radiohead was lucky to get in their second year thanks to all the support from the critics, Rage Against The Machine will get in for the class of 2020 so can they can let Tom Morello and Zack De La Rocha take some shots at Trump for the next Presidential Campaign, and Foo Fighters will get in their first year so they can make Dave Grohl a multi-inductee.

Posted by The Dude on Saturday, 12/22/2018 @ 17:05pm

https://heartodaygrowntomorrow.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/848-sat-mar-30-2019/

Long overdue

Posted by Pluto on Tuesday, 08/6/2019 @ 18:32pm

https://heartodaygrowntomorrow.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/848-sat-mar-30-2019/

Long overdue

Posted by Pluto on Tuesday, 08/6/2019 @ 18:32pm

Well, they announced the rock Hall nomination today ladies and gentlemen. We miss you Chris.

Posted by Dan on Tuesday, 10/15/2019 @ 20:45pm

Matt Cameron will be a 2-time inductee if Soundgarden gets inducted.

Posted by Roy on Tuesday, 10/15/2019 @ 21:29pm

Soundgarden will get in on the first try, just like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Green Day did. Radiohead didn't, Rage Against The Machine hasn't, Nine Inch Nails hasn't, Red Hot Chilli Peppers didn't. I'm anxious to see a second induction for Matt Cameron.

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 10/17/2019 @ 16:00pm

Why are they on the list of "almost made it" when they only just now got their first nomination?

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, 12/28/2019 @ 00:55am

How this band is not even getting nominated is beyond me. One of the most powerful bands of this generation and the previous one...if it took the Doobie Brothers 50 years to get in, maybe this is premature? Should I check back in 2040????? I may be dead then...

Posted by Roberto Johansson VI on Sunday, 05/3/2020 @ 00:18am

Mindblowing to me that Soundgarden is not in the Hall. But then again, the same statement applies to bands like the New York Dolls, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Rage Against The Machine.

Posted by DRM1985 on Sunday, 05/16/2021 @ 18:33pm

CHRIS CORNELL Billie Jean LIVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8yAZd7Ng8A

Posted by Roy on Sunday, 07/4/2021 @ 16:45pm

Soundgarden can't even be found on a list of the 50 greatest rock bands of all time! It is such an injustice! They are one of my favorite bands of all time.

Posted by J on Saturday, 09/4/2021 @ 17:15pm

They should absolutely be inducted next year, no question!

Posted by Henry on Saturday, 09/4/2021 @ 22:12pm

Really!?

Posted by Tim on Tuesday, 12/28/2021 @ 18:38pm

They'll get in one day. The big problem is that Rage Against the Machine keeps clogging their lane.

Posted by Garrick on Thursday, 12/8/2022 @ 11:21am

It is a shame they aren't already in. Chris Cornell.....need I say more?

Posted by Monica on Thursday, 12/22/2022 @ 17:36pm

Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam will be a 2-time inductee if Soundgarden gets inducted.

Posted by Roy on Thursday, 02/2/2023 @ 11:30am

I'm surprised that Soundgarden missed out this year.

Posted by Tommy on Tuesday, 05/16/2023 @ 02:51am