PAPA ROACH Singer Says CHRIS CORNELL 'Was An Amazing Performer'

PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix has paid tribute to Chris Cornell, saying the SOUNDGARDEN singer was "an amazing performer" who "always came with solid music and a good vibe onstage."

Speaking to Ryan Daniels of Kilpop at this weekend's Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio, Shaddix said (see video below): "When you become a fan of someone's band and you get to know them through the music… When they write songs, it's their invitation for us to get to know them as people. Yeah, I didn't know him personally, but I knew him through the music and his energy and his vibe, and he just always came with solid music and a good vibe onstage and was an amazing performer.

"I've been a fan for many years and so to hear the news, it was just, like, 'Uhh…' Gutted, man," he continued. "And you just think he's got kids and a wife and my heart just goes out to them, and his band too, man. And then being in a similar profession, I'm a singer in a rock band and I've been in moments in my life that I haven't been in such a good space. He will be missed, I will say that."

In a separate interview with 100.3 The X Rocks, Jacoby said about Cornell: "I've been connected to that music since I was a young kid. 'Badmotorfinger', when that came out, I was, like… [It was] ridiculous. We just played with 'em a week ago and they were off the chain — it was amazing. So it is a very, very, very heavy moment in rock music."

Cornell apparently committed suicide by hanging on Wednesday night (May 18) after SOUNDGARDEN played a show in Detroit. He was 52 years old.

Cornell's family issued a statement Friday questioning whether his death by hanging was intentional and if "substances contributed to his demise."

The family's attorney, Kirk Pasich, said in a statement that the family would await the toxicology results to see if Ativan — the anti-anxiety prescription drug Cornell was taking — or other drugs contributed to his death.

"The family believes that if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions," Pasich said.

According to CNN, Cornell will be laid to rest on May 26 in Los Angeles. His body will be flown from Michigan to Los Angeles on Sunday, and the singer will be buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.