Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The story of Soundgarden's LOST Album.
Podcast on Apple Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383
My second YouTube Channel
youtube.com/@RockNRollTrueStories2
he band’s roots go back to Seattle in the mid-1980s, where vocalist Chris Cornell, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, and guitar Kim Thayil all crossed paths through a tight-knit local music scene. Yamamoto and Thayil had actually moved to Seattle from chixago where they were friends in high school to attend Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. The pair brought their shared love of punk, metal, and classic rock with them to washington..
Chris Cornell entered the picture not long after. He was working in Seattle and had already started developing a reputation as a powerful vocalist, but at the time he was actually playing drums. The trio quickly bonded over similar influences—everything from Black Sabbath to punk acts like The Stooges—and began jamming together, experimenting with a heavier, darker sound that didn’t quite fit into any one genre. Taking their name from an art installation in Seattle called ‘A Soundgarden’ the band shorten their name to just Soundgarden.
Kim laid out in his book what set the band apart from their peers in the city
What set us apart was that no punk bands were blending elements of metal and heavy psychedelia the way we were. That made our scene unique from a punk underground perspective. New York had noise, Texas had a post–Birthday Party psych thing, LA leaned post-hardcore, and Chicago had its Wax Trax! meets Touch and Go industrial thing. What we were doing in Seattle didn’t sound like any of it.
it soon became clear that Cornell’s voice was too important to be stuck behind the drum kit. That’s when they brought in Scott Sundquist, freeing Cornell up to focus entirely on singing.
And it was this version of Soundgarden—the raw, pre-fame lineup with Sundquist on drums—that stepped into the studio to record what would become their lost first album. But before that, they contributed three tracks to the C/Z Compilation, Deep Six Compilation that as the title suggested featuring six Seattle-based rock bands including Green River, Skin Yard, The U-Men, Melvins.
It was around this time they hit Crow Recording Studio to record what would be their first studio album. The studio was attractive to the band for several reasons.
The studio was a 16 track recording facility and the band had only experienced working with four track recorders,. It was also located pretty close to where Chris Cornell was living. Also, The U-Men had recorded there before and it gave the studio some credibility within the scene. The hourly rate rate was pretty affordable $25.00 a hour - considering the band was funding the recording themselves..
Heading into the sessions, the band was genuinely excited. This was their first time recording a full batch of songs—arund a dozen or so tracks—in a proper sixteen-track studio. Compared to their earlier basement demos and their small contribution to the Deep Six compilation, this felt like a major step forward. They had newer material, including a song called “Beast,” and after nearly two years of playing together, they were tight as a unit.
Still, in hindsight, the choice of studio may not have made much of a difference. The bigger issue was the band’s own inexperience, combined with problems in the performances themselves—issues that could have happened anywhere.
The recording sessions themselves moved quickly takinga bout a week and, on the surface, seemed to go smoothly. But everything changed once they started mixing. As they adjusted the levels and listened back to the tracks, something immediately felt off. There was a glaring problem
Kim later recalled a tense moment inside the band’s rehearsal space shortly after they finished the recoridng.
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The story of Soundgarden's LOST Album.
Podcast on Apple Podcasts
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rock-n-roll-true-stories-podcast/id1876614383
My second YouTube Channel
youtube.com/@RockNRollTrueStories2
he band’s roots go back to Seattle in the mid-1980s, where vocalist Chris Cornell, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, and guitar Kim Thayil all crossed paths through a tight-knit local music scene. Yamamoto and Thayil had actually moved to Seattle from chixago where they were friends in high school to attend Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. The pair brought their shared love of punk, metal, and classic rock with them to washington..
Chris Cornell entered the picture not long after. He was working in Seattle and had already started developing a reputation as a powerful vocalist, but at the time he was actually playing drums. The trio quickly bonded over similar influences—everything from Black Sabbath to punk acts like The Stooges—and began jamming together, experimenting with a heavier, darker sound that didn’t quite fit into any one genre. Taking their name from an art installation in Seattle called ‘A Soundgarden’ the band shorten their name to just Soundgarden.
Kim laid out in his book what set the band apart from their peers in the city
What set us apart was that no punk bands were blending elements of metal and heavy psychedelia the way we were. That made our scene unique from a punk underground perspective. New York had noise, Texas had a post–Birthday Party psych thing, LA leaned post-hardcore, and Chicago had its Wax Trax! meets Touch and Go industrial thing. What we were doing in Seattle didn’t sound like any of it.
it soon became clear that Cornell’s voice was too important to be stuck behind the drum kit. That’s when they brought in Scott Sundquist, freeing Cornell up to focus entirely on singing.
And it was this version of Soundgarden—the raw, pre-fame lineup with Sundquist on drums—that stepped into the studio to record what would become their lost first album. But before that, they contributed three tracks to the C/Z Compilation, Deep Six Compilation that as the title suggested featuring six Seattle-based rock bands including Green River, Skin Yard, The U-Men, Melvins.
It was around this time they hit Crow Recording Studio to record what would be their first studio album. The studio was attractive to the band for several reasons.
The studio was a 16 track recording facility and the band had only experienced working with four track recorders,. It was also located pretty close to where Chris Cornell was living. Also, The U-Men had recorded there before and it gave the studio some credibility within the scene. The hourly rate rate was pretty affordable $25.00 a hour - considering the band was funding the recording themselves..
Heading into the sessions, the band was genuinely excited. This was their first time recording a full batch of songs—arund a dozen or so tracks—in a proper sixteen-track studio. Compared to their earlier basement demos and their small contribution to the Deep Six compilation, this felt like a major step forward. They had newer material, including a song called “Beast,” and after nearly two years of playing together, they were tight as a unit.
Still, in hindsight, the choice of studio may not have made much of a difference. The bigger issue was the band’s own inexperience, combined with problems in the performances themselves—issues that could have happened anywhere.
The recording sessions themselves moved quickly takinga bout a week and, on the surface, seemed to go smoothly. But everything changed once they started mixing. As they adjusted the levels and listened back to the tracks, something immediately felt off. There was a glaring problem
Kim later recalled a tense moment inside the band’s rehearsal space shortly after they finished the recoridng.
Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Comment below or send in your idea: bit.ly/3stnXlN
CONNECT ON SOCIAL
TIKOK:tiktok.com/@rocknrolltruestory
Instagram: instagram.com/rnrtruestories
Facebook: facebook.com/RNRTrueStories
Twitter: twitter.com/rocktruestories
Blog: rockandrolltruestories.com
#soundgarden #chriscornell #kimthayil
These videos are for entertainment purposes only. DISCLAIMER rockandrolltruestories.com/youtube-disclaimer
