Soundgarden Recently Marked a Big Milestone

Iconic ’90s grunge rockers Soundgarden recently marked a big milestone in their illustrious career. It’s been revealed that Superknown, the band’s hit 1994 album, has officially been certified 6x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), which indicates it has sold 6 million or more units. Other Soundgarden albums that have been certified platinum include Badmotorfinger (1991) and Down on the Upside (1996). The band’s 2010 compilation album, Telephantasm, has also been certified platinum.

Superunknown was Soundgarden’s fourth studio album and is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of the grunge era, as well as being one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It features a number of major hit songs, including “Black Hole Sun,” “The Day I Tried to Live,” “Fell on Black Days,” and “Spoonman.” Notably, Superunknown was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995, with both “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman” winning Grammys for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, respectively.

The new RIAA certification comes just weeks ahead of the fifth anniversary of lead singer Chris Cornell’s death. The singer tragically died on May 18, 2017, at the age of 52. His death was later ruled a suicide by the coroner’s office. His family, however, has stated that they never noticed him exhibiting any suicidal tendencies. His wife Vicky has previously stated that she believes Atavan — the medication he’d been taking — might have caused a negative side-effect that ultimately led to his death.

“My Chris was happy, loving, caring and warm,” she said in a previous interview with PEOPLE. “This was not a depressed man — it wasn’t like I missed that. What I missed were the signs of addiction.” Vicky believes that if her husband had not relapsed on drugs that night, he would not have died. “He didn’t want to die,” she added. “If he was of sound mind, I know he wouldn’t have done this… Addiction is a disease. That disease can take over you and has full power.”

Last year, it was reported that Cornell’s family had reached a settlement with the doctor who was alleged to have prescribed the singer drugs. According to CBS News, back in April 2021 legal documents were filed by Vicky, as well as the couple’s children, Toni and Christopher Nicholas Cornell. The court paperwork confirms that both parties have reached an acceptable settlement in the lawsuit that Cornell’s family filed back in 2018.

The Audioslave frontman’s family argued in court that medication prescribed by Dr. Robert Koblin — especially lorazepam, an anti-anxiety drug — caused Cornell to display erratic behavior before his tragic death. A Michigan coroner’s office determined that Cornell did have lorazepam — also known as Ativan, the brand name — in his system at the time of his death. The coroner also found that barbiturates and naloxone, an anti-opioid drug, were also present in Cornell’s system. However, these were not cited as factors in his death.