Soundgarden will rise — and rock — once more.
And, sure, with Chris Cornell.
Certainly, the black gap that was left when the grunge god died by suicide in 2017 might be crammed with some solar once more: The band plans to launch the ultimate album made with its frontman.
“It would be a great gift to the fans,” Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil instructed Rolling Stone. “And I do think about this, and I don’t know how strange this sounds, but I feel like it’s a gift to Chris too.”
The group, which was simply introduced as Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame inductees, plans to complete the LP that they by no means accomplished earlier than Cornell’s demise at 52.
“Our objective and goal was always to complete that [album],” Thayil stated.
“I probably have OCD enough to not want to leave something unfinished or incomplete like that,” he continued.
Thayil famous a need to “attend to our body of work and our catalog.”
“I think everyone in the band feels that way,” he stated. “I don’t just to attend to my work, but the collective work, and in this case specifically, the work of Chris.”
It continues the delight that Thayil has at all times taken in Soundgarden because the “Spoonman” band shaped in 1984 and have become part of the Seattle grunge motion with Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
“I have pride for what I did and I want to see that come out,” he stated. “It doesn’t exist within the vacuum. It exists as a collaboration with Matt [Cameron, drummer] and Ben [Shepherd, bassist] and Chris, but it surely takes on a completely totally different weight when you concentrate on what it’s you’re honoring, and the work that you simply’re paying tribute to.
“It is us collectively. We want to do it proud. And that part of us is certainly one of the most intimate components of what Soundgarden has been since 1984.”
On April 27, Soundgarden — together with unique bassist Hiro Yamamoto — was introduced as a part of the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame’s class of 2025 together with Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker, OutKast, Dangerous Firm, the White Stripes and Joe Cocker.
Thayil instructed Billboard that Cornell would “definitely be stoked” concerning the induction for the band, which was beforehand nominated in 2020 and 2023.
“He’s the one who convinced me how appreciative the fans and our peers and the Soundgarden community — that includes the people that we work with and work for us — would be about it,” Thayil stated. “He realized how essential that was, and he understood that will be essential to us as a result of it’s essential to individuals who cared about us and helped us and supported us all alongside.
“That’s how I believe Chris would respond to this. I think he’d be very appreciative and thankful to all the people who have believed in him and believed in the work he did and the work that we all did, collectively.”
