Soundgarden was a seminal seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. Despite starting years earlier, and having a sound that more closely resembled Black Sabbath or Deep Purple than their contemporaries, they are usually considered one of the 'big four' of the '90s Seattle grunge bands, along with Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. They were ranked number 14 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. History