“The night before we left for the tour, I knew that something bad was going to happen”: Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd reveals his fears surrounding Chris Cornell’s final tour – and names the producer of the band’s new album

Soundgarden bass player Ben Shepherd has opened up on the fears he harbored going into what would prove to be Chris Cornell's final tour before he died.

The Seattle heavyweights toured the US in 2017, but the run of dates was cut short following Chris Cornell’s death in May that year. Even before they hit the road, Shepherd felt uneasy.

“I always thought we were going to be weird old men sitting out in the cabin he owned in the woods, laughing about everything. He really wanted to meet my son Noah, and he never got to,” Shepherd tells Bass Magazine of the impact of Cornell's passing.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the night before we left for the tour, I knew that something bad was going to happen,” he continues. “Something came over me, and I deeply felt like I couldn’t do it. I went around and said goodbye to my family. I could feel it.

“We were making the same mistake we always did, which was interrupting making our record in the studio to go play some tour for some reason.”

The band's last album, King Animal, came in 2012. At the time, it was their first record in 16 years, and landed after Soundgarden reformed in 2010. That was later followed by a collection of B-sides and rarities, Echo of Miles, but the record they were writing before that ill-fated tour was never finished.

At first, the band was hesitant to continue without Cornell, and have only taken the stage for a string of charity shows in the intervening years, including one fronted by Guns N’ Roses’ bassist and fellow Seattle native Duff McKagan. But the situation has since shifted.

Speaking to MusicRadar in 2019, guitarist Kim Thayil confirmed that they were looking to complete their demoed material, but the Cornell estate was holding onto the frontman's recordings.

The dispute, which stretched several years, was resolved out of court in 2023, and back in May, Thayil said the new album “would be a great gift to the fans.”

In his Bass Magazine chat, Shepherd confirmed that Terry Date – who has worked with Korn, Deftones, and the Smashing Pumpkins – will be producing the new LP. He first worked with the group on 1989's Louder Than Love, and its 1991 follow-up, Badmotorfinger.

Soundgarden - Outshined - Live from The Artists Den - YouTube

Watch On

"The first song we did together, the mighty one – seems when you first hear the demo, it’s not powerful at all," Shepherd says of the new material. "And then when you start playing it you’re like, Holy hell! I blistered my hands trying to play those parts.

"I was like, Thanks, Cornell. He and Kim always throw some wild riff in there that you have to nail. It’s just intuitive for them. I’ve always been amazed by those two, and that song is just whomping. These songs have been flooring me with how powerful they are."

The band is set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend, alongside a Seattle-heavy cast of vocalists, including Brandi Carlisle, the Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen, and Jerry Cantrell.

Soundgarden has previously performed with Carlisle, who said she hoped to be the band’s new singer in 2021.