Soundgarden fans are debating about what brought the Grammy Award-winning supergroup back together. The Seattle-based band’s co-founder and guitarist Kim Thayil said it was more a set of circumstances that compelled the indie rockers to record and tour again.
“I guess there never really was a definitive point when we said we are back together,” he said. “We started working on various projects, initially attending to the business side of things … and the rumors started that we were reunited. Those rumors generated offers for us to get together. When we got together and jammed … it just felt natural.”
| Onstage |
| Soundgarden |
| When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday |
| Where: Patriot Center, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax |
| Info: $59.50; 202-397-SEAT; ticketmaster.com |
Although the band hadn’t worked together since 1997, a number of secret gigs they performed last year established that the band mates’ creative synergies still flowed. Now as they work on their first new album in 15 years, Thayil says the creative energy the band always had is still fully in place.
“We don’t force anything,” said Thayil, talking about how the band mates are committed to recording the sound that feels right to them. “There is a natural interest in what we have in music, and that has certainly changed in the past 12 years. All of us have grown but it’s a lot like putting on a nice pair of shoes and jeans that you wore [years before]. They still fit the same, but now there are more contours.”
The songs on the new album, that will likely be released early next year, are still dark but do move the band’s sound into a new realm. Think of the 1996 album “Down on the Upside” as Soundgarden’s starting point and you have the right idea.
“We have a number of fast songs and heavy songs and a few ballady things, but there is nothing that strays far from what Soundgarden has established in history,” Thayil said. “There’s definitely a bit of a different feel.”
Fear not, concertgoers. The classic Soundgarden material the band plays remains relatively unchanged.
“Any changes might be slight improvisations in the solos,” said Thayil, who is known for his blistering riffs. “But we were always pretty loose on that. … My guitar playing is slightly different but we’re trying to stay true to the songs.”
