# Louder Than Love
**Louder Than Love** is the second studio album by the American rock band [Soundgarden](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundgarden), released on September 5, 1989 through [A&M Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-and-m-records). It was the Seattle band's first album for a major label, its first album to chart on the Billboard Top 200, and the last to feature founding bassist [Hiro Yamamoto](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiro-yamamoto).[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | September 5, 1989, A&M Records; Soundgarden's second studio album and major-label debut[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) |
| Chart peak | Number 108 on the Billboard 200; the band's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 200[3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-story-behind-soundgarden-louder-than-love-an-album-that-ruined-my-love-life-but-opened-my-mind) • [1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) |
| Producer | Terry Date, whose background was in heavy metal and thrash production[4](https://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-archive-downloads/v2/code.google.com/grunge1990-blogspot/Grunge%20Is%20Dead%20-%20The%20Oral%20History%20of%20Seattle%20Rock%20Music%20by%20grunge1990.blogspot.com.pdf) • [5](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html) |
| Line-up | Chris Cornell (vocals, guitar), Kim Thayil (guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass), Matt Cameron (drums)[5](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html) |
| Singles | "Loud Love" (1989) and "Hands All Over" (1990), both with videos in late-night MTV rotation[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) • [6](https://www.loudersound.com/features/soundgarden-band-history-chris-cornell) |
| Length | 12 tracks, 53:06 total running time[5](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html) |
| Later reissue | Single-LP 180-gram vinyl edition remastered from the original analog tapes, released by UMe on August 26, 2016[7](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/news/soundgarden-releases-louder-than-love-and-down-on-the-upside-on-vinyl-august-26/) |
## Background and recording
Soundgarden had built its reputation on independent releases: the *Screaming Life* EP (1987) on [Sub Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/sub-pop) and the full-length debut *Ultramega OK* (1988) on SST, the label founded by Black Flag's Greg Ginn. When other Seattle groups such as [Screaming Trees](https://www.edgepedia.org/screaming-trees), Mudhoney, Nirvana, and [Mother Love Bone](https://www.edgepedia.org/mother-love-bone) began drawing major-label interest, the band decided the time was right to sign, and it became the first band from the then-nascent grunge scene to make that leap to a major.[6](https://www.loudersound.com/features/soundgarden-band-history-chris-cornell) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2011/BB-2011-09-17.pdf)
The A&M deal let the band hire producer Terry Date and record at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, in the Lake Ballinger area. Drummer [Matt Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-cameron) described it as the band's first time in a professional studio, a "real big-time studio with a 24-track machine."[4](https://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-archive-downloads/v2/code.google.com/grunge1990-blogspot/Grunge%20Is%20Dead%20-%20The%20Oral%20History%20of%20Seattle%20Rock%20Music%20by%20grunge1990.blogspot.com.pdf) The sessions did not go smoothly: Yamamoto had different ideas about the band's musical direction, and the album's songwriting credits gave [Chris Cornell](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-cornell) increased weighting compared with the even split among Cornell, Thayil, and Yamamoto on *Ultramega OK*, a situation that hastened Yamamoto's departure.[9](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/album/soundgarden/louder-than-love) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-story-behind-soundgarden-louder-than-love-an-album-that-ruined-my-love-life-but-opened-my-mind)
## Music and songs
Rather than a polished move toward the mainstream, the album was heavier than its predecessor, mixing a metal sound with Cornell's grandiose wail, noisy and thrashy but with dynamic intricacy.[10](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/the-definitive-guide-to-every-soundgarden-album) Guitarist Kim Thayil said the album's style was "as much influenced by British bands like Killing Joke and [Bauhaus](https://www.edgepedia.org/bauhaus-band) as…by heavy metal," and described "Big Dumb Sex" as "a parody of the whole genre of stupid rock."[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) Reviewers have noted the band's use of unusual time signatures, including 9/4 on "Get On The Snake," and the album's slow, heavy mid-tempo focus on tracks such as "Ugly Truth," "Gun," "Power Trip," "Loud Love," "I Awake," and "No Wrong No Right."[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) • [5](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html)
The full track listing runs: "Ugly Truth" (5:26), "Hands All Over" (6:00), "Gun" (4:42), "Power Trip" (4:09), "Get On The Snake" (3:44), "Full On Kevin's Mom" (3:37), "Loud Love" (4:57), "I Awake" (4:21), "No Wrong No Right" (4:47), "Uncovered" (4:30), "Big Dumb Sex" (4:11), and "Full On (Reprise)" (2:42).[5](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html) The cover photograph was taken by Charles Peterson, with design by Art Chantry.[11](https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/7077/1/BRENCE%20KRISTINE%20THESIS%20%281%29.pdf)
