Metal Anarchy

During an interview with The Seattle Times, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist Kim Thayil discussed their upcoming album. The effort, which features vocals from the late Chris Cornell, will serve as a tribute to the frontman.

Cameron said the following about the record:

“It’s a massive emotional roller coaster. A lot of highs, a lot of lows. The highs are based on the fact that the music is seeing its light of day, it’s coming to life. Some of it feels like it could have been a new chapter in songwriting for the group, so that’s super bittersweet. But it’s been challenging to work on some of this music, soloing up Chris’s vocals and hearing that beautiful voice come through the speakers all on its own.”

Thayil also discussed the lengthy wait for the album, which was delayed following a legal dispute with Cornell’s widow Vicky and his estate:

“The delay in the process was damaging in some ways to the emotive nature of the experience. Certainly, it’s great that we’re doing it now. I’m wondering — because you can’t help but wonder — how that emotive and creative journey might have been undertaken six, seven, eight years ago. You will never know that, and there’s something unfortunate (and) damaging about that. But there’s something also beneficial about that because we’re doing it now, and it’s beautiful. It’s a way to post tribute to our beloved brother. All of it just has that much more weight emotionally and creatively, and we don’t take that lightly.”

Cameron also discussed the possibility of performing the new songs live:

“We haven’t really gotten there yet. We’re just trying to get the music together. But I think there might be some situations where it would be really cool to do that. It’s just a matter of getting the right people together, and we’ve got some amazing people that we’ve been working with, some singers that have expressed interest. So, we’re really, really excited about what that could potentially look like.”