Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante is joined by Alice In Chains vocalist William DuVall, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher and Metal Allegiance bassist Mark Menghi for a version of the third single from the Seattle band’s third studio record.
“Rusty Cage...first song off of ‘Badmotorfinger’ and a damn good one at that!,” says Benante. “This song makes me wanna drive fast. I was a Soundgarden fan as soon as I heard “Hunted Down.’ I then heard the ‘FOPP’ ep on which they had covered an Ohio Players song (‘Honey’was a great album) and I was hooked. I saw them numerous times from 1988-89 to playing festivals with them a few years ago.
“I always thought they had ‘it’: they were tight but loose, up and down, in and out of tune, heavy and soft, always unique. I always loved the way Chris Cornell sang, his voice was so recognizable. I saw them at the Armory in New York and he came out and did an acapella version of ‘Beth’ by KISS, I got goosebumps.
“We are celebrating the music they created with this version of ‘Rusty Cage’,” adds Benante. “When @billy_butterslax, @markmenghi, @williamduvallofficial and I decided to jam this one out it was because it moved us when we first heard it and dammit, it still does! Hope you all enjoy it and take the time to think what good music does to your soul.
“Thank you to @dlevanchuk and @tom.w.tapley . Love to #kimthayil #mattcameron #benshepherd.”
“Badmotorfinger” marked Soundgarden’s first entry into the US Top 40 when it reached No. 39 on the Billboard 200; the project went on to sell 2 million copies in the country.
Soundgarden shut down in 2017 after Cornell took his own life in a Detroit hotel room following a spring concert by the band in the city.
The surviving members of the group reunited to headline the all-star "I Am The Highway: A Tribute To Chris Cornell" concert in Los Angeles in January of 2019, and regrouped in the studio last fall for a Record Store Day 2020 EP with Brandi Carlile that delivered a pair of the group’s songs.
See also:
Unauthorized Chris Cornell biopic in production
Chris Cornell statue vandalized in Seattle
Pearl Jam classic covered by daughter of Chris Cornell for Lollapalooza 2020 livestream
Chris Cornell estate streams unreleased cover of Guns N’ Roses classic
Search Soundgarden at hennemusic
