Soundgarden’s Final Album To Arrive in 2027, says Kim Thayil

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil said the band’s final album, featuring recordings of late singer Chris Cornell, will likely arrive in 2027.

He said work was continuing on the project they’d started several years ago, and didn’t rule out the possibility of touring to promote the release.

In a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar, Thayil admitted the band had found it hard going to work with the material Cornell had left following his death in 2017, because they were determined to get everything right.

“There are at least two songs that I wrote the music for,” Thayil said. “One of them, I wrote the lyrics for… [O]ne of the collaborations would have been that I submitted music to Chris, and he wrote lyrics for them.

“[H]e would move the verse and chorus lengths and sequences to accommodate his lyrics. But then, they themselves had to accommodate the dynamic of the instrumental. Sometimes, lengths will increase to accommodate guitar solos.”

Asked how many songs would be on the record, he initially said he couldn’t offer an answer, but continued: “Part of that is the work in progress. We're looking at the material that we intend to complete, and we also look at material that perhaps we can complete…

“[T]hese are decisions that are going to have to be made between Matt [Cameron] and Ben [Shepherd] and I, and the producer. Right about now, it’s likely about eight or nine songs. More likely nine.”

Thayil reported that work was being completed around the band members’ other commitments, which is why they were “aiming for next year” as a vague release date.

What Kim Thayil Thinks of Final Soundgarden Album’s Significance

“We have to book studio time here and there,” he said. “And it’s been a very busy year for us with the Hall of Fame induction, very busy year for me with the book, until last year it was very busy for Matt with Pearl Jam recordings and Pearl Jam touring… we kind of have to work around a lot of that.”

Asked about the possibility of Soundgarden touring with a guest vocalist or a number of them, Thayil responded: “That would be discussed roughly, generally, like, ‘Well, what do we do? How do we promote it?’

“We love these songs… These are ideas that were created by Matt, by Ben, by myself and by Chris. These are songs we’ve worked with in a collaborative fashion amongst all four of us in different combinations over the years.”

He reflected that interest in the album was “probably heightened” by its context, adding: “[W]e know the significance of this material, with our legacy and with Chris’ legacy… we want to make sure that it’s as great as it can be, and because it’ll be the last studio album.”