Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil sat down recently for an interview with KOMO News (see below). Outside of discussing his newly released memoir ‘A Screaming Life: Into The Superunknown With Soundgarden And Beyond‘, Thayil spoke about the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame-inducted grunge legends’ forthcoming return to the stage this coming week for an NFL halftime show, and the status of the band’s eagerly anticipated final studio album with their late vocalist/guitarist Chris Cornell.
As for the halftime show, the group are the scheduled musical guests for the Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots game, which will be held at Lumen Field in the band’s stomping grounds of Seattle, WA on September 09th. The Pretty Reckless vocalist Taylor Momsen will be fronting the band, with Pearl Jam guitarist/vocalist Mike McCready also scheduled to take part. According to this new interview, Thayil expects the group to run through a medley of some of their hits during that appearance.
As for the topic of the upcoming new Soundgarden album, Thayil further discussed the challenging nature of working on that effort in the wake of Cornell‘s death. In case you’re unaware, Cornell and the band had been working on new material for that album together prior to his 2017 suicide.
However, it has been a long road to get to this point, as the recordings left behind Cornell became the subject of a legal dispute involving the band’s camp and Cornell‘s estate. The since resolved legal proceedings that ensued confirmed the existence of a number of songs featuring Cornell, they included:
“Road Less Traveled“
“Orphans“
“At Ophians Door“
“Cancer“
“Ahead Of The Dog“
“Mermas“
“Stone Age Mind“
Speaking now with KOMO of working on those songs without Cornell and seeking to also honor him through those tracks, Thayil stated: [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“It was very different from other other records. You don’t start at one point with song ideas and demos and kind of record the drums and build it. We kind of worked in a different direction. We had to build our performances… the songs were were by and large done. But the recordings and the performances weren’t, except for what we had with the vocals and some drums. So then we had to just kind of… it was very forensic in nature. We kind of had to tear it all apart and kind of piece it back together.
So, and again, spending a lot of time in the studio listening to the material, is both… it’s a great pleasure… It presented a lot of enthusiasm, you know, and opportunity for us, but it’s also a little bit difficult, you know? You’re constantly balancing the responsibility and duty towards the material and towards a beloved friend’s work, and our work together. So it was very unusual. It is a strange thing to do. And I know that we’re not the only people have had to explore the work and the relationships in a similar situation.”
When asked if he has a favorite track among from this new effort, he replied:
“That’s always changing. I think we’ve been working on this on and off for a few years, and I think every song has been my favorite at some point.”
Asked what fans can expect from it, Thayil responded:
“I think all the material is like much of our material… There are quirky elements. It’s very introspective, perhaps more introspective than — I mean all of our work has been somewhat that way — but this is a little bit more so. And if you can imagine a lullaby paired with psychedelia, that’s kind of what’s going on there.”
As for if the band have a potential release date in mind yet, he shared:
“No, we don’t. We’re dealing with the record label and trying to work out contractual understandings. You have to think about the promotion, the production, and so we have to work all that out and coordinate it with ourselves, management, the record label, and all those processes are are in motion. So, and again, it’s very different. I mean, it’s been so many years. A lot of these contractual obligations expired. So, uh we have to kind of work them out again.”
