Soundgarden work through unreleased Chris Cornell recordings with Matt Cameron

Matt Cameron is the credibility signal in this Soundgarden story. With Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd still stewarding the catalog, the surviving trio is working through unreleased Chris Cornell recordings as unfinished band material, not as a quick archival grab, and Thayil has made clear the songs still need arrangement, polish and collective decisions before anyone hears them.

That approach matters because the material has been in limbo for years. The songs date back to Soundgarden’s late-2014 reunion-era writing and a return to a Seattle studio in 2015, before Chris Cornell’s death in May 2017 stopped the work. By 2020, the band members were already in court over the recordings, seeking to dismiss or move Vicky Cornell’s Florida case to Washington state as they argued about what they had cut together. In April 2023, the dispute finally eased when Soundgarden and Vicky Cornell reached an amicable out of court resolution.

Since then, the project has stayed alive in public view, but on Soundgarden’s terms. Ben Shepherd teased an unreleased album in a tribute post marking the eighth anniversary of Cornell’s death in May 2025, and earlier reporting described the unfinished set as seven tracks. The band also considered issuing a single first, then backed off and decided to wait until the full project was complete. That is the kind of choice that tells you the surviving members are thinking like custodians, not marketers.

Cameron gave the clearest update in September 2025, saying Soundgarden were “definitely over halfway done” with the recordings. For drummers, his presence is the key part of the equation. Cameron is not just filling in a legacy role behind the kit, he is part of the decision-making that tells the band whether a take still feels like Soundgarden. With Thayil, Shepherd and Cameron all involved, the rhythm section remains central to how the group authenticates the material.

Thayil has tied the unfinished recordings to a larger effort to tell Soundgarden’s story on their own terms, including his memoir, A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown With Soundgarden and Beyond, which is set for release on May 19, 2026 through HarperCollins. The surviving members’ 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction only raised the stakes. If these recordings finally surface, the value will not be in novelty. It will be in hearing whether Soundgarden can finish Chris Cornell-era sketches without sanding off the tension that made the band matter in the first place.