Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil has confirmed that the surviving members of the iconic grunge band are actively continuing the process of finishing their final studio album. The highly anticipated project will feature previously unreleased vocal recordings captured with late frontman Chris Cornell prior to his tragic passing in 2017.
Speaking with LifeMinute editor-in-chief Joann Butler, the guitarist detailed the ongoing collaboration involving himself, drummer Matt Cameron, bassist Ben Shepherd, and veteran producer Terry Date. The producer holds a deep historical connection with the Seattle group, having previously helmed their foundational early releases, 1989’s Louder Than Love and the landmark 1991 breakthrough, Badmotorfinger.
Kim Thayil provided deep insight into the current state of the unreleased material, explaining that while the core writing was largely completed years ago, the band is currently focused on fleshing out the rough arrangements into full-scale studio tracks.
“This material has been in existence for over 10 years in some cases, 14, 15 years. It was in various stages of writing, sharing, learning, recording. So what we need to do is finish that process, and most of the process, most of the writing had been complete. So it’s mostly about recording. There were things that had been demoed by me, by Matt, by Chris, by Ben. But, again, demo. They’re very rough. They’re sketches. You start with a little pencil sketch, and you fill it in with whatever, chalks or oils or pastels. And that’s what we have to do, is finish the sketches. And we’re in that process,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Unlike a traditional album cycle driven by strict corporate deadlines, the guitarist noted that the current creative process is highly fluid, relying on the members’ ability to coordinate their schedules amidst other personal and professional obligations.
“It is atypical in the way we approach it. There isn’t a record label budgeting time and money, with a particular schedule. With everybody else’s obligations, professionally or with family or whatever, we have to find the time and coordinate amongst ourselves to address the work. And it’s being addressed.”
Emphasizing the massive emotional weight and responsibility tied to the project, Thayil stated unequivocally that the final record serves as a crucial tribute to their fallen brother.
“It’s very, very important to all of us. It’s important for the legacy of Soundgarden. It’s important for the legacy of Chris Cornell. It is doing right by our collective work. It is doing right by our partner and friend.”
Beyond the ongoing studio work, Kim Thayil was also asked about the possibility of the surviving trio eventually returning to the stage together. While stopping short of confirming any official plans, he openly acknowledged the deep, irreplaceable bond the three musicians share when performing their classic catalog.
”Well, we like playing together — Matt and Ben and I like playing together — and we know that if we want to enjoy the songs that we’ve played for decades, that that satisfaction of performing this material can only really happen with the three of us. It could only happen with the four of us. But since there’s three of us remaining, then we know that that is that window of opportunity for us to share with each other material that we’d performed on and wrote on together,” he concluded.
During an interview last November with Allison Hagendorf, the trio of Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd discussed the heavy process of revisiting the unreleased recordings.
Thayil explained that Date was the obvious choice for the project, specifically because of his “hands-off” sonic philosophy.
“That’s one of the cool things about Terry, is he never imposed his production style or sound on any bands. He would learn from the bands,” Thayil told Hagendorf at the time. “There are a lot of producers out there who have a particular style — for instance, you think about Phil Spector and the ‘wall of sound’. It’s, like, okay, well, that’s his thing… but with the way bands are post-1977, they have a sense of what they’re writing and what they wanna sound like, and the producers should simply facilitate that.”
Thayil added that Date‘s lack of a “signature” sound is his greatest strength: “It is him helping the band be the band.”
While the album serves as a tribute to the band’s legacy, drummer Matt Cameron hinted that fans should expect sonic evolution rather than a pure retread of the past. He admitted that hearing the new direction was an intense experience.
“There’s very familiar elements in some of this new music, but, yeah, there was a couple songs that felt like it was kind of a new chapter or it could have been a new chapter,” Cameron said. “So it’s really exciting to hear that. It’s bittersweet, of course.”
Cameron confirmed that the recording process is in its final stages. “We’re pretty close [to finishing it],” he noted, adding, “It’s fun for us to be working on it. And sometimes listening to it, it’s overpowering.”
For Ben Shepherd, the magnitude of the material didn’t truly hit him until he stepped away from the recording console. He recalled a specific moment of realization while taking a break with assistant engineer Nate and producer Date.
“I was going to get coffee down the hall from the control room, and Nate and Terry were playing it back,” Shepherd recalled. “It was, like, ‘Holy hell. That’s Soundgarden. It’s so cool to hear it again.’”
Thayil echoed that sentiment, describing the transformation of the demos into full-fledged tracks as a moment of clarity: “It’s almost like you can pinpoint before and after. It’s, like, ‘Now it’s Soundgarden.’”
