Soundgarden Demos Might Eventually Be Released, Says Kim Thayil

2018-11-05

Story by Charles Ken, photo by Ken Settle

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden says the band has “some pretty strong demo material” that might see the light of day

Before Chris Cornell passed away in May 2017, Soundgarden had been writing a new album. So, will the world ever hear the tunes that were supposed to make up the band’s follow-up to 2012’s “King Animal?” According to guitarist Kim Thayil, the new material might eventually be unleashed.

“We were working on an album before everything came to a head,” Thayil told Rolling Stone, referencing Cornell’s death by suicide.

He added, “So we have some pretty strong demo material that we’re still trying to finish developing and accessing some of the recording material, to be able to flesh it out.”

In other news, a goodie-packed career-spanning Cornell box set will hit stores on Nov. 16. Thayil helped curate the set, and he explains he hopes it comprises “the breadth of (Cornell’s) career, and the large spectrum of stylistic approaches to songwriting and the growth that was shown.”

“Obviously Chris isn’t there to put in his two cents, so we have to try to appraise what his feelings and sentiments will be,” Thayil said. “There are some cases where I remember distinctly that Chris didn’t like this song, or he didn’t like this record, or he didn’t like this particular version, so it’s like, ‘Let’s don’t use it.'”

Presented largely in chronological order, the box set lets you follow Cornell lyrics as they become “more sophisticated” and “poetic,” Thayil added.

Some of Cornell’s songs were dark and even foreshadowing, such as “Like Suicide” off “Superunknown.” Thayil opted to leave those songs out of the collection.

“One of my concerns was just making sure there weren’t any difficult lyric or themes. Just keep that off,” Thayil said. “There’s lyrics, or titles that may not be appropriate in this context. That might be difficult for friends, family.”

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Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.