Soundgarden have said they are “pretty close” to finishing off their new album, featuring vocals from the late Chris Cornell.
In May, the band marked the eight-year anniversary of Cornell’s passing by hinting that they were working on a record of songs that they had written in the period leading up to the singer’s death. That followed on from initial reports in 2023 that the band had settled a legal dispute with Cornell’s estate that included the rights to several unreleased songs.
Now, in a new interview with Allison Hagendorf, the band have given fans an update on the status of the record. Revealing that they are working with producer Terry Date, who also helmed the band’s second and third albums ‘Louder Than Love’ and ‘Badmotorfinger’, they have said the recordings are reminiscent of the classic Soundgarden aesthetic.
“There’s very familiar elements in some of this new music,” said drummer Matt Cameron (via Blabbermouth). “There was a couple songs that felt like it was kind of a new chapter or it could have been a new chapter. So it’s really exciting to hear that. It’s bittersweet, of course.”
Cameron continued: “I’m really excited for people to hear it, have our fans hear it. It’s fun for us to be working on it. And sometimes listening to it, it’s overpowering. But, yeah, I’m super proud of the music that we did put together. And we’re pretty close [to finishing it]. And, yeah, it is nice having Terry on board with us, for sure.”
In May, bassist Ben Shepherd spoke about the power of hearing Cornell’s vocals being brought back to life. “I can tell you, it feels good and invigorating to hear Chris singing from over that horizon and hear the mighty… mighty life, of souls sharing,” he said. “To hear, as a fan… and band member, a song or two Chris brought in a few years ago turn before my very ears and finger blisters into a full blown Soundgarden tune is like feeling a glacier fall away off your chest.”
Cameron made similar comments in September, saying: “Hearing [Cornell’s] voice on these powerful hard rock songs is the most empowering thing in the world for me. Then I listen to his voice soloed up when I’m working on stuff, or if Kim or Ben is working on something, and it all comes back to the fact that he’s not with us and he left us in a way that has so many questions. It’s been gut-wrenching but at the same time very empowering.”
Earlier this month, Soundgarden were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the surviving members playing alongside Cornell’s daughter. Jim Carrey inducted them, quipping: “When the Seattle music scene exploded, it resurrected rock and roll for me. When I heard Soundgarden for the first time, I wasn’t just excited. I wanted to put a flannel shirt on and run into the streets screaming, ‘My mother smoked during pregnancy!’”
In July, members of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Mastodon and more formed a new collective, King Ultramega, to play the songs of Chris Cornell.
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