10 Underrated Metal Albums Of The 1990s
9. Ultramega Ok - Soundgarden
Out of all the Big 4 bands of the grunge scene, Soundgarden felt like one of the bands destined for success right out of the gate. While it took the band a while to gain a footing on a mainstream level, they showed the metal world they were ready to kill from their first record onward.
Like most grunge bands, this debut has a punk rock attitude to it, but the sludginess of the riffs and soaring voice of Chris Cornell give the band much more character than the dissonant sounds of other grunge bands. There are some furious riffs on tracks like "Head Injury," while the song "Beyond the Wheel" may have one of Cornell's greatest early vocal performances. In the tradition of other hard rock acts that came before them, the band also include a blues cover of the electrifying Howlin Wolf tune "Smokestack Lightning."
This album may be heavy, but the band show their more humorous side on tracks like the punk thrasher "Circle of Power" as well the "cover" of the experimental John Lennon and Yoko Ono track "Two Minutes of Silence." Soundgarden would soon reach much farther than metal, but this album is the monstrous first steps of one of Seattle's biggest exports.