Kim Thayil believes final Soundgarden album will be released: “Our objective and goal was always to complete that”
Kim Thayil believes that Soundgarden‘s final album, which the band was working on at the time of frontman Chris Cornell’s death in 2017, will eventually be released, stating: “Our objective and goal was always to complete that.”
The guitarist was speaking during an interview for Rolling Stone, reflecting on the band’s upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this year while also considering the future legacy of Soundgarden.
Within this, when asked about the unheard final album and whether it will ever see the light of day, Thayil responded: “I think so. Our objective and goal was always to complete that. I probably have OCD enough to not want to leave something unfinished or incomplete like that, so I think the more we can attend to our body of work and our catalogue…I think everyone in the band feels that way.”
He added: “I don’t just to attend to my work, but the collective work, and in this case specifically, the work of Chris.”
However, the band have been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with Cornell’s estate over releasing the album, of which the singer had written or co-written at least seven of the record’s tracks.
The two parties had allegedly reached an “amicable out of court resolution” in 2023 but the dispute still continued to rumble on afterwards, casting doubt on whether Cornell’s final works would ever be heard.
Elsewhere, regarding the recent announcement of Soundgarden’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Thayil said he thinks Cornell would be “happy and proud” of the band’s achievement as he saw “how important it was to fans to be validated.”
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