Metal Anarchy

During an interview with KOMO News, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil discussed the band’s final album with the late great Chris Cornell. According to him, the material is like “a lullaby paired with psychedelia.”

Thayil said the following:

“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.”

He continued when asked about his favorite song:

“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.”

He also discussed the direction of the record:

“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.”

He then added the following when asked if the group have settled on a release date yet:

“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.”

[via The PRP]