Year in Rock 2012 Nominee: Soundgarden

SOUNDGARDEN

Non-State Actor

From: King Animal

Released: November 13

A sixteen year gap between albums makes King Animal virtually impossible to pick up where Soundgarden left off, and the biggest concern raised about the Seattle giants' comeback was whether or not their legacy would be sullied. And, while fans can rest easy knowing that isn't the case, it's also virtually impossible not to be let down ever so slightly with the album; while it's a welcome return, it does tend to veer a bit toward the safe side, particularly on the Chris Cornell penned tracks. That's to be expected thanks to a solo career that's been meandering at best and embarrassing at worst, but thankfully a slight underwhelming is the extent of Cornell's crimes on King Animal. The thing many people have forgotten or never knew about Soundgarden is the songwriting skill of its other members, and this album belongs to bassist Ben Shepherd; his fingerprints are all over this record, and they leave the best impression on Non-State Actor; it's a track that reminds you why you fell in love with this band without smacking of a nostalgic cash-grab. 

REMINDER: This concludes nominations for Year in Rock 2012. Come back tomorrow for 10 honourable mentions to see if your favourite almost made the cut! Song Of The Year gets revealed on December 22, and Album Of The Year follows on Boxing Day.