Editing Soundgarden (section)

==Legacy==
The development of the Seattle independent record label [[Sub Pop Records]] is tied closely to Soundgarden (due to Sub Pop co-founder [[Jonathan Poneman]] funding Soundgarden's early releases), and the success of the band resulted in the expansion of Sub Pop as a serious record label.{{according to whom?|date=November 2024}}

Nirvana frontman [[Kurt Cobain]] was a fan of Soundgarden's music,<ref>{{cite news | author2 =  Cake | author1 =  Al Kowalewski  | title = An interview with...Kurt Cobain| work = [[Flipside (fanzine)|Flipside]] | issue = 78 | date = May–June 1992 }}</ref> and reportedly Soundgarden's involvement with Sub Pop influenced Cobain to sign Nirvana with the label.<ref name="Tortorici" /> Cobain also stated that Soundgarden was one of the only Seattle bands that he liked along with [[Tad (band)|Tad]] and [[Mudhoney]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egQFFn_5Zc0&t=5s |title=Dave Grohl - Chris Cornell Tribute |website=[[YouTube]] |date=19 May 2017 |access-date=26 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102212131/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egQFFn_5Zc0&t=5s |archive-date=November 2, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In rare footage from the 2015 documentary ''[[Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck]]'', Cobain can be seen impersonating Chris Cornell singing "[[Outshined]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6553067/watch-kurt-cobain-imitate-chris-cornell-in-montage-of-heck-clip |title=Watch Kurt Cobain Imitate Chris Cornell In 'Montage of Heck' Clip |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=30 April 2015 |access-date=26 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019000523/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6553067/watch-kurt-cobain-imitate-chris-cornell-in-montage-of-heck-clip |archive-date=October 19, 2016 }}</ref> [[Alice in Chains]] guitarist and vocalist, [[Jerry Cantrell]] stated that Soundgarden was a big influence on his band.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7NNXB8WYjw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/r7NNXB8WYjw| archive-date=2021-10-29|title=Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell remembers Chris Cornell |date=April 14, 2018 |website=YouTube |access-date=October 4, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label when the band joined the roster of A&M Records in 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-tribune-soundgarden/172326555/|title=Hometown bands are making big waves elsewhere|first=Gillian|last=G. Garr|work=The News Tribune|page=80|date=August 28, 1988}}</ref> However, Soundgarden did not achieve success initially, and only with successive album releases did the band meet with increased sales and wider attention.<ref name="Colopino"/> Bassist Ben Shepherd has not been receptive to the grunge label, saying in a 2013 interview "That's just marketing. It's called rock and roll, or it's called punk rock or whatever. We never were Grunge, we were just a band from Seattle."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/wtf/soundgarden_refuse_to_be_labeled_as_grunge.html |title=Soundgarden Refuse to be Labeled as Grunge |website=[[Ultimate Guitar]] |date=May 13, 2013 |access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> They were ranked No.&nbsp;14 on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock''.<ref name="vh1 greatest">{{Cite web |url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62188/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/hardrock_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862769&start=81 |title=100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock |website=VH1.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210112157/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62188/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=%2Fshows%2Fdynamic%2Fincludes%2Fwildcards%2Fthe_greatest%2Fhardrock_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862769&start=81 |archive-date=February 10, 2005 |access-date=October 4, 2019 }}</ref>

In 1994, [[Electronic Arts]] contacted Soundgarden's label A&M Records for a bid to license the band's music for a [[Road Rash (1994 video game)|CD-based entry]] in the ''[[Road Rash]]'' video game series. Although the label was initially hesitant due to the lack of precedence for licensing music for video games, Cornell and his band members expressed enthusiasm, as they were fans of the games and frequently played them on their bus while touring the country. A&M then obtained the band's permission to use them as leverage to incorporate other alt-rock bands within the A&M label into the game, including [[Monster Magnet]], [[Paw (band)|Paw]], [[Swervedriver]], [[Therapy?]] and [[Hammerbox]].<ref name="ChrisCastle">{{cite web |url=https://musictechpolicy.com/2017/05/19/of-chris-cornell-soundgarden-and-road-rash/ |title=Of Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and ''Road Rash'' |first=Chris |last=Castle |website=Music, Technology, Policy |date=May 19, 2017 |access-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref> As a result of Soundgarden's involvement, the [[3DO Interactive Multiplayer|3DO]] version of ''Road Rash'' has been credited with revolutionizing the use of licensed music in video games.<ref name="OPM">{{cite magazine |last=Mollohan |first=Gary |title=Reviews: ''Road Rash 3D'' |magazine=[[Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine]] |issue=11 |publisher=[[Ziff Davis Media]] |date=August 1998 |page=82−83}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Elston |first=Brett |title=17 videogame soundtracks ahead of their time |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/17-videogame-soundtracks-ahead-of-their-time/3/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013033223/https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/17-videogame-soundtracks-ahead-of-their-time/3/|archive-date=13 October 2019 |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |location=[[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] |access-date=6 June 2020 |page=3 |date=28 April 2009}}</ref>

Regarding Soundgarden's legacy, in a 2007 interview Cornell said:

<blockquote>I think, and this is now with some distance in listening to the records, but on the outside looking in with all earnestness I think Soundgarden made the best records out of that scene. I think we were the most daring and experimental and genre-pushing really and I'm really proud of it. And I guess that's why I have trepidation about the idea of re-forming. I don't know what it would mean, or I guess I just have this image of who we were and I had probably a lot of anxiety during the period of being Soundgarden, as we all did, that it was responsibility and it was an important band and music and we didn't want to mess it up and we managed to not, which I feel is a great achievement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--_rz1dHbIk |title=Cornell Hesitant To Tamper With Soundgarden Legacy |publisher=Artisan News Service |date=June 10, 2007 |access-date=July 2, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029145017/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--_rz1dHbIk |archive-date=October 29, 2009 }}</ref></blockquote>

