SOUNDGARDEN: After 13 Years, The Grunge Gods Return. Now What?

The new issue of Spin magazine features a SOUNDGARDENcover story in which the four members of the reunited Seattle grunge legends discuss their reasons for coming back after a 13-year absence and their future plans. A couple of excerpts from the article follow.

On SOUNDGARDEN's split and eventual reunion:

Chris Cornell (vocals): "The one thing about SOUNDGARDEN most people don't get is that we always got along. We drank, and any band that drinks is going to have chaos, but we never had that internal negativity that usually spells the obvious reasons a band breaks up."

"A lot of times bands reform, and people have changed in ways that might be negative, and you're just fighting to be able to play the music with some degree of efficiency. We're not that."

On Cornell's New Year's Eve tweet — "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" — that was widely misinterpreted as an announcement of the band's reformation:

Kim Thayil (guitar): "We're not the Knights of the Soundtable, that was our fan club. We were just re-upping it with the new website. But the rumors generated offers. The demand was overwhelming. I wouldn't say we acquiesced, but we kind of warmed to the idea."

On the possibility of SOUNDGARDEN writing new music:

Chris Cornell: "It would be exciting to record one song, to hear how SOUNDGARDEN-ish that might be this much time later. But for me, it's been more of a trip relearning the songs and playing them together. Some of the songs we're approaching we've never played live."

On Cornell's 2009 solo album, "Scream", which bitterly divided fans over its urban pop sound:

Chris Cornell: "It felt natural to me. I had a good time doing it, and the only obstacle really was the perception of it. And perception is something I never spent too much time worrying about."

Read the entire story at Spin.com