SOUNDGARDEN: 'King Animal' Track Listing, Final Cover Artwork Unveiled

September 17, 2012

Reformed Seattle grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN will release "King Animal", the band's first new studio album in over 15 years, via Tom Whalley's new record label, a partnership between his Seven Four Entertainment and Republic Records, on November 13. The album's first single, "Been Away Too Long", will be available via digital retailers on September 27. The band co-produced their sixth studio album with longtime SOUNDGARDEN friend and producer Adam Kasper (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA, PEARL JAM) and recorded at Studio X in Seattle. "King Animal" was mixed by Joe Barresi (THE MELVINS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, WEEZER) in Pasadena, California.

The writing and recording of the album was a true collaborative effort. Riotous album opener and first single "Been Away Too Long" finds SOUNDGARDEN back at it with a double-edged blast of homecoming celebration and urban angst. "King Animal" can be explosive, as in "Blood On The Valley Floor", nightmarish ("Worse Dreams") or wistful ("Halfway There"),leading us through changing sonic landscapes that can embrace both the jazz inflections of "Black Saturday" and the feral rocker "Attrition", with compelling lyrics by bassist Ben Shepherd. The subject matter is broad — Kim Thayil's lyrics for "Non-State Actor" are a sharp and cynical take on the powers behind political thrones, while Cornell's bruised and introspective "Bones of Birds" explores the terrors and vulnerabilities of parenthood.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, "Been Away Too Long" will be shipped to rock radio stations this coming Wednesday (September 19),with a digital release set for September 27.

"King Animal" track listing:

01. Been Away Too Long
02. Non-State Actor
03. By Crooked Steps
04. A Thousand Days Before
05. Blood On The Valley Floor
06. Bones of Birds
07. Taree
08. Attrition
09. Black Saturday
10. Halfway There
11. Worse Dreams
12. Eyelid's Mouth
13. Rowing

SOUNDGARDEN drummer Matt Cameron told The Pulse Of Radio that the band's 2010 reunion after 13 years apart never felt contrived. "You know, it never really felt forced or anything to try to make a big comeback and, you know, make a reunion happen, 'cause it can certainly backfire," he said. "I think we wanted to just approach it very methodically, and I think we've been doing so."

The band recently launched a web site and teaser video for "King Animal", which included an excerpt from a track called "Worse Dreams".

The only new SOUNDGARDEN song to be heard in its entirety so far is "Live To Rise", which was the lead single from the soundtrack album of the blockbuster superhero film "The Avengers" this past summer.

SOUNDGARDEN's last full-length album was 1996's "Down On The Upside". The quartet disbanded the following year. Singer Chris Cornell embarked on a solo career and also joined AUDIOSLAVE, while Cameron became a member of PEARL JAM in 1998.

SOUNDGARDEN has yet to announce live plans for the rest of 2012 and beyond.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).