Seven Four Entertainment/Republic It’s been an awfully long time between new albums for Soundgarden , but the band’s comeback disc ‘King Animal’ is almost here — and thanks to iTunes, we can actually hear it a week ahead of its release. While ‘King Animal’ won’t officially arrive in stores until next Tuesday (Nov. 13), iTunes is offering a free stream of the full album now (click on link below). And although it isn’t exactly the complete listening experience — you can’t skip between tracks, and the stream doesn’t provide song titles — it’s still a nice surprise for the fans who have been waiting more than 15 years for a new record from the band. The ‘King Animal’ stream follows months of buildup for the reunion album, starting with the release of the ‘Avengers’ soundtrack anthem ‘ Live to Rise ‘ over the summer, and continuing with teases and streams of an assortment of other tracks, including ‘ Worse Dreams ,’ ‘ Been Away Too Long ,’ and ‘ Non-State Actor ‘ — as well as the announcement of an expanded edition , complete with bonus tracks, that will be available exclusively at Best Buy. In the weeks and months to come, fans also have a North American tour to look forward to — but today, just crank up ‘King Animal’ and see if you agree with frontman Chris Cornell ‘s assertion that Soundgarden’s current creative vibe is “almost like it was in the beginning of the band.” [button href=”http://bit.ly/KingAnimaliTunes” title=”Listen to Soundgarden’s ‘King Animal’ at iTunes” align=”center”] Note: Outside the U.S. and Canada, ‘King Animal’ can be streamed at NME.com . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-soundgarden-songs/” title=”10 Best Soundgarden Songs” align=”center”]
Mark Metcalfe, Getty Images When Soundgarden got back together, they started by touring and playing the old hits and getting back in the habit of performing their music again. But now, a couple of years later, the group is preparing to move forward in their career with their first full original studio album since 1996, and frontman Chris Cornell says that they’re looking forward and evolving with their next record. Cornell tells Spin , “We don’t feel nostalgia trying to remember who played what parts on a song that we recorded in 1988. It doesn’t feel like looking at baby pictures of me. It’s nice that we have fans that were fans in 1988. That’s great, but that’s not enough for us. And I would’ve never expected that to be enough.” Earlier this year, one of Cornell’s contemporaries, Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan , called out the group for cashing in on a reunion, stating, “When Soundgarden came back and they just played their old songs, great. I was a fan of Soundgarden, but call it for what it is. They’re just out there to have one more round at the till.” Corgan would add that it’s important for bands to make music for the present rather than relying on their past, and Soundgarden are definitely of the same mindset by moving forward with their new record. Though not addressing Corgan’s comments specifically, Cornell says, “If we’re writing and recording new and vital music, it’s taking care of itself. I definitely feel like there’s a place for who we are and what we do. We’re doing what we’ve always done as a band and we’re fortunate enough to have a long enough history that someone could actually suggest that we’re a nostalgia act. Good for us.” If anything, Soundgarden may actually be coming from a creative space where many new bands come from, as the group has been away long enough that all of the label entanglements and outside pressures that weighed on them at the height of their fame have fallen by the wayside. The singer adds, “We’re writing and recording an album ourselves. We do everything, from choosing producers to picking packaging, until it’s done. Then we find a label to put it out on [Universal Republic], and communication’s what it used to be. It’s almost like it was in the beginning of the band.” Soundgarden returns with their ‘ King Animal ‘ album Nov. 13. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-unleash-new-king-animal-track-non-state-actor/” title=”Next: Listen to Soundgarden’s Song ‘Non-State Actor'” align=”center”]
Jim Dyson, Getty Images If you’re a Soundgarden fan and anywhere near the vicinity of New York, Toronto or Los Angeles, start making arrangements to get yourself to one of the band’s three newly announced intimate club dates this month. In addition, if you pre-order the ‘ King Animal ‘ album before Nov. 7 you will be granted password access to the Ticketmaster pre-sale on Nov. 8. Soundgarden will play Nov. 13 at New York’s Irving Plaza, followed by a show at Toronto’s The Phoenix on Nov. 16 and concluding with a Nov. 27 date at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre. Tickets for the pre-sale will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and there’s no guarantee that the password will get you a ticket to the show. The public on-sale date for all of the shows will be Nov. 9 at 10AM local time. In other ‘King Animal’ promotion news, the group just signed on to play the ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ concert webcast series ‘Live on Letterman.’ Following their performance on the late night talk show Nov. 12, the group will stick around for a mini-concert that will be webcast at CBS.com and VEVO. Soundgarden have also booked an appearance on ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for Nov. 26. The ‘King Animal’ album is due in stores Nov. 13, and features the current single ‘ Been Away Too Long ,’ as well as the newly released track ‘ Non-State Actor .’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-soundgarden-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Soundgarden Songs” align=”center”]
