koops

His first solo cd came out in 1999, Euphoria morning, then audioslave then back to being a solo artist. I should have said so he could "concentrate" on his solo career.

Mordred

Awesome news. Really hope they put out a new album.

superdeluxe

Just reposting what was on cornell's website

WMAangel

Chris and the rest of the band did not part ways so that he could "concentrate" on his solo career...in fact, he recorded his second solo album while the band was still together, and he originally was planning to do his solo work while still continuing with the band as well (for example: he recorded "You Know My Name", the theme song for Casino Royale in 2006).....however, he and the others just were no longer on the same page musically, personally, and professionally after the third AS album, and due to these conflicts he quit....

Skyclad01

Same here. After Badmotorfinger, they kinda lost their style that made them so unique. Dare I say borderline of selling out?

WMAangel

Blasphemy....
There are tracks on their last two albums that are just as heavy as stuff on Badmotorfinger and prior albums (Let Me Drown, Limo Wreck, 4th Of July, Never The Machine Forever, etc.)....they just were not released as singles...
Conversely, there are tracks on Badmotorfinger that have a lighter, more "radio-friendly" style (Mind Riot, Searching With My Good Eye Closed) that also were not released as singles...

Skyclad01

Thats true. Maybe im just seeing it wrong as how their songs Black Hole Sun, My Wave and Fell On Black Days Kinda seemed to suddenly span the popularity from tweenies, wannabe's and pop moms.

Don't get me wrong, Soundgarden is awesome, no question. And Chris Cornell's voice can peel paint off walls. But the above said songs seemed to launch them into sudden Hot Topic status.

The Black

Cashgrab...

Though they'll be grabbing my cash as well.

koops

I was under the impression from Chris Cornell quotes that he left the band partially to go solo.

Singer Chris Cornell recently told MTV.com that his days of being in a band were over and he was prepared to spend the rest of his career as a solo artist following his departure from Audioslave earlier this spring. Although AUDIOSLAVE guitarist Tom Morello recently said that he never officially heard from Cornell that he was leaving the group, the singer told Launch that he did make his intentions clear. "Tom and I did have communications about the fact that I was gonna go make a record, and that I was tired of what ended up seeming like political negotiations toward how we were gonna do AUDIOSLAVE business and getting nowhere with it," he said. "We had back and forths about that, and we also as a band sat in a room with other people trying to work this out on numerous occasions, and it wasn't really happening."

Cornell added that the process of "doing AUDIOSLAVE business" led him to go solo. "I still will always say that everybody did their best, I think, to try to come to some sort of an agreement, but it literally did sort of turn into these, like, negotiations, you know, almost like you're negotiating a contract with a record company, something like that," he said. "I can make my own records and I don't have to do that with myself."

superdeluxe

I don't think just because Soundgarden got popular with the general public means they are selling out, maybe the general public finally caught on?

Skyclad01

That can be very true. They weren't widely known really till Outshined got radio play. Then Black Hole Sun just really launched them out of the waters.

Taking a minute to reflect back now on my words, whats been said and their music history, they certainly did not gain popularity overnight. Maybe I was a bit harsh with my wordings. Sometimes I like bands to stay just below the radar as it naturally weeds out the wannabe's and posers.

But you are right. Even when the general public did finally catch on, they never did stray from their true sound. I just hope they keep that same sound when they reunite after this long break/hiatus.

terrible chong

i never understood this elitist attitude. don't you want bands you like to be successful? don't you think good music should be popular?

Skyclad01

Yes, I definitely do want the bands I like to be successful and popular. But more times than not, once they become popular they then tend to loose sight of their roots and starts to make music that the general public wants to hear. Unfortunately, thats when their music starts to lose heart and originality.

As much as I really hate saying this: Metallica is the biggest cause and effect of this. Don't get me wrong, I loved Metallica up till the black album. But between now and then, their music has really become mush. Hell, you could even put a few of their songs on the Twilight soundtrack.

I'm glad to see them trying to get back to their roots with Death Magnetic. While its not entirely a good album, it has made me start to have hope for them again.

So its not an elitist attitude to want bands you like to stay underground. (at least for me anyways). I just don't want them to loose their heart and roots and become a product of the machine.

mndtrp

I wonder how many of those bands would have made that change, regardless of how many fans they had.

Mordred

I think many would, because as you get older the things you care about tend to change. Along with that I don't think success leads to changing so much as sudden riches tend to take away a lot of the angst and turmoil that struggling unknown acts have.