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Following a long-running legal dispute with Chris Cornell's estate over the rights to the late Soundgarden frontman's final recordings, guitarist Kim Thayil has revealed that the surviving members of the band are nearing completion on the unreleased songs.
In an interview for LifeMinute, Thayil says that the much of the material is over 10 years old and the band – rounded out by drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd – are putting their touches on the demo recordings.
"They're very rough," Thayil says of the demos. "They're sketches. You start with a little pencil sketch and you fill it in and with chalks or oils or pastels. What we have to do is finish the sketches and we're in that process."
Thayil admits that they're working on the unreleased songs when their other schedules allow.
"It's atypical in the way we approach it," says the guitarist. "There isn't a record label budgeting time and money with a particular schedule with everybody else's obligations, professionally or with family or whatever. We have to find the time and co-ordinate amongst ourselves to address the work. It's coming.
"It's important for the legacy of Soundgarden," he adds. "It's important for the legacy of Chris Cornell. "It is doing right by our collective work. It is doing right by our partner and friend."
Thayil's book A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond – co-written with Adem Tepedelen – will be released on June 9, 2026 through William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
"It tells my story as an American son of immigrants growing up in Chicago," explains Thayil. "Then, along with another immigrant’s American son, Hiro Yamamoto, we travel to Seattle as idealistic youths, involve ourselves with underground and independent subcultures, and connect with Chris Cornell to form Soundgarden.
"It follows my experiences, journeys and growth with the band and the building of the Seattle music scene; ultimately, to partner with Matt Cameron and later Ben Shepherd as we worked and played towards our worldwide successes. I explore the heights, depths and insights gained from my experiences within the unique and special brotherhood we built."
