Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil has made it known that there's a final record with vocalist Chris Cornell, and that the band can't get their hands on Cornell's vocal tracks to wrap up the project. Thayil said at the time that the battle over the tracks has been going on since Cornell's death in 2017, and that Soundgarden has "copies of them" but not the actual files needed for overdubs.
In a new interview with Trunk Nation LA Invasion, Thayil reiterates that Soundgarden still doesn't have Cornell's tracks and that "these are difficult things — partnerships and property."
“There shouldn’t be — there really isn’t — other than the fact that we don’t have those files… And I think that will happen. It would be ridiculous if it didn’t. But these are difficult things — partnerships and property.”
Thayil also addresses the possibility that Soundgarden would reunite post-Cornell. Unsurprisingly, Thayil said he just wants to maintain the band's back catalog and has no interest in reuniting with a new singer.
“Reasonably, you’ve got a big part missing. So, I think in terms of the Soundgarden catalog, that’s still gonna be active as best as it can be. In terms of unreleased recordings, live material, I’m still gonna attend to that; that’s my gig. I love that. Let’s make records.
I do not see, given the commitments that other band members have, given our sentiments and love for Chris, I do not see us reconfiguring a tour or anything, as other bands have done in the past, without him.”
“This is really complicated, but I’ve known Chris since I was a kid, basically — we grew up together, our early 20s. You want to honor the work and legacy you did. Is it best to regard it with dignity and let it rest? Do you want to honor it by celebrating the music and work that he’s done?”
In October 2018, Thayil said pretty much the same thing regarding Soundgarden being the sum of its parts, and being nothing without each other.
"I don't know really what kind of thing is possible or what we would consider in the future. It's likely nothing. The four of us were that. There were four of us and now there's three of us, so it's just not likely that there's much to be pursued other than the catalog work at this point."
