KIM THAYIL On SOUNDGARDEN's Upcoming Album: 'It's Very Introspective', With 'Quirky Elements'

In a new interview with KOMO News' Molly Shen, guitarist Kim Thayil discussed the album he and the other surviving members of SOUNDGARDEN are working on featuring previously unreleased recordings they made with late frontman Chris Cornell before his 2017 death. Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd are collaborating with producer Terry Date, who previously helmed SOUNDGARDEN's "Louder Than Love" (1989) and "Badmotorfinger" (1991) LPs. Kim said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was very different from 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 had to work in a different direction. We had to build our performances. I mean, the songs 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'd kind of have to tear it all apart and kind of piece it back together. 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, an opportunity for us, but it's also a little bit difficult. And 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 was a strange thing to do. And I know that we're not the only people that have had to explore the work and the relationships with it in a similar situation."

Asked if he has a favorite song out of these new ones, Kim said: "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."

Regarding what fans can expect from the new SOUNDGARDEN material, Kim said: "I think all the material is, like much of our material, it's… 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."

As for when the new SOUNDGARDEN LP will see the light of day, Kim said: "We don't [have a release date yet]. We're dealing with the record label, trying to work out contractual understandings. And you have to think about the promotion, the production... So we have to work all that out and coordinate it with ourselves, management, the record label, and all those processes are in motion. And again, it's very different. I mean, it's been so many years, a lot of these contractual obligations expired, so we have to kind of work them out again."

Mixing sessions for the new SOUNDGARDEN album recently took place with Joe Barresi, a producer, engineer and mixer who as previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, VOLBEAT, SLIPKNOT, MONSTER MAGNET, BAD RELIGION and many, many other big rock acts.

In 2010, SOUNDGARDEN reunited for new tour and released a new album, "King Animal", on November 13, 2012. The band effectively split up again following Cornell's death in May 2017.

This past May, Kim told LifeMinute editor-in-chief Joann Butler about SOUNDGARDEN's upcoming LP: "This material has been in existence for over 10 years in some cases, 14, 15 years. It was in various stages of writing, sharing, learning, recording. So what we need to do is finish that process, and most of the process, most of the writing had been complete. So it's mostly about recording. There were things that had been demoed by me, by Matt, by Chris, by Ben. But, again, demo. They're very rough. They're sketches. You start with a little pencil sketch, and you fill it in with whatever, chalks or oils or pastels. And that's what we have to do, is finish the sketches. And we're in that process. It is atypical in the way we approach it. There isn't a record label budgeting time and money, with a particular schedule. With everybody else's obligations, professionally or with family or whatever, we have to find the time and coordinate amongst ourselves to address the work. And it's being addressed."

He added: "It's very, very important to all of us. It's important for the legacy of SOUNDGARDEN. It's important for the legacy of Chris Cornell. It is doing right by our collective work. It is doing right by our partner and friend."

Cornell is credited as a writer on all eight songs which are expected to appear on SOUNDGARDEN's upcoming album, receiving sole credit on two, "Cancer" and "Stone Age Mind". He wrote "Road Less Traveled", "Orphans" and "At Ophians Door" with Cameron; "Ahead Of The Dog" with Thayil; and "Merrmas" with Shepherd.

in November 2025, SOUNDGARDEN joined the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame class of 2025 in the Performer category. The Seattle grunge legends were first nominated for the Rock Hall in 2020, and were on the ballot again in 2023 before finally being chosen for induction last year.

Thayil, Cameron, Cornell and Shepherd were included in the induction, as was original bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who was with SOUNDGARDEN from 1984 to 1989 and played on the band's first two EPs and first two albums.

SOUNDGARDEN's three surviving members performed during the event, alongside guest vocalists Taylor Momsen and Brandi Carlile in place of Cornell. The set also featured appearances by PEARL JAM's Mike McCready and ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell.

Last month, SOUNDGARDEN announced it will reunite to play halftime of the Seattle Seahawks' season opener on Wednesday, September 9 against the New England Patriots at Seattle's Lumen Field. The surviving members of the band will be joined by Momsen and McCready, who will once again fill Cornell's shoes.

Momsen also previously joined SOUNDGARDEN for performances at a pair of tribute concerts, including the 2019 "I Am The Highway" event in Los Angeles.

Back in September 2014, SOUNDGARDEN played a six-song set at the north plaza of Lumen Field (then known as CenturyLink Field) before the Seahawks' 36-16 win over the Green Bay Packers.