Soundgarden has been praised for its technical musical ability, and the expansion of its sound as the band's career progressed.<ref>Phalen, Tom. "That Rock Thing: As Soundgarden Matures, the Band Finds Itself on Solid Ground". ''[[The Seattle Times]]''. December 5, 1996.</ref><ref name="Wilson">Wilson, Henry. "Soundgarden: A Fond Farewell". ''[[Hit Parader]]''. June 1997.</ref> "Heavy yet ethereal, powerful yet always-in-control, Soundgarden's music was a study in contrasts," said Henry Wilson of ''[[Hit Parader]]''. Wilson proclaimed the band's music as "a brilliant display of technical proficiency tempered by heart-felt emotion".<ref name="Wilson"/>

Soundgarden is one of the bands credited with the development of the [[alternative metal]] genre,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/alternative-metal-ma0000012328|title=Alternative Metal|website=AllMusic|access-date=March 5, 2024}}</ref> with [[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] stating that "Soundgarden made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock."<ref name="Erlewine"/> Ben Ratliff of ''Rolling Stone'' defined Soundgarden as the "standard-bearers" of the rock riff during the 1990s.<ref name=stoner_rock_rs>{{cite magazine|author=Ben Ratliff |author-link=Ben Ratliff |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/r-20000622 |title=R &#124; Album Reviews |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=June 22, 2000 |access-date=November 13, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203020527/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/233746/review/5943680|archive-date=December 3, 2007 }}</ref>

Several bands and artists from different genres have cited Soundgarden as an influence, including [[Biffy Clyro]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Lexi |date=September 2007 |title=Biffy Clyro |url=http://www.theywillrockyou.com/interviews/index.php/interviews/biffy_clyro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907084813/http://www.theywillrockyou.com/interviews/index.php/interviews/biffy_clyro |archive-date=September 7, 2008 |access-date=September 28, 2024 |website=theywillrockyou.com}}</ref> [[Stabbing Westward]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Shepard |first1=M |last2=Shepard |first2=J |date=2017 |title=The Man Behind The Music and The Mayhem - Christopher Hall |url=https://www.coolmagazineonline.com/christopher-hall |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724102912/https://www.coolmagazineonline.com/christopher-hall |archive-date=July 24, 2021 |access-date=August 24, 2024 |website=Cool Magazine |quote=Soundgarden and Pearl Jam both had big influences on [[Ungod|our first album]]...}}</ref> [[the Dillinger Escape Plan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kpsu.org/story/ben_weinman_of_the_dillinger_escape_plan |title=Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan|work=KPSU|date=November 29, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704202333/http://www.kpsu.org/story/ben_weinman_of_the_dillinger_escape_plan |archive-date=July 4, 2008|access-date=July 22, 2009}}</ref> [[Cave In]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Colin |date=May 19, 2022 |title=Interview: Cave In's Stephen Brodsky, Adam McGrath Talk Latest Record, 'Heavy Pendulum' |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/interviews/interview-cave-ins-stephen-brodsky-adam-mcgrath-talk-latest-record-heavy-pendulum/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025145650/https://newnoisemagazine.com/interviews/interview-cave-ins-stephen-brodsky-adam-mcgrath-talk-latest-record-heavy-pendulum/ |archive-date=October 25, 2022 |access-date=August 22, 2024 |website=[[New Noise Magazine]]}}</ref> [[Iceburn]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 25, 2021 |title=Gentry Densley - Interview |url=https://veilofsound.com/2021/12/25/Unsung_Heroes_No7-Gentry_Densley.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208153227/https://veilofsound.com/2021/12/25/Unsung_Heroes_No7-Gentry_Densley.html |archive-date=December 8, 2022 |access-date=October 20, 2024 |website=Veil of Sound |quote=There was (sic) a lot of other influences coming in though from [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]] and [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]] to [[Slint]] and Soundgarden.}}</ref> and [[Amy Lee]] of [[Evanescence]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Evanescene's Amy Lee Remembers Chris Cornell: Soundgarden 'Changed What Metal Was To Me'|url=https://loudwire.com/evanescence-amy-lee-soundgarden-changed-what-metal-was-to-me/|first=Graham|last=Hartmann|website=Loudwire|access-date=April 27, 2025|date=May 23, 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, ''Metal Injection'' ranked Soundgarden at number three on their list of 10 Heaviest Grunge Bands.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.metalinjection.net/lists/10-heaviest-grunge-bands |title=10 Heaviest Grunge Bands |work=Metal Injection |access-date=June 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729091604/http://www.metalinjection.net/lists/10-heaviest-grunge-bands |archive-date=July 29, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> [[Loudwire]] recognizes Soundgarden as one of the "big four" bands of grunge, alongside Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Childers |first1=Chad |title=Every 'Big 4' Grunge Album, Ranked Worst to Best |url=https://loudwire.com/every-big-4-alice-in-chains-nirvana-pearl-jam-soundgarden-grunge-album-ranked-worst-to-best/#:~:text=Every%20'Big%204%E2%80%B2%20(Alice,Album%2C%20Ranked%20Worst%20to%20Best&text=Thrash%20may%20have%20their%20%22Big,little%20over%20half%20the%20decade. |website=[[Loudwire]] |access-date=March 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008102657/https://loudwire.com/every-big-4-alice-in-chains-nirvana-pearl-jam-soundgarden-grunge-album-ranked-worst-to-best/ |archive-date=October 8, 2022 |date=October 7, 2022}}</ref>