Soundgarden Guitarist Says 'King Animal' Features Songs Demoed for Pearl Jam

Soundgarden Guitarist Says ‘King Animal’ Features Songs Demoed for Pearl Jam

2013-01-23

Story by Cat Badra

Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil says the band’s latest album features some songs that were written for Pearl Jam

Soundgarden recently unleashed their first studio album in over a decade and a half, “King Animal,” and as it turns out, some of the songs weren’t all written with Soundgarden in mind. According to guitarist Kim Thayil, “King Animal” totes tunes that drummer Matt Cameron had actually penned for his other big grunge band, Pearl Jam.

“[Matt] had some songs which he had demoed that he wanted us to learn,” Thayil told the Phoenix. “He thought these songs were Soundgarden-like and that they might have been more appropriate for us than Pearl Jam and he wanted to hear us play them.”

Thayil says that Cameron and the guys started out jamming to the tracks in the studio, and that led to recording “King Animal.” “We had a blast [in the studio] and we love the songs and other ideas were coming out,” he said, adding that it was a group effort. “[Frontman] Chris [Cornell] had some, I had some, [bassist] Ben [Shepherd] had some and we just started jamming.”

Soundgarden are currently on the road to promote “King Animal.” The tour is set to run through Feb. 6 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Ore. For a full list of tour dates, visit Soundgarden’s official website.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.