"No one loves or hates me/ I’ve been away for too long," CHRIS CORNELL sings in the chorus of the song that opens 'King Animal,' SOUNDGARDEN 's comeback album that sees the light of day 16 years after the previous one.

But he's right only for the second thing – the band really was absent for too long. We however, are far from having grown indifferent towards its music. This is also the straightforward beginning of an album that is anything but straightforward and shows SOUNDGARDEN taking left turns every time they get a chance to.

And sorry, dude, but we never stopped loving that.

SOUNDGARDEN are still the alternative rock band that owes the most to metal forefathers Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and 'King Animal' is both the logical step up after 'Down on the Upside' (1996) and a modern look back at the band's earliest albums, enriched by the two decades of writing music that have followed. But if there is something that sets this album apart from the band's previous releases it is the pure darkness it emits.

While the band's top albums from the 90' were far from happy, they had a sarcastic undertone that gave the music a seemingly upbeat feel, 'King Animal' doesn't rely on hints to drown you in its abyss of melancholy.

Songs like 'Bones of Birds' and 'Black Saturday' that are dark enough to begin with, feature atmospheric sections where the music seemingly stops and it feels like it is only the darkness that is left. And that is one of the two strains that run through the album – the second one is purely musical.

'Non-State Actor' and 'By Crooked Steps' are examples of the stubbornness with which Soundgarden refuse to repeat themselves and in four to five minutes take apart every song and the rebuild it anew a few times. In an era plagued by attention deficit disorder this is a rather brave move.

But the biggest oddball of a song is the final – 'Rowing,' a bluesey song where sampled drums and gently strumming guitars lace the way for Cornell's voice, explaining through simple metaphors that life is constant struggle and giving up is dying.

A fitting end to an album that sounds far from something made with the mere purpose of bringing someone's bank account back to life.

'King Animal' has a soul and is much more of a celebration of life than anything else – a loud statement that as long as you can move, you're never out of the game.

And excuse the poor cliché, but SOUNDGARDEN's return is more than inspiring!