It’s three decades since Soundgarden accomplished the one thing their major-league peers had achieved but had so far eluded them. The Seattle quartet had shapeshifted from independently signed local heroes into a muscular, mainstream rock band and were on a successful run of one big record (1991’s Badmotorfinger) and one even bigger record (1994’s Superunknown) but they had never had a huge hit, a big smash that could match, for example, Pearl Jam’s Alive, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit or Smashing Pumpkins’ Today. But then Black Hole Sun happened.
It was the third single to be lifted from Superunknown, coming out in the US in May 1994 with the UK release following in August. A departure from the band’s usual sonic assault of seething riffs and pummelling rhythmics, Black Hole Sun came across like a Twilight Zone version of The Beatles, all twisted psychedelic-pop and eerie balladry. A few years ago, the band spoke to Uncut about how it came together.
