Soundgarden announces new album, ‘King Animal’

Soundgarden’s well-received returning tour last year must have been a pleasure for the band as well. The canonical ‘90s heavy rockers have announced a forthcoming album, “King Animal,” due out this fall.

The news comes via a brief video montage of the band in-studio and onstage during this recent round of touring, plus a clip of a new tune called “Worse Dreams.” The song’s Sabbath-y riffage and dueling lead lines suggest the band hasn’t lost a step in its pursuit of sludgy transcendence.

In a review of the band’s July 2011 show at the Forum, I described the set as “indebted to both classic rock and the punk rock that killed it off,” and “Worse Dreams” elaborates on that same promise. As arena-sized rock bands grow ever scarcer, this is one ‘90s reunion to keep a particular eye on.

Before the return tour, the band members kept busy with various outside projects, including Chris Cornell’s singer-songwriter tour and stint fronting Audioslave, guitarist Kim Thayil collaborating with SUNN 0))) and drummer Matt Cameron joining Pearl Jam.

“King Animal” is the band’s first studio album since 1996’s “Down on the Upside,” and although previous reports have pegged a Nov. 13 release date, the video lists only an autumn release. The band’s first recent foray into new music was the single “Live to Rise,” released on the soundtrack for “The Avengers.”

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