The Associated Press just shared the shocking news that Soundgarden's frontman Chris Cornell has passed away. Cornell was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and formed Soundgarden back in 1984 with Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto. He was also the vocalist of Audioslave and the short-lived Temple Of The Dog. Cornell also released four solo studio albums and a solo live album. According to his representative, Chris Cornell died on Wednesday night in Detroit at the age of 52. R.I.P.
Brian Bumbery said in a statement that Cornell had performed a Detroit concert with Soundgarden that night. The medical examiner has determined that singer Chris Cornell committed suicide by hanging. He was found dead in a Detroit hotel room on Wednesday (May 17) night.
Bumbery called the death "sudden and unexpected" and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine the cause and asked for privacy.
Cornell was one of grunge's leading voices with Soundgarden, out of Seattle's music scene.
Wow...I'm really surprised, he was really popular, and only 52. I used to be a big fan of his, but I haven't listened to him in a while. I will be listening to some old Soundgarden today in memory of him.
Never really liked him nor his band(s), but I do acknowledge his importance to the world of rock and metal. This is a heavy loss. May he rest in peace.
Man that SUCKS. Totally unexpected news when I fired up MetalStorm this morning. I'm just shocked at this.....so young....only a few years older than me.
Damn....
Well .R.I.P. Chris, you sure made the 90's better for me, and I will definitely be listening to all your old shit today in tribute.
What a shame, used to jam Badmotorfinger and Superunknown pretty often back in high school and still do now and then. Those albums and Chris Cornell definitely have a special place in my heart for helping me get through some tough times. The guy will definitely be missed
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.
What a shame, used to jam Badmotorfinger and Superunknown pretty often back in high school and still do now and then. Those albums and Chris Cornell definitely have a special place in my heart for helping me get through some tough times. The guy will definitely be missed
Exactly what I wanted to say, love those two albums. I remember watching the video of Jesus Christ Pose on MTV's Headbanger's Ball for the first time. Bought Badmotorfinger the following day. Three out of the four greatest grunge vocalists are dead now, only Eddie left
I can't stop crying. I have loved Soundgarden since I was a kid. Chris' words, voice, and music really spoke to me and helped me mature a lot over the years. I can't help but think of how empathetic and sincere he sounds on 4th of July or Like Suicide like he really felt their pain. R.I.P. Chris Cornell
I was never into Soundgarden, but I really really like Audioslave. His voice was definitely up with those of the greatest. If only someone could've show him how to live...
Very tough to believe that he's gone. A grunge legend just like the others (Staley, Cobain). Drugs and mental illness take a toll on you, and suicide is never a way out. RIP.
I'm saddened by this. I didn't like the most recent Soundgarden album very much, but watching them perform live in recent years it was clear to me that Chris had reclaimed his great voice from the 90s and I was hoping they'd release something better soon. Basically, it really seemed to me like Chris was on the right track, so this news really caught me by surprise...
Jesus Christ Pose was the first song I ever acquainted and the first thing that strikes was vocals. Before even knowing the person behind it, I came across a live show of Soundgarden on YouTube where Chris Cornell was pulling down chants of "In The Jesus Christ Pose". It was amazing.
"Would it pain you more to walk on water
Than to wear a crown of thorns?
It wouldn't pain me more to bury you rich
Than to bury you poor,
In the Jesus Christ pose.."
Now his demise said to be suicide. That's even more saddening.
This is absolute truth. As quoted in Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace,
Quote: The so-called 'psychotically depressed' person who tries to kill herself doesn't do so out of quote 'hopelessness' or any abstract conviction that life's assets and debits do not square. And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom Its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant. The variable here is the other terror, the fire's flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It's not desiring the fall; it's terror of the flames. And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling 'Don't!' and 'Hang on!', can understand the jump. Not really. You'd have to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling.