Chris Cornell Sticks Up for His Heavily Criticized, Timbaland-Produced Solo Album, ‘Scream’

“Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart,” the first taste of Chris Cornell’s upcoming solo album, Higher Truth, already proves to be a departure from its predecessor, 2009’s Timbaland-produced Scream. But in an interview with Rolling Stone, Cornell insists Scream’s hefty criticism wasn’t a matter of demerit but rather poor timing.

Cornell argues Scream would receive a different response were it released today:

I don’t think there was any reference for ['Scream'] at the time. And obviously, the world of recorded and released music is a world that required reference 99 times out of 100. I mean, even for me, I could stand on a soap box and say that art shouldn’t require reference and then still make references to you. When I hear a band I’m gonna say something like, ‘It’s a cross between Abba and the band Swans.’ So I get it. The response to the album didn’t surprise me. But I do think there is more context for it now.

Higher Truth will resemble Cornell's 2011 Songbook tour, which featured the singer performing acoustic, stripped-back renditions of his Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave and solo material. “I wanted the album to be intimate and small and so I didn’t want to hire a band,” Cornell said.

Higher Truth is slated for a Sept. 18 release, following Soundgarden’s 2012 comeback album, King Animal. However, Cornell says Soundgarden are currently working on a follow-up to that album, too.

“We’re already working on new material for an album,” he said. “There’s a lot of things coming in addition to Higher Truth, as well as a new Soundgarden album.”

Worst to First – Every Soundgarden Album Ranked