''Deep Six'' is a 1986

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

featuring six

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based rock bands. It was the first release by C/Z Records, with a catalogue number of CZ01 for 2,000 copies. The album was reissued as a joint C/Z Records/

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

release on April 5, 1994.

Development

The album was compiled by Seattle locals Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale of C/Z Records to showcase what was going on in the Seattle rock community at this time by drawing on the talents of six like-minded bands. The album was primarily a document of Seattle’s local music scene and became vital to the history of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

. It represents the early recordings of a handful of bands that would later become key figures in grunge, and helped establish its concepts and sound. In the early 1980s, the Seattle branch of the indie movement was influenced by

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

; however, it removed its speed and its structure and added elements of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

. The

Melvins Melvins (sometimes the Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

slowed down punk rock to develop their own slow, heavy, sludgy sound. When they contributed four tracks to ''Deep Six'' they were regarded as one of Seattle's top bands.

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

provided the most abrasive sound on the album after having formed only a year before.

The U-Men The U-Men were an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1980 and active until 1989. They toured extensively across the United States. Their musically "dirty" sound and off-the-wall sense of humor were a forerunner for the later ...

contributed minimalist punk with "Sabbath" style metal.

Skin Yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, that was active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming Tr ...

's guitarist,

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

, would go on to record and produce many of the grunge bands, and helped to establish Soundgarden,

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

, and

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

. He was able to bring a similar sonic quality to some of the tracks recorded by bands who had diverse sounds. Green River had released its debut EP '' Come On Down'' several months before ''Deep Six''; therefore, ''Come On Down'' is considered the first grunge record. Members from this band would later form

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

and Mudhoney, two bands that would become internationally famous. However, ''Deep Six'' featured several other bands' first appearance on record and is regarded as the first grunge compilation.Deep Sixed: The Making of the First Grunge Compilation
/ref>

Track listing

# Green River – "10,000 Things" – 3:37 #

– "Scared" – 2:19 #Melvins – "Blessing the Operation" – 0:44 # Malfunkshun – "With Yo' Heart (Not Yo' Hands)" – 3:54 #

– "Throb" – 5:29 #

– "Heretic" – 3:22 #Soundgarden – "Tears to Forget" – 2:06 #Malfunkshun – "Stars-N-You" – 1:46 #Melvins – "Grinding Process" – 2:09 #Melvins – "She Waits" – 0:40 #Skin Yard – "The Birds" - 3:56 #Soundgarden – "All Your Lies" – 3:53 #Green River – "Your Own Best Friend" – 6:21 #

– "They" – 3:32 An alternative version of Soundgarden's "Heretic" appears on the soundtrack for the 1990 film '' Pump Up the Volume'', as well as on the Soundgarden EP '' Loudest Love''. A re-recorded version of Soundgarden's "All Your Lies" (with new drummer

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986, appearing on each of the ...

) appears on their 1988 album '' Ultramega OK''; the original also appears only on the double-disc version of band's 2010 compilation album ''

Telephantasm ''Telephantasm'' is a compilation album by the American Rock music, rock band Soundgarden. Featuring songs that span 23 years of the band's career, it was released on September 28, 2010, through A&M Records. The album was certified platinum by th ...

'', while a re-recorded version of "Tears to Forget" (with Cameron) appears on their 1987 EP ''

Screaming Life ''Screaming Life'' is the debut EP by American Rock music, rock band Soundgarden, released in November 1987 by Sub Pop. It was later combined with the band's next EP, ''Fopp (EP), Fopp'' (1988), and released as the ''Screaming Life/Fopp'' compil ...

''. Alternative versions of the Melvins' "Blessing the Operation" and "Grinding Process" appear on '' 26 Songs''.

Personnel

* Chris Hanzsek – producer *Tina Casale – producer *Reyza Sageb – original blue album artwork * Charles Peterson –

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

*Jane Duke – photography * Green River **

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

** Bruce Fairweather – guitar ** Alex Vincent –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

** King Buzzo – vocals, guitar **

Matt Lukin Matthew David Lukin (born August 16, 1964) is an American former musician, best known as a bassist and founding member of the Melvins and Mudhoney. Career Melvins (1983–1987) Lukin co-founded the Melvins in 1983 with guitarist/vocalist Bu ...

– bass **

Dale Crover Dale Crover (born October 23, 1967) is an American rock musician. Crover is best known as the drummer for Melvins and has also been the drummer for Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, Crystal Fairy and, for a brief time, Nirvana. He is also guitar ...

– drums * Malfunkshun ** Andrew Wood – vocals, bass ** Regan Hagar – drums ** Kevin Wood – guitar *

**Ben McMillan – vocals,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

on "The Birds" **

– guitar ** Daniel House – bass **

– drums *

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

– vocals **

Hiro Yamamoto Hiro D. Yamamoto (born April 13, 1961) is a Japanese-American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell, in 1984. He left the band in 1989; two years later, Yamamoto started the indepen ...

– bass **

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960)Kim Thayil Biography
Unofficial SG Homepage.

– guitar **

Scott Sundquist Soundgarden was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced o ...

– drums *

**John Bigley – vocals **Tom Price – guitar **Jim Tillman – bass **Charlie Ryan – drums

References

Bibliography

External links

CZRecords.com''Deep Six'' at the Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage
{{Authority control Grunge compilation albums 1986 compilation albums A&M Records compilation albums C/Z Records compilation albums