The members of Soundgarden want the reunion to last a little bit longer. Guitarist Kim Thayil told The Sydney Morning Herald recently that the band plans to release its eighth studio album in 2016. The untitled effort will follow the band's 2012 album, King Animal, which they released after a 16-year recording hiatus. Thayil said the band is still in the early stages of putting the album together.
"No studio has been chosen and no songs are written yet," the guitarist said. "When we finish these shows in Australia we'll spend a month or more working on it. It's definitely going to happen. We worked with producer Adam Kasper on our last album and I wouldn't be surprised if we hook up with him again."
This time around, the band isn't worried about commercial success or radio airplay. They want to make music on their terms for their fans.
"We got caught up in the commercial world for a quick moment, but we've been there and done that. We didn't necessarily want to be there, we've slowed down to a level that we are comfortable with," he added. "We don't write radio hits, you can't dance to our songs and that's why we are Soundgarden."
The band released a new song last year titled "Storm." Other than that, they've been playing some nostalgic shows recently, performing "Birth Ritual" from the movie Singles for the first time since 1992. Frontman Chris Cornell is also planning to work on his next solo effort when the band takes a break from touring.
The group's run of Australian shows will end Mar. 1 before they head to New Zealand for a gig. Their only date in North America is July 11 at the Big Music Festival in Ontario, Canada.
