SOUNDGARDEN's CHRIS CORNELL Slams One-Original-Member Band Reunions

According to The Pulse Of Radio, SOUNDGARDEN frontman Chris Cornell said in an interview with radio station DC101 that rock band "reunions" featuring just one original member can be "alienating" to fans, explaining: "Without comparing to specific other bands, a lot of things can happen when a band takes a decade or more off, and then reform…[They] kind of abandon their own identity to the degree that it's really alienating, and I'm speaking as a fan now of bands where they've done that. I think the thing that happens the most is one guy with a bunch of new guys, and still calling it the same band, and pretending it's the same band."

He added: "It's different people, and that's something we never would have done."

SOUNDGARDEN's current lineup features three original members of the band and bassist Ben Shepherd, who joined in 1990 and has played on every album since.

SOUNDGARDEN drummer Matt Cameron told The Pulse Of Radio that the band's 2010 reunion after 13 years apart never felt contrived. "You know, it never really felt forced or anything to try to make a big comeback and, you know, make a reunion happen, 'cause it can certainly backfire," he said. "I think we wanted to just approach it very methodically, and I think we've been doing so."

The members of SOUNDGARDEN have taken issue with the "one original member" type of reunion before, with guitarist Kim Thayil saying in a 2013 interview, "You've got one jackass who runs the whole thing, and a bunch of guys they hire around him."

It was speculated at the time that Thayil was slamming SMASHING PUMPKINS founder Billy Corgan, who called SOUNDGARDEN's reunion a cash grab while touring with an all-new version of the PUMPKINS.

SOUNDGARDEN will begin working on the follow-up to its 2012 reunion album, "King Animal", in early 2016, with a release likely later in the year.