Soundgarden
Latest about Soundgarden
Gene Simmons says Kiss was one of the first bands to take downtuning into the mainstream
By Janelle Borg published
Dropped and downtunings became a defining characteristic of many ’90s guitar bands, but Simmons explains how and why downtuning became an integral part of Kiss' live act
Soundgarden’s surviving members reunite for charity set – with the help of Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan
By Phil Weller published
Operating under the ‘Nudedragons’ name for the first time in 14 years, Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd performed six songs for the 2024 SMooCH benefit concert
Melvins’ Dale Crover invents a new guitar tuning – and lands a Kim Thayil guest solo – on new single
By Janelle Borg published
Thayil has consistently expressed his admiration for the Melvins, even crediting the band for introducing drop-D tuning to hard rock
Heart's Ann Wilson on how she managed to get Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains to jam together
By Janelle Borg published
Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson recount how they were embraced by Seattle’s music community after the band experienced a dip in popularity
“I played about eight different guitar tunings – I threw the idea of patterns and scales out the window”: Kim Thayil hits back at being called a “sloppy” guitarist
By Phil Weller published
The grunge icon details how the pros and cons of alternate tunings defined Soundgarden’s career, and how his “spontaneous wildness” saw Chris Cornell reposition his amp
The electric guitar shredded itself to death in the ‘80s. It had to start over, but the ‘90s grunge revolution didn‘t just change the face of guitar playing – it changed the world
By Brad Tolinski published
Guitar World presents a grunge guitar guide to the ‘90s, the decade when Seattle became the epicenter of the musical universe, and resurrected the electric guitar with a raw, dirty sound that gave birth to a whole new generation of guitar players
“I’d like to remind all the perfectionist guitar nerds to listen to Jimmy Page’s solo on In the Evening. It sounds like the guitar is falling down the stairs… It’s brilliant”: Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil dissects his “dangerous” approach to guitar playing
By Amit Sharma published
The Soundgarden guitarist looks back on his most iconic riffs and solos, as well as the gear and tunings that guided him deep into the creative superunknown
“We’re doing this because Black Sabbath did it. Neil Young did it. Van Halen did it. Are you going to tell Eddie Van Halen he wasn’t playing guitar properly?” Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil recalls his battles with drop-D trolls
By Michael Astley-Brown published
Thayil brought drop-D tuning to the mainstream with the grunge guitar revolution – but he had to contend with “purists and nitwits who would write into guitar magazines saying, ‘Drop D is cheating; you’re not really playing if you do that!’”
“This guitar does things most guitars aren’t gonna do”: It took three failed attempts and three decades of waiting, but Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil finally has a signature Guild S-100
By Michael Astley-Brown published
The long-awaited signature model for the grunge guitar icon has landed at last, complete with nods to the Seattle institution’s discography and hand-wound Jason Lollar pickups
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