Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Alain Johannes, bassist Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden, and vocalist Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees have teamed up to form a new project, Ten Commandos.
This super-group side project has been in “the works since early 2014,” Blabbermouth.com reports, as the “members shared several photos of themselves working together on new music.”
The Ten Commandos will be releasing their debut single, “Staring Down The Dust,” on October 9th, 2015, according to Blabbermouth.com, which cited The Pulse of Radio as the initial source of information on Ten Commandos. Additionally, they are expected to put out a full-length album in November.
Soundgarden drummer Cameron and bassist Shepherd, apart from their current commitments, had previously played together in two side projects – Hater and Wellwater Conspiracy – both of which formed in 1993, and have released albums over the years, according to Blabbermouth.com.
In a recent interview with The Pulse of Radio, Blabbermouth.com notes that Chris Cornell, Soundgarden’s front man, spoke about how taking on side-projects helps musicians to keep themselves fresh and interested.
“At no time am I immersed in something that I’ve been doing too much of, and I think that’s kind of what kills the creative spirit,” he said in an interview with The Pulse of Radio. “That’s sort of what burnout comes from, I think. It’s not from doing too much, it’s from doing the same thing too much.”
Currently, for his part to keep creatively fresh, Cornell is out on a solo tour in support of his album, Higher Truth.
The tour has afforded him the opportunity to reunite onstage with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready at Cornell’s recent Seattle concert, where they teamed up to tackle two beloved grunge classics, “Hunger Strike” and “River of Deceit.”
“Hunger Strike” was made famous by Temple of the Dog, the band that first brought McCready and Cornell together in the early 1990s. Then, “River of Deceit” is song that was made famous by Mad Season, another grunge-era super group that featured McCready, which Cornell has worked with in recent years. Check out the video of McCready and Cornell, here.
And finally, although Pearl Jam and Soundgarden’s respective members have taken time for other projects, both bands will be gearing up to work on new material soon. Blabbermouth.com reports that Soundgarden is writing music for a new album, and the entertainment website is projecting that Pearl Jam will likely find themselves writing as well in the upcoming year, after they cap off 2015 with a series of shows in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. But, only time will tell.
Check out the art work for “Staring Down The Dust,” below.
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