## Release and commercial performance
The album was released on September 5, 1989 and peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200.[1](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/) • [3](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-story-behind-soundgarden-louder-than-love-an-album-that-ruined-my-love-life-but-opened-my-mind) It was not the record that broke Soundgarden commercially, but it helped: the videos for "Hands All Over" and "Loud Love" received late-night MTV rotation.[6](https://www.loudersound.com/features/soundgarden-band-history-chris-cornell) The band toured behind the album, including a February 1990 Seattle date at The Moore Theatre on the Louder Than Love tour.[12](https://guestpectacular.com/artists/soundgarden/events/1990-02-24/united-states/seattle/the-moore-theatre)
After the album's release, Yamamoto quit, citing the band's increasingly intense touring schedule. He was replaced briefly by former Nirvana guitarist [Jason Everman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-everman), who in turn made way for longtime bassist [Ben Shepherd](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-shepherd).[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180)
## Place in Soundgarden's catalog
The album marks the bridge between the band's rawer, more punk-influenced approach on *Ultramega OK* and the *Screaming Life* (1987) and *Fopp* (1988) EPs, and the more metallic, lyrically somber approach of 1991's *Badmotorfinger*.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180) Critics have read it in different ways: the critic [Robert Christgau](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-christgau) gave it a C+ grade,[13](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=soundgarden) while reviewers at Encyclopaedia Metallum have described it as an early stoner metal classic with a sludgy, [Black Sabbath](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-sabbath)-influenced feel, an improvement on *Ultramega OK* though below the level of *Badmotorfinger* and *Superunknown*.[14](https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Soundgarden/Louder_than_Love/420406/) Apple Music's editorial notes call it the sound of a band unburdened by commercial expectations and high on its raw creative whims.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180)
In 2016, UMe reissued the album as a single-LP 180-gram vinyl edition, newly remastered from the original analog tapes with the original artwork.[7](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/news/soundgarden-releases-louder-than-love-and-down-on-the-upside-on-vinyl-august-26/)
## References
1. [Louder Than Love | Soundgarden, official band site](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/music/albums/louder-than-love/)
2. [Louder Than Love – Album by Soundgarden, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/louder-than-love/1440869180)
3. ["We wanted to be Black Sabbath without the parts that suck." How Soundgarden's Louder Than Love ruined my love life, but opened my mind, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/the-story-behind-soundgarden-louder-than-love-an-album-that-ruined-my-love-life-but-opened-my-mind)
4. [Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music (Matt Cameron interview)](https://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-archive-downloads/v2/code.google.com/grunge1990-blogspot/Grunge%20Is%20Dead%20-%20The%20Oral%20History%20of%20Seattle%20Rock%20Music%20by%20grunge1990.blogspot.com.pdf)
5. [Soundgarden : Louder Than Love : 1989 : A&M Records, Thrashocore chronique](https://www.thrashocore.com/chroniques/chronique/7286-soundgarden-louder-than-love-1989-chronique.html)
6. [Soundgarden: the story of the superstar grunge band who didn't want to be superstars, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/features/soundgarden-band-history-chris-cornell)
7. [Soundgarden releases Louder Than Love and Down on the Upside on vinyl August 26, official band site](https://www.soundgardenworld.com/news/soundgarden-releases-louder-than-love-and-down-on-the-upside-on-vinyl-august-26/)
8. [Billboard, September 17, 2011 issue (Soundgarden history)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2011/BB-2011-09-17.pdf)
9. [Soundgarden Louder Than Love reviews, Metal Music Archives](https://www.metalmusicarchives.com/album/soundgarden/louder-than-love)
10. [The definitive guide to every Soundgarden album, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/the-definitive-guide-to-every-soundgarden-album)
11. [Brence, Kristine, PhD thesis (cover art attribution, York St John University)](https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/7077/1/BRENCE%20KRISTINE%20THESIS%20%281%29.pdf)
12. [Soundgarden setlist, The Moore Theatre, Seattle, February 24, 1990, Guestpectacular](https://guestpectacular.com/artists/soundgarden/events/1990-02-24/united-states/seattle/the-moore-theatre)
13. [Robert Christgau: Consumer Guide, Soundgarden](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=soundgarden)
14. [Soundgarden – Louder than Love reviews, Encyclopaedia Metallum](https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Soundgarden/Louder_than_Love/420406/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license