Editing Soundgarden (section)

===''Superunknown'' and mainstream success (1994–1995)===
Soundgarden began working on its fourth album after touring in support of ''Badmotorfinger''. Cornell said that while working on the album, the band allowed each other more freedom than on past records,<ref>Thompson, Dave. "I Slept With Soundgarden and Other Chilling Confessions". ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]''. March 1994.</ref> and Thayil observed that they had spent a lot more time working on the recording of the songs than on previous records.<ref>"Let's Make a Grunge Album!". ''[[Raw (music magazine)|Raw]]''. December 8, 1993.</ref> Released on March 8, 1994, ''[[Superunknown]]'' became the band's breakthrough album, debuting at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and being driven by the singles "[[Spoonman]]", "[[The Day I Tried to Live]]", "[[Black Hole Sun]]", "[[My Wave]]", and "[[Fell on Black Days (song)|Fell on Black Days]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301554,00.html |title=Changing of the Garden|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=March 25, 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830000510/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C301554%2C00.html|archive-date=August 30, 2008}}</ref>

The songs on ''Superunknown'' captured the creativity and heaviness of the band's earlier works, while showcasing the group's newly evolving style. Lyrically, the album was quite dark and mysterious, and it is often interpreted to be dealing with substance abuse, suicide, and depression. At the time, [[Sylvia Plath]] inspired Cornell's writing.<ref>Lanham, Tom. "In Search of the Monster Riff". ''Pulse!''. March 1994.</ref> The album was also more experimental than previous releases, with some songs incorporating Middle-Eastern or Indian music. [[J. D. Considine]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said ''Superunknown'' "demonstrates far greater range than many bands manage in an entire career". He also stated, "At its best, ''Superunknown'' offers a more harrowing depiction of alienation and despair than anything on [Nirvana's final studio album] ''[[In Utero (album)|In Utero]]''."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Consideine|first=J. D.|author-link=J. D. Considine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/albums/album/112428/review/5942536/superunknown|title=Soundgarden: ''Superunknown''|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=July 31, 1997|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705160513/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/albums/album/112428/review/5942536/superunknown|archive-date=July 5, 2008}}</ref> The music video for "Black Hole Sun" became a hit on MTV, and received the award for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video|Best Metal/Hard Rock Video]] at the 1994 [[MTV Video Music Awards]],<ref name="Tortorici">{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/501000/19980903/soundgarden.jhtml |title=Soundgarden's Kim Thayil |date=September 4, 1998 |access-date=March 2, 2009 |author=Tortorici, Frank |publisher=[[VH1|VH1.com]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604125838/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/501000/19980903/soundgarden.jhtml |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref> and in 1995 the [[Clio Awards|Clio Award]] for Alternative Music Video.<ref name="clio">{{cite web|url=http://www.clioawards.com/archive/index.cfm |title=Clio Awards Search Archive |work=CLIO Awards |publisher=clioawards.com |access-date=February 20, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212235423/http://www.clioawards.com/archive/index.cfm |archive-date=February 12, 2008 }}</ref> Soundgarden won two Grammy Awards in 1995—"Black Hole Sun" received the award for [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]] and "Spoonman" received the award for Best Metal Performance.<ref name="latimes"/> The album was nominated for a [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album]] in 1995.<ref name="roulette">{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DD113CF935A15751C0A963958260 |title=Pop View; Playing Grammy Roulette |newspaper=The New York Times |author=Pareles, Jon |author-link=Jon Pareles |access-date=August 3, 2008 | date=February 26, 1995}}</ref> ''Superunknown'' has been certified [[RIAA certification|six times Platinum]] in the United States and remains Soundgarden's most successful album.<ref name="riaa"/>

The band began touring in January 1994 in [[Oceania]] and Japan,<ref name="intothesuperunknown">{{cite magazine|last=Neely|first=Kim|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/articles/story/5924586/cover_story_into_the_unknown |title=Into the Superunknown|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=June 15, 1994|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514065154/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/articles/story/5924586/cover_story_into_the_unknown|archive-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> areas where the record came out early<ref name="nohype">"Soundgarden: No Hype Allowed". ''The Music Paper''. July 1994.</ref> and where the band had never toured before.<ref>Smith, Chris. "Down in a Hole". ''[[Raw (music magazine)|Raw]]''. August 17, 1994.</ref> This round of touring ended in February 1994. In March 1994 the band moved on to Europe.<ref name="intothesuperunknown" /> They began a theater tour of the United States, first with a stop on May 27, 1994, at the [[Vancouver Forum|PNE Forum]] in [[Vancouver]],<ref name="intothesuperunknown" /><ref>"Soundgarden Won't Be Staying Superunknown". ''[[USA Today]]''. March 11, 1994.</ref> with the opening acts [[Tad (band)|Tad]] and [[Eleven (band)|Eleven]].<ref name="nohype"/> In late 1994, after touring in support of ''Superunknown'', doctors discovered that Cornell had severely strained his [[vocal folds|vocal cords]], and Soundgarden canceled several shows to avoid causing any permanent damage. Cornell said, "I think we kinda overdid it! We were playing five or six nights a week and my voice pretty much took a beating. Towards the end of the American tour I felt like I could still kinda sing, but I wasn't really giving the band a fair shake. You don't buy a ticket to see some guy croak for two hours! That seemed like kind of a rip off."<ref>"Black Hole Sons!". Kerrang!. August 12, 1995.</ref> The band made up the dates later in 1995.<ref>Atkinson, Peter. "Soundgarden: From Superunknown to Superstars". ''Jam''. May 24, 1996.</ref> ''Superunknown'' spawned the EP ''[[Songs from the Superunknown]]'' and the [[CD-ROM]] ''Alive in the Superunknown'', both released in 1995.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Atwood |first1=Brett |author-link1=Brett Atwood |title=Soundgarden Vid Takes CD Plus Out of the Unknown |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA96 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=January 27, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610122445/https://books.google.com/books?id=7g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA96& |archive-date=June 10, 2016}}</ref>