SoundgardenWorld.com Soundgarden are gearing up for the release of their comeback album ‘King Animal’ on Nov. 13. The band recently shared the first single ‘Been Away Too Long,’ and is now following it up with the debut of another new tune, ‘Non-State Actor.’ Sonically harkening back to the Soundgarden sound of old without getting too caught up in nostalgia, ‘Non-State Actor’ chimes in like an old friend that’s been away for, say, oh, 16 years. Soundgarden fans will feel right at home with ‘Non-State Actor,’ while the song invites in new listeners as well to find out what the band is all about. However, as frontman Chris Cornell pointed out in a recent interview with Yahoo Music , you can’t judge the tone of the album by just two songs. “There’s always a broad spectrum of what’s going on musically on any Soundgarden album,” Cornell explained. “They usually tend to be long, there’s a lot of different feels, you’re never going to get the feel of the album from listening to one or two or even three songs.” He also talked about the band’s constant evolution. “I feel like we’re all very conscious about what we feel is the musical identity of the band,” said Cornell. “That’s always been very important to us but we also have all felt pretty comfortable with each other and pushing the boundaries of what we all think that is too.” Listen to ‘Non-State’ Actor below for a taste of what the band has in store with ‘King Animal.’ Watch the Video For the New Soundgarden Song ‘Non-State Actor’ [button href=”http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/live/soundgarden-song-check-non-state-actor-exclusive-interview-155804275.html” title=” Soundgarden’s ‘King Animal’ Best Buy Edition Bolstered With Bonus Tracks” align=”center”]
Facebook: Soundgarden Fans have been anxiously awaiting a new album from Soundgarden for more than 15 years, and the Nov. 13 arrival of ‘King Animal’ is just a couple weeks away. A deluxe edition of the release will also be available at Best Buy that includes extra tracks. In addition to the 13 songs on ‘King Animal,’ demo versions of the songs ‘Black Saturday,’ ‘Bones of Birds,’ ‘By Crooked Steps,’ ‘A Thousand Days Before’ and ‘Worse Dreams’ will also be included. Finished versions of all five songs also appear on the album. ‘Been Away Too Long’ is the first single from ‘King Animal.’ Frontman Chris Cornell describes the song as “a look back at history in sort of a strange atmospheric way.” Cornell called the song’s lyrical narrative a way of saying, “We’ve been gone for 15 years and now we’re back. It’s about time, and we still have something to say about rock music that no one else is saying — and I feel confident about saying that.” So why did the band split up back in 1997? Cornell says , “We broke up because we were bored of the periphery, all of the things that are outside of the band playing music and writing songs, playing shows – that part got really boring.” Bassist Ben Shepherd adds, “The part that is outside of writing songs and playing shows. So it wasn’t the Soundgarden thing, it was the outside of Soundgarden.” Soundgarden will play the British TV show ‘Later With Jools Holland’ on Nov. 6. According to Grunge Report , they’ve also just booked a ‘Live on Letterman’ mini concert following their Nov. 12 appearance on the ‘Late Show With David Letterman,’ and they have two European concerts scheduled on Nov. 7 (Dortmond, Germany) and Nov. 9 (London, England). [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-soundgarden-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Soundgarden Songs” align=”center”]
SoundgardenWorld.com Soundgarden ’s new album ‘King Animal’ is due out on Nov. 13 and fans received their first taste of what’s in store with the disc’s debut single ‘Been Away Too Long.’ According to the band, the new tune is a very literal take on their extended absence and return to music. In a new interview with OnstageWeb frontman Chris Cornell and bassist Ben Shepherd sat down to talk about their break up, reuniting, the first single, and today’s music scene. The first thing they tackle is the single ‘Been Away Too Long. When asked what it really means, Cornell responded, “It means that a group, in this case personified by Soundgarden, has been away and the length of that away time has suddenly become maybe overextended.” He continued, “So been away too long, like thank God we’re back now. It seems like it might have been a little bit too long for us to be gone.” On the reason why Soundgarden broke up in 1997, Cornell explains it was everything but the music, saying, “We broke up because we were bored of the periphery, all of the things that are outside of the band playing music and writing songs, playing shows – that part got really boring.” Shepherd chimed in as well, adding, “The part that is outside of writing songs and playing shows. So it wasn’t the Soundgarden thing, it was the outside of Soundgarden.” In the absence of Soundgarden, both seemed surprised that a new rock revival hasn’t taken over. “I always expected that after we broke up or even maybe before we broke up that there should be or would be some very vital scene, numerous interesting rock bands that are kind of taking the history of rock music and making it their own,” explained Cornell. “Updating it and making it their own vital thing like a child with a new toy.” Check out the full interview with Cornell and Shepherd below. Watch the Full Interview with Soundgarden [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-soundgarden-songs/” title=”10 Best Soundgarden Songs” align=”center”]
Frank Micelotta, Getty Images Here’s a look at the top stories of the day on Loudwire and around the Web: – We’re wishing Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee a happy 50th birthday, and we’re not the only ones. [ Loudwire ] – Deftones are through teasing us with album cuts (‘ Leathers ,’ ‘ Rosemary ,’ and ‘ Roller Derby ‘). The official first single ‘Tempest’ from their ‘ Koi No Yokan ‘ album has hit the airwaves. [ Loudwire ] – Soundgarden ‘s Chris Cornell and his wife Vicky have been sued by their former maid, who claims she was forced to work overtime without pay and let go after refusing to work beyond her shift one day. [ Loudwire ] – Political pundit Glenn Beck likes Muse . Muse doesn’t like Glenn Beck back. What’s a host to do other than write an open letter back to the band still declaring his undying respect? [ Diffuser.fm ] – One more week until the ‘ Monster ‘ album, Kiss fans. But to tide you over in the meantime, check out the newly posted songs ‘Long Way Down’ and ‘All for the Love of Rock & Roll.’ [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Just in time for Halloween, Bay Area metal pioneers Autopsy are issuing the ‘Autopsy: Feast for a Funeral’ comic book. [ Rock Music Report ]