Brow Beat

When ’90s grunge gods Soundgarden reunited two years ago, singer Chris Cornell said, “It would be exciting to record one song, to hear how Soundgarden-ish that might be this much time later.” At the time, however, the band was focused on “relearning” their old songs, performing together again, and putting out live and compilation albums.

Yesterday, a new Soundgarden song finally arrived, and, to my ears at least, it sounds as Soundgarden-ish as ever. Crunchy, distorted guitar riff? Check. Hard-rock drumming with just a touch of jazz-inflected surprise, courtesy of Matt Cameron? Check. Chris Cornell alternating between a brooding, lower-register verse and a big, Robert Plant-inspired chorus? Check. A wailing and warbly wah-wah pedaled Kim Thayil guitar solo? Check.

The song is called “Live to Rise,” and will appear on the Avengers soundtrack. You can hear it below. (Via Blabbermouth.)