Album
Superunknown
Superunknown is the fourth studio album by Soundgarden, released through A&M Records on 8 March 1994. The Seattle-associated band made it after touring behind Badmotorfinger (1991), working with producer Michael Beinhorn alongside their own production. It kept the weight of their earlier records while drawing on a wider range of influences, and it became their breakthrough.
The commercial response was substantial. It entered the Billboard 200 at number one with 310,000 copies sold in its first week, and also topped the charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun" both won Grammy Awards, and the album went six times platinum in the US. Five singles came from it, including "Fell on Black Days" and "My Wave". It is regularly named among the best albums of the 1990s and sits at number nine on Rolling Stone's 2019 list of the greatest grunge albums.
Superunknown on Riffology
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Superunknown: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:13:26Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Let Me DrownChris Cornell3:51
- 2My WaveChris Cornell and Kim Thayil5:12
- 3Fell on Black DaysChris Cornell4:42
- 4MailmanMatt Cameron and Chris Cornell4:25
- 5SuperunknownChris Cornell and Kim Thayil5:06
- 6Head DownBen Shepherd6:08
- 7Black Hole SunChris Cornell5:18
- Disc 2
- 1SpoonmanChris Cornell4:06
- 2Limo WreckCameron, Thayil, Cornell5:47
- 3The Day I Tried to LiveChris Cornell5:19
- 4KickstandKim Thayil and Chris Cornell1:34
- 5Fresh TendrilsMatt Cameron and Chris Cornell4:16
- 64th of JulyChris Cornell5:08
- 7HalfBen Shepherd2:14
- 8Like SuicideChris Cornell7:01
- 9She Likes SurprisesChris Cornell3:18
- Produced by
- Michael Beinhorn, Jeff Fura, Soundgarden, Matt Cameron
- Recorded at
- Bear Creek Studios, Bad Animals (Seattle, Washington)
- Recorded
- July–September 1993
- Mixed by
- Brendan O’Brien, Michael Beinhorn, Alex Reed
- Mixed at
- Bad Animals Studio, Electric Lady Studios, A&M Studios
- Engineered by
- Jason Corsaro
- Label
- A&M Records
- Length
- 1:13:26
Line-up
- Michael Beinhorn · piano · guest
- Matt Cameron · drums (drum set), mellotron
- Chris Cornell · guitar, vocals · guest
- Ben Shepherd · bass, percussion, drums (drum set), vocals, guitar
- Kim Thayil · guitar · guest
- Gregg Keplinger · percussion, drums (drum set) · guest
- Artis the Spoonman · spoons · guest
- Fred Chalenor · guest
- Наташа Шнайдер · clavinet · guest
- April Acevez · viola · guest
- Justine Foy · cello · guest
Singles
- “Spoonman” · 7 February 1994
- “The Day I Tried to Live” · 18 April 1994 (UK)
- “Black Hole Sun” · 23 May 1994
- “My Wave” · September 1994
- “Fell on Black Days” · 1994
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1994 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1994 | 4 |
| Australia Alternative Albums (ARIA) · 1994 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1994 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (The Record) · 1994 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1994 | 1 |
| US Cashbox Album Charts · 1994 | 1 |
| US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1994 | 3 |
All 31 charts
| Scottish Albums · 1994 | 4 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1994 | 5 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 5 |
| Danish Albums · 1994 | 7 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1994 | 7 |
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) · 1994 | 8 |
| Swiss Albums · 1994 | 9 |
| US Digital Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 9 |
| US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) · 2014–2015 | 9 |
| Dutch Albums · 1994 | 11 |
| US Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) · 2014–2015 | 12 |
| German Albums · 1994 | 13 |
| Austrian Albums · 1994 | 19 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2017 | 22 |
| Hungarian Albums (Mahasz) · 1994 | 30 |
| Ireland 2 · 2017 | 38 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2017 | 43 |
| French Albums · 1994 | 44 |
| Spanish Albums · 2014–2015 | 85 |
| Italian Albums · 2014–2015 | 87 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2014–2015 | 138 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2017 | 3× Platinum |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| Italy · 2019 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1995 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2022 | Platinum |
