Pearl Jam’s new album has been affected by the death of Chris Cornell, according to a member of the band.
Cornell, who fronted Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple Of The Dog, died in May 2017. His death was ruled a suicide.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament explained the band’s new material has been “slow going” in the wake of his death. “It’d be fun to record or even just to write a song together,” he said. “I think when Chris passed – that’s really been a tough one to wrap our heads around – and then there’s just life stuff.”
He added that the group were definitely going to make a new record and were currently “in the middle of it.” “We’re just going to keep plugging away until we get one done,” he said. “We’re just sort of in a little bit of limbo.”
Ament, guitarist Stone Gossard, and drummer Matt Cameron appeared at the I Am The Highway concert honouring Cornell in Los Angeles last week (January 16). Ament also acted as creative director on the ‘Chris Cornell’ box set, which was released last November.
Frontman Eddie Vedder, meanwhile, dedicated Pearl Jam b-side to Cornell during a performance at a concert celebrating what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday. Guitarist Mike McCready has also spoken out about the loss of the Soundgarden icon.
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It has been five years since Pearl Jam’s last studio album was released. ‘Lightning Bolt’ was released in October 2013 and was the band’s 10th record. They have released five live albums since that record.
Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper revealed last year that Eddie Vedder had tried to warn him against remaking A Star Is Born. “He thought it was crazy I was going to do this movie,” Cooper said. “He was like, ‘What? Bro, don’t do that.’”