Soundgarden announces three-date theater tour

Two weeks before the release of its first studio album in 16 years, Soundgarden announced a brief North American theater tour that will bring the Seattle grunge veterans to L.A.’s Fonda Theatre on Nov. 27. The band is also to play shows in Toronto and New York, the latter on Nov. 13, the same day it’s due to release “King Animal.”

Soundgarden broke up in 1997 while touring behind the previous year’s “Down on the Upside.” Its members reunited in 2010, playing concerts (including a headlining slot at Lollapalooza) and issuing a greatest-hits collection called “Telephantasm.” Last year, the group continued the vault-clearing with a live disc recorded during a West Coast run in 1996.

“Live to Rise,” a lukewarm new tune featured on this past spring’s “Avengers” soundtrack, didn’t bode especially well for “King Animal,” which the band recorded with Pearl Jam producer Adam Kasper. But Pop & Hiss is happy to report that the album delivers on the knuckle-dragging promise Soundgarden displayed in an unannounced performance at KROQ’s Weenie Roast y Fiesta in May. It’s ultramega, OK?

Listen to the first single, “Been Away Too Long,” below and check back in the coming weeks for a full profile of the band in Calendar.

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