In a powerful and emotional new update, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron has revealed that the band is “over halfway done” with their long-awaited final studio album featuring the late Chris Cornell. Describing the process of working with his friend’s final recordings, Cameron called it a “gut-wrenching but at the same time very empowering” experience of “extreme highs and extreme lows.”
Speaking in a new interview with Billboard, Cameron provided the most detailed update yet on the highly anticipated record, which has been in the works since before Cornell’s tragic death in 2017. He gave a raw and honest account of the psychological toll of completing the project without their iconic frontman.
His full statement on the emotional process reads:
“Emotionally it’s been extreme highs and extreme lows. 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.”
Cameron also offered a concrete update on the album’s progress and the band’s release strategy. “We’re definitely over halfway done with it,” he confirmed. “Kim [Thayil] is in the process of finishing his guitar parts; he wants to make sure they get exactly the way he wants them.” He added that the band has decided to complete the entire record before releasing any singles. “There’s not a set release date or anything as of yet… I think eventually we decided we want to make sure the whole thing is completed before we start releasing singles. I’m excited for people to hear it.”
The album’s journey has been a long and difficult one. The vocal and drum demos, recorded by Cornell before his passing, were the subject of a now-resolved legal dispute with his estate that had stalled the project for several years. With those issues behind them, the surviving members—Cameron, guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Ben Shepherd—are now focused on completing what will be the band’s seventh and final studio album.
The update on the new record comes as Soundgarden prepares to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on November 8. The band is scheduled to perform at the ceremony in Los Angeles, where they will be joined by their original bassist, Hiro Yamamoto, for a night celebrating their monumental legacy.
