Magnetic Eye Records have announced the next installment in their acclaimed Redux Series of cover versions honouring legendary rock classics with a pair of double albums paying tribute to grunge gods Soundgarden in the form of “Superunknown Redux” and “Best of Soundgarden Redux.” Listen to Frayle’s cover of “Head Down!”
FRAYLE comment: “Soundgarden was an integral part of our development as musicians from an early age with brillant songs such as ‘Fell on Black Days’,”’Black Hole Sun’, the list just goes on and on”, singer Gwyn Strang writes and multi-instrumentalist Sean Bilovecki continues: “For ‘Head Down’, we deconstructed the song and switched its timing to 4/4. The song as recorded by Soundgarden has overlapping drum parts and complicated timings for example. We stripped it down and gave the track elements of tribal drumming, while we added layers of vocal harmonies and voices coming at the listener from all angles.”
Pre-order now:
http://lnk.spkr.media/soundgarden-redux
Other artists announced on “Superunknown Redux” and “Best of Soundgarden Redux” to date include:
Marissa Nadler
Ufomammut
Dozer
Heavy Temple
Beastwars
Freedom Hawk
Darkher
Restless Spirit
Somnuri
High Priest
Jack Harlon And The Dead Crows
Blue Heron
Horseburner
Josiah
High Desert Queen
The Kickstarter campaign is underway and will continue until April 28 at this link: www.kickstarter.com/projects/magneticeye/superunknown-redux-and-best-of-soundgarden-redux
Jadd Shickler comments: “Next year is the 30th anniversary of the release of ‘Superunknown’, but we didn’t need an anniversary to justify an homage to this band”, states the Magnetic Eye Records label director. “Grunge has a lot of the same seeds as stoner rock and doom metal. Titanic riffs, splashes of psychedelia, and complete authenticity, combined with an absolute refusal to ever feel artificial or pretentious. Soundgarden have always been this perfect point of connection for everyone in the heavy rock underground. They’re simply the best of what came out of the grunge scene, and also the holy grail of irrefutable catchiness meets uncompromising heaviness. We can hardly wait for folks to hear what the artists we’ve gathered have done in reverent tribute to Chris, Kim, Ben, and Matt.”
Rising at the end of the 20th Century, Soundgarden were loud, heavy, genuine, and unaffected by whatever was cool. Their mix of weighty power, soaring melodies and punk sneer made them ideal standard bearers for the grunge movement, but their towering musicianship and intelligent songcraft helped them transcend the era and remain iconic far beyond their origins in the Seattle scene. Arguably their finest and most comprehensive statement, “Superunknown” was the album that launched them to global mega-stardom. It contains some of the most lasting, meaningful, and heaviest songs they ever wrote.
“Superunknown Redux” presents new takes on all fifteen tracks from the seminal Soundgarden album from some of the loudest, coolest, and most eclectic bands across rock and metal today, along with a few less heavy but absolutely captivating contributions. Along with “Superunknown Redux”, we also present our “Best of Soundgarden Redux” companion album, offering up another 15 all-time classics and deep cuts from across the rest of the grunge gods’ extensive catalog.
The Magnetic Eye Redux Series features hand-picked classic albums from across the history of rock and metal re-imagined in their entirety from start to finish. Artists we love from within and outside the heavy rock landscape choose tracks to make their own, bringing these milestone records into the new millennium with crushing heaviness and searing energy. To date, we’ve produced Redux editions of PINK FLOYD’s “The Wall”, HELMET’s “Meantime”, BLACK SABBATH’s “Vol. 4”, HENDRIX’s “Electric Ladyland”, ALICE IN CHAINS’ “Dirt”, and AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, which have included artists like RED FANG, MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, SUPERSUCKERS, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, RUBY THE HATCHET, and many more amazing artists.
Join us for our seventh foray into Redux territory as we pay proper respect to the Seattle legends. More artist announcements to follow soon!