When Soundgarden unintentionally established the sound of the summer in 1994 with ‘Black Hole Sun’, what they likely also didn’t realise was that they would be setting a new precedent for grunge. While other outfits centralised the appeal of the genre with a focus on lyrics, ‘Black Hole Sun’ proved the power of musical viscera, pandering to sun-kissed soundscapes with an unmistakable edge of melancholy.

The band’s most defining song came from their record Superunknown, reaching into the depths of other areas that proved their versatility within grunge and the rock scene as a whole. Although it was their fourth record, it no doubt proved their ability to push into spaces they previously hadn’t touched, with songs like ‘Black Hole Sun’ sitting at the crux of everything they achieved at this juncture.

Although a defining anthem across the less dreary months of that particular year, the track itself holds onto something far darker, though with an aura of catharsis that comes with almost everything Chris Cornell writes. To him, writing isn’t just a means of creating art but a tool for release, especially when it allows him to express and process the things that have been weighing him down. As he explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2014: “If I write lyrics that are bleak or dark, it usually makes me feel better.”