Guitarist Calls New SOUNDGARDEN Collection A 'Memory Slap'

The first SOUNDGARDEN release in 13 years, called "Telephantasm", arrives later this month, featuring an assortment of studio cuts, rare live tracks, alternate takes and one previously unheard song, "Black Rain". While many of the band's hardcore fans will be familiar with most or all of the material, guitarist Kim Thayil told The Pulse of Radio why the band thought putting the set out makes sense. "It's been 13 years, so it's like, hey, this retrospective ultimately is sort of a memory slap on the side of the head," he said. "It's like, here's what we've done. I think when we broke up, there might have been some five-year-olds and 10-year-olds who probably never saw us or didn't care, and maybe still don't. But we figured, well, let's just give a little bit of an education about what SOUNDGARDEN's about and where we've been, and start with that."

Thayil also told The Pulse of Radio that a long-rumored collection of B-sides and a compilation of live material could also surface at some point.

"Black Rain", which is already a Top 10 track at rock radio, was recorded during the sessions for 1991's "Badmotorfinger" album but never finished.

SOUNDGARDEN has partnered with gaming company Activision Publishing to release the single-disc, 12-song edition of "Telephantasm" inside one million copies of the new video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock".

"Telephantasm" will also be issued in three expanded editions, including a double-disc set containing 12 additional tracks — five of which have never been released — and SOUNDGARDEN's first DVD. The DVD will contain 20 music videos, 13 of which have never been released.