Is a Soundgarden reunion for real?

Are Soundgarden 'feeling Minnesota' once again?
Are Soundgarden 'feeling Minnesota' once again?

Chris Cornell recently told MusicRadar that he wasn't ruling out the possibility of reuniting with Soundgarden, the seminal Seattle band he formed in the mid-'80s.

"I'm never going to count anything out," he said. "It could absolutely happen. For some reason, there seems to be this belief going around that we had a bad break-up, which is totally untrue.

"There was never any bad blood between us," he continued. "In fact, I spoke with [guitarist] Kim [Thayil] just recently. We've always been good friends."

Adding fuel to the reformation fire was the three-quarters Soundgarden reunion that went down last spring in Seattle, when Thayil, along with bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron took the stage with Tad Doyle on vocals and Tom Morello on guitar.

"I'm never going to rule anything out. It could absolutely happen. We've always been good friends" Chris Cornell on apossible Soundgarden reunion

"I thought that was terrific," Cornell said. "It gave me a warm feeling. I wish I could have been there."

Reunion already being worked out?

Cornell's 'warm feeling' could get hotter - talk is increasing that an honest-to-God Soundgarden reunion is already in the works.

In a recent interview with Kerrang!, Brent Smith of the band Shinedown dropped hints that he's heard the news, saying, "There's talk of a reuniting of Soundgarden in the States soon.

"I know someone specific who told me that," he said, "who is actually specifically in their organization. Kinda told me that they're talking about it."

Who knows? Shinedown could find themselves opening for Soundgarden and they could all team up for a kick-ass version of Outshined. Talk about appropos.

And hey, check out our exclusive footage (below) of Chris Cornell doing a photoshoot for Total Guitar during the Download Festival. Great stuff!

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.