With the start of the New Year, Soundgarden is also getting a fresh start in the 21st Century. Last night, a Soundgarden reunion was announced on Chris Cornell’s Twitter and Myspace accounts, with a link to http://www.soundgardenworld.com, the band’s (first?) official website. For fans signing up for their mailing list, you’ll be treated to the music video for “Get on the Snake”, a track from 1989’s Louder Than Love. As of yet, there are no solid plans regarding touring or the recording of a new album, but information should be expected in the coming weeks and months.
But is this reunion all good? Ever since Chris Cornell’s third solo album, Scream, failed to reach critical and commercial acclaim, rumors have been swirling around the internet about a possible Soundgarden reunion. This writer asks the question, is Cornell doing this for the money? He has always been the missing link in a full-scale reunion, this being proven when the band reunited with Tad Doyle on vocals back in March 2009. Now that Scream has been met with lackluster sales and critical backlash, it seems a little too coincidental that he is suddenly getting back with his old bandmates.
Another point of contention is the strength of Cornell’s voice. Even though it has recovered a fair bit from his Audioslave days, there’s still the question of whether or not he can reach the stratospheric high notes he was famous for in Soundgarden. Judging from his recent solo performances, it sounds like he has a good shot at replicating most of the songs, but time shall tell.
Despite my criticism, I’m as big a Soundgarden fan as the next guy, and I really hope I’m proven wrong in my skepticism. Here’s to 2010 being the year of Soundgarden!
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