Video: Soundgarden Perform "Been Away Too Long," Full Set on 'Letterman'

Last night, on the eve of the release of their first album in more than 15 years, Soungarden hit the stage on Late Show With David Letterman to perform the lead single off their new album, King Animal.

Afterwards, the band treated the live crowd to a full, hour-long set of new songs and old favorites. You can watch the full concert below.

"It was just a matter of time before we got in a room together to jam," guitarist Kim Thayil recently told Guitar World of the band's 2010 reunion. "And that was fun. It went well. So it was, 'Let's play a show.' And through performing and rehearsing, we naturally jammed and improvised and introduced riffs and ideas to one another. That stimulated the interest in writing and recording together. And now here we are."

For more on the making of King Animal, gear and Thayil's bizarre arsenal of tunings, pick up the Holiday 2012 issue of Guitar World on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Josh Hart

Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.