King Animal

King Animal is the sixth and final studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on November 12, 2012 by Seven Four Entertainment and Republic Records. Produced by both the band and Adam Kasper, the album is the band's first in sixteen years, and the first not to be released on A&M Records since 1988's Ultramega OK.
Background and recording
Soundgarden reformed in 2010 after a 13-year hiatus. Following the success of the band's Telephantasm compilation release that year, Soundgarden had been working on a new album with an undefined release date. The band went on an extended world tour between the release of Telephantasm and the summer of 2012 before word broke that a new Soundgarden album would be ready for a fall release in the United States.

The band reported they had 12 to 14 songs "kind of ready to go" in March 2011. They addeed the album's songs would be "90 percent new". One of the songs that updates of an older idea is "Taree." Bassist Ben Shepherd wrote in the late 1990s. He had recorded a demo of the song for his solo album In Deep Owl (2013). He decided it needed the full-band treatment after Soundgarden reunited.

 Composition and lyrics 
In June 2011, Thayil said some songs on King Animal would sound "similar in a sense to Down on the Upside. He added that it picks up where the band left off. "There are some heavy moments, and there are some fast songs." Despite this, the maturation of the musicians during the band's hiatus is evident. "Non-State Actor" is mostly in 4/4, but has parts in 5/8 and 7/8. "By Crooked Steps" is in 5/4.

King Animal features more of a hard rock sound than Soundgarden's previous albums. It has also been described as grunge, alternative metal and psychedelic rock.

 Release 
"Been Away Too Long" was the first single released from King Animal on September 27, 2012. On October 31, "Non-State Actor" was released through Soundgarden's official YouTube channel. The son'gs video features an American flag waving back and forth with the King Animal logo replacing the stars. The week before its release, the album was streamed in its entirety for free on iTunes.

Track listing

Personnel

Soundgarden
 Chris Cornell – lead vocals, rhythm guitar; piano (6), mandolin (7), producer, additional recording
 Kim Thayil – lead guitar, color guitar; mandolin (4), horn arrangements (4, 9), producer
 Ben Shepherd – bass guitar; additional guitar (7, 8), baritone guitar (8), backing vocals (8), producer
 Matt Cameron – drums, percussion, backing vocals (8), Moog synthesizer (5 and 12), producer

Additional musicians
Adam Kasper – piano (6), tambura (4), producer
Jeff McGrath – trumpet (4 and 9)
Greg Powers – tenor and bass trombones (4 and 9)
Brad Stevens – tenor and baritone saxophones (9)
Bubba Dupree – stun guitar (8)
Bullet – additional vocals (9)
Mike McCready – additional guitar (12)

Technical personnel

Joe Barresi – mixing, additional production
Nate Yaccino – engineer
Sam Hofstedt – engineer
Josh Evans – engineer, studio assistant
Jay Follette – studio assistant
Neil Hundt – studio assistant
Gregg Keplinger – studio assistant
Jun Murakawa – mixing assistant
Ted Jensen – mastering
Josh Graham – album cover sculpture (The Last Equinox), album cover photography and design
Don Vancleave – band photography

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2012)PeakpositionPolish Albums (ZPAV)36

Year-end charts
Chart (2013)PositionUS Billboard 200149US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)35

References

Category:2012 albums
Category:Soundgarden albums
Category:A&M Records albums