| Sweden · 1994 | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
| United States · 2022 | 6× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
83.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
17k
ListenBrainz listeners
207k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
61k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 8 March
Every year →
More from Soundgarden
Full discography →
Screaming Life
1987
Fopp
1988
Ultramega OK
1988
Louder Than Love
1989
Screaming Life / Fopp
1990
Loudest Love
1990
Badmotorfinger
1991
Songs From the Superunknown
1995
Down on the Upside
1996
A‐Sides
1997
Telephantasm
2010
Before the Doors: Live on I-5
2011
King Animal
2012
Echo of Miles: The Originals
2014
Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path
2014
Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
2016
The best of 1994
All of 1994 →
Dookie
Green Day · 1994
The Division Bell
Pink Floyd · 1994
MTV Unplugged in New York
Nirvana · 1994
Definitely Maybe
Oasis · 1994
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails · 1994
Vitalogy
Pearl Jam · 1994
Weezer
Weezer · 1994
Korn
Korn · 1994
Youthanasia
Megadeth · 1994
Far Beyond Driven
Pantera · 1994
Jar of Flies
Alice in Chains · 1994
Pisces Iscariot
The Smashing Pumpkins · 1994
More on A&M Records
The label →Badmotorfinger
Soundgarden · 1991
Down on the Upside
Soundgarden · 1996
Louder Than Love
Soundgarden · 1989
Telephantasm
Soundgarden · 2010
Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas
Soundgarden · 2016
Echo of Miles: The Originals
Soundgarden · 2014
Loudest Love
Soundgarden · 1990
A‐Sides
Soundgarden · 1997
Songs From the Superunknown
Soundgarden · 1995
Before the Doors: Live on I-5
Soundgarden · 2011
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1994-03-07 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 7 March 1994 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 8 March 1994 | |
| Wikidata | 8 March 1994 | |
| US release | 8 March 1994 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 7 March 1994 | earliest UK or European date |
35 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | A&M Records | 731454021524 | deluxe |
| 1994 | CA | A&M Records | 73145401982897 | deluxe |
| 1994 | US | A&M Records | 731454019811 | deluxe |
| 1994 | GB | A&M Records | 731454021524 | deluxe |
| 1994 | US | A&M Records | 020831475129 | deluxe |
| 1994 | AU | Polydor | 731454021524 | deluxe |
| 7 March 1994 | XE | A&M Records | 731454021524 | original |
| 7 March 1994 | JP | A&M Records | 4988005137807 | original |
| 8 March 1994 | US | A&M Records | 731454019828 | deluxe |
| 8 March 1994 | CA | A&M Records | 77749901744302 | deluxe |
| 8 March 1994 | US | A&M Records | 731454019828 | deluxe |
| 8 March 1994 | US | A&M Records | deluxe | |
| 8 March 1994 | XE | A&M Records | 731454021548 | deluxe |
| 25 March 1994 | ZA | A&M Records | 6001210717034 | deluxe |
| 2001 | XE | A&M Records | 731454021524 | deluxe |
| 2004 | DE | Universal | 731454021517 | deluxe |
| 2004 | XE | A&M Records | deluxe | |
| 2006 | RU | A&M Records | 4605026008762 | deluxe |
| 3 December 2008 | JP | A&M Records | 4988005538277 | deluxe |
| 30 May 2014 | XE | A&M Records | 602537789894 | deluxe |
| 30 May 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537781621 | deluxe |
| 30 May 2014 | XE | A&M Records | 602537789818 | deluxe |
| June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 00602537904211 | deluxe |
| 2 June 2014 | GB | A&M Records | 602537781836 | deluxe |
| 2 June 2014 | XW | A&M Records | 00602537787463 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537781621 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537879724 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | XW | Geffen | 00602537879830 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | XW | A&M Records | 00602537875580 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | XW | A&M Records | 00602537879717 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537781836 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537867011 | deluxe |
| 3 June 2014 | US | A&M Records | 602537789894 | remaster |
| 14 March 2018 | JP | A&M Records | 4988031268810 | deluxe |
| — | — | A&M Records | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| itunes | 1430×1